Business and Management with a Year Abroad (BA (Hons))

Kent Business School (KBS) is a leading UK business school for academic teaching, student satisfaction and graduate employment prospects. Within this community, you can learn how to challenge assumptions and think creatively. There are many opportunities to develop your skills and learn how to analyse business problems and identify solutions. You also gain valuable business and management experience during your year in industry. Kent Business School provides a friendly, student-focused environment, which helps you to make the most of your studies. Located in a historic dockyard, our newly converted teaching space allows you to benefit from up-to-date facilities within an attractive setting. As a student at Kent Business School, you also have the opportunity to gain the Chartered Management Institute’s (CMI) Level 5 Professional Certificate in Management and Leadership alongside your degree. Our degree programme On this degree programme, you learn about the theories, methodologies and applications of academic knowledge relevant to the business world. Taught by leading experts from business and professions, management principles are brought to life through practical case studies as well as live research and consultancy projects. Our degree is flexible: the wide range of options allow you to tailor your degree to your interests – whether that’s marketing, operations, human resource management or running your own business. There is also a specialist pathway in retail for students interested in building a career in that sector. Year abroad You spend a year between Stages 2 and 3 at one of our worldwide approved partner universities. For a full list, please see Go Abroad. Places are subject to availability, language and degree programme. It is possible to take this programme without the addition of a Year Abroad. See Business and Management. You can take Business and Management with a Year in Industry. Exchange partners Kent Business School has excellent links with business schools globally, including in China, the USA, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden and Italy. Our wide array of exchange partners give you the opportunity to gain international experience. Our partners are committed to enhancing their international outlook while providing excellent teaching. You will gain invaluable work experience, develop your understanding of a new culture and improve your language skills. Our exchange partners include these top-ranked institutions amongst others: University of Technology, SydneyRenmin University of China, School of BusinessUniversity of Hong KongESSECNeoma Business SchoolFreie Universitat BerlinUniversity of FlorenceIE Madrid UniversityStockholm Business SchoolGeorgetown University Extra activities Alongside your studies, you can discover how to turn your idea into a successful business at our ASPIRE centre, which provides practical advice and support, and runs our Business Start-up Journey initiative. You are welcome to attend special events put on by Kent Business School; this allows you to interact directly with the business community. In previous years, events and schemes have included: workshops and seminars business challenges enterprise initiatives, including the Business Start-Up Journey networking events. You also have the chance to get involved with student-run societies such as Kent Business and Kent Enterprise. Their previous activities include inviting guest speakers from industry and providing support for budding student entrepreneurs. Professional network At Kent Business School, we pride ourselves on the strength of our global connections, which include: Bank of England BBC Barclays Cummins IBM KPMG Kent County Council. Kent Business School also has excellent links with business schools globally, including in China, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Spain, Finland and Italy.

We use a variety of teaching methods, including lectures, case-study analysis, group projects and presentations, and computer-based packages. You have approximately 12 hours of class time per week and regular access to an academic adviser for advice on any matter concerning your studies or your performance on the course.

Assessment is by a mixture of coursework and end-of-module examinations, with the examinations normally counting for up to 60-70% of the marks for each module.

Knowledge and understanding

You gain knowledge and understanding of:

• organisations, their environments and their management, including of people, operations, finance, marketing and organisational strategy
• social science concepts and theories and the ability to apply them to business and management contexts
• contemporary and pervasive issues, deepening and/or integrating core knowledge
• European and international developments relevant to management
• the processes, procedures and practices for effective management of organisations, including theories, models, frameworks, tasks and roles, together with rational analysis and processes of decision making within organisations and in relation to the external environment
• markets, customers, finance, people, operations, information systems, communication and IT, business policy and strategy, and contemporary and pervasive issues.

Intellectual Skills

You develop the ability to:

• critically evaluate arguments and evidence
• analyse and draw reasoned conclusions concerning structured and unstructured problems
• apply core numeracy and IT skills to problems.

Subject-specific skills

You develop the ability to:

• identify, formulate and solve business/decision-making problems using appropriate qualitative and quantitative tools
• create, evaluate and assess options, in a range of business situations, applying concepts and knowledge appropriately
• communicate effectively, orally and in writing, about business issues
• apply core numeracy and IT skills to business problems
• conduct research into business/management issues for project work, using a variety of Sources and appropriate methodologies that inform the learning process.

Transferable skills

You develop the ability to:

• identify and make effective use of information from various sources to assess ideas
• be an effective self-manager of time, so as to plan and deliver required outputs productively
• communicate effectively, orally and in writing, using appropriate media
• work in groups and apply other interpersonal skills
• apply numeracy and IT skills appropriately.

The programme aims to:

• develop an understanding of a broad range of management functions and their integration, and the critical examination of management practice
• prepare students for a career in business and management
• bring critical insights from the social sciences to bear on management issues
• provide a sound academic base from which students may continue to benefit from formal and informal management education and experiential learning
• provide a curriculum that enhances further study opportunities and student employability
• develop and maintain contacts with local employers via work placement and other programmes
• provide teaching and learning opportunities that are responsive to, and supportive of, the needs of our individual students
• develop an understanding of key concepts, skills and techniques within the field of business and management, and appreciate how these are applied in the world of work.
• provide a highly supportive environment for students
• maintain high standards of academic rigour, currency and innovation
• develop key skills in numeracy, communication, financial and computer literacy.