Overview
BSc International Business and Entrepreneurship (Including Foundation Year) is open to Home and EU students. It will be suitable for you if your academic qualifications do not yet meet our entrance requirements for the three-year version of this course and you want a programme that increases your subject knowledge as well as improves your academic skills.
This four-year course includes a foundation year (Year Zero), followed by a further three years of study. During your Year Zero, you study four academic subjects relevant to your chosen course as well as a compulsory English language and academic skills module. You will spend Year Zero of your four year degree studying at our Colchester Campus. For your second, third and fourth year of study, you will be based at our Southend Campus.
You are an Essex student from day one, a member of our global community based at the most internationally diverse campus university in the UK.
After successful completion of Year Zero in our Essex Pathways Department, you progress to complete your course with Essex Business School.
Entrepreneurship is broader in scope than traditional business studies. It explores enterprising mind-sets, new venture creation and innovation in the private, public and voluntary sectors. It examines ways in which creative people, dynamic organisations and facilitative environments help to generate economic growth and social transformation.
This course provides you with insight into new venture creation and growth, as well as the internationalism of business. We equip you with business knowledge and develop your practical skills through a combination of entrepreneurial theory, group work, business simulation games and interactive projects. Upon graduation, you may decide to use what you have learnt to launch your own business.
You explore topics high on the agenda of international businesses, governments, policy-makers, researchers, educators and wider communities. For example:
- business start-up and growth
- strategic entrepreneurship
- the international business environment
- international business strategy
- innovation
- international trade
- economics
- technology
- international human resource management
The University of Essex is one of just three UK universities to have received Q-Step Affiliate status, including for our BSc International Business and Entrepreneurship, to support the way we develop the quantitative skills of our graduates.
This means we can provide work placement bursaries to develop your skills in evaluating numerical evidence, analysing data and designing research. We also offer the opportunity to follow a specialised degree path, where you graduate with enhanced quantitative skills. These are evidenced on your degree transcript, to help give you the competitive edge in the graduate job market.
We empower you to take control of your career in business and create ideas, products and services with real value.
Our expert staff
Our academics have a global understanding of business, specialising in both established and developing markets. They are at the forefront of entrepreneurship research and challenges effecting Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and use this knowledge in their teaching to ensure your education is at the cutting-edge of real-world business issues.
Our staff specialise in areas including:
- internationalisation
- innovation
- new product development
- human resource management
- microfinance
- ethics
- social responsibility
- sustainability
At Essex Business School we are home to academic staff who are on the cutting edge of their research areas. Dr Debashree De, one of our undergraduate tutors, is a Lecturer in Supply Chain Management and is passionate about solving sustainability related issues. Her research encompasses green supply chain management, sustainability, low carbon strategies and operations management, meaning that she is able to stimulate our students with relevant and topical debate.
Essex Business School is home to a number of research groups. Our Strategy, Operations and Entrepreneurship Group, based at our Southend Campus, are a group of international researchers with an entrepreneurial focus. This means that your teaching in international business and finance will cover the latest insights from research conducted in partnership with businesses from all over the world.
Specialist facilities
Our BSc International Business and Entrepreneurship is based at our Southend Campus, in the heart of the Thames Gateway, one of the Government’s key areas for economic growth and a fitting location for entrepreneurial study. Essex has the highest number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK, meaning you are ideally located for launching your business or gaining inspiration to take back home.
Southend-on-Sea combines the charms of a traditional seaside resort with the attractions of a vibrant, modern town. The town centre location gives you easy access to transport links, a host of restaurants, bars and shops, and is just a few minutes’ walk from the beach and world-famous mile-long pier. London Southend Airport is 15 minutes by taxi, but you can also reach it in just 5 minutes by train.
We are just an hour’s train journey from London which is, and always has been, a bastion of innovation. It fosters a creative climate with business incubators and accelerators feeding into Europe’s largest concentration of tech companies. 37 percent of Europe’s total unicorn companies are in the capital city which is one of the world’s richest and most open data cities.
When you choose our Southend Campus for your studies, you’ll have access to excellent, dedicated facilities, including:
- 24-hour computer suites and study pods
- extensive library
- employability support, events and initiatives
- study skills advice
- dental practice
- Faith Centre
- our cosy SU Lounge, with pool tables and large-screen TV for socialising and relaxation!
The Hive Enterprise Centre is located close to Campus, providing access to networking events and business meetups that offer finance and marketing support for startups.
Your future
A degree in entrepreneurship can add to your credibility as an innovator or business owner while a clear grasp of international business practises can open the door to global trading opportunities for you and your business.
You can work with our Essex Startups Team to realise your own entrepreneurial ambitions. The Essex Startups team supports students and graduates who are interested in starting their own business and want to discuss, develop, test and launch their ideas. No matter where you are in your startup journey, the team can help you with advice, workshops and tips.”
Many of our graduates go on to set up their own businesses or consult on business practise straight after graduation as Essex Business School prepares you for the world of work from day one.
The BSc International Business and Entrepreneurship curriculum taught here embeds transferable employability skills in analysis, critical thinking, presentation and communication across all modules.
The Study Skills module in year one will develop your academic skills, while the Student Success modules in year two will build on what you learned in year one and so that you can easily step up to meet the growing academic demands of your second and final years. The Successful Futures module in year two will foster your professionalism and introduce you to the graduate recruitment process, including practical advice to excel at interviews and assessment centres.
Recent graduate destinations include:
- Entrepreneur in Residence at Founders Factory – a tech startup business partnering company =”” href=”https://www.teksystems.com/en”>TEKsystems – a data insights and business systems provider
- Associate Professional Business Analyst at DXC Technology” – an end-to-end IT services company
- Delivery Consultant at RED – The Global SAP Solutions Provider – a specialist recruitment firm
The School will support you with a range of skills and careers opportunities, including: skills development workshops; employer talks; skills events and careers conferences.
BSc International Business and Entrepreneurship students can also take advantage of the services offered by the Student Development Team, including: careers advice; work experience; internships; placements; and voluntary opportunities.
Why we’re great
- 90% of our undergraduate students are in employment or further study (Graduate Outcomes 2020).
- Experience innovative teaching methods, including our business simulation game.
- We’re one of just three UK universities to have received Q-Step Affiliate status.
Structure
Course structure
The course structure is designed to reflect the broad nature of a degree in international business and the wide variety of business types falling under entrepreneurship, meaning you study a wide range of modules in all areas of international business and management.
Year zero provides with you the necessary skills and knowledge in order for you to progress onto your chosen area of study. Successful completion of year zero guarantees you entry to the first year of your undergraduate degree course.
In the first year you will cover the fundamentals that every business manager needs to know including topics such as entrepreneurship, economics, accounting, finance, management and marketing. Then in second and final year you will have a mixture of compulsory and optional modules to make the degree your own.
We offer a flexible course structure with a mixture of core/compulsory modules, and optional modules chosen from lists.
Our research-led teaching is continually evolving to address the latest challenges and breakthroughs in the field. The course content is therefore reviewed on an annual basis to ensure our courses remain up-to-date so modules listed are subject to change.
Teaching and learning disclaimer
Following the impact of the pandemic, we made changes to our teaching and assessment to ensure our current students could continue with their studies uninterrupted and safely. These changes included courses being taught through blended delivery, normally including some face-to-face teaching, online provision, or a combination of both across the year.
The teaching and assessment methods listed show what is currently planned for 2022 entry; changes may be necessary if, by the beginning of this course, we need to adapt the way we’re delivering them due to the external environment, and to allow you to continue to receive the best education possible safely and seamlessly.
Teaching
- Teaching includes a combination of lectures, seminars and computer-based lab sessions
- Modules delivered by experts in the field as well as guest speakers
- Contribute and interact in lectures through the use of smart technology
- Lecture presentations and notes are uploaded online beforehand to help you prepare in advance
- Complete your final-year project in consultation with a personal supervisor
Assessment
- Assessed through traditional methods of end-of-year exams and multiple-choice questions in class tests and essays
- Plus more innovative and creative assessments include laboratory work, poster presentations, real-business case problems and group presentations
- Your first year marks do not count towards your final degree
