Study business studies and graduate with a university degree

The Business Studies course at Stirling provides a flexible yet focused learning experience. You will build a strong knowledge base and master the skills and competencies to form a foundation from which managerial expertise can develop throughout your working life. The curriculum develops understanding of the internal functions and structures of organisations. You may also undertake one of a number of combined degree courses that include Business Studies and another subject.

Our teaching staff is international in character and active in various areas of current management research. Research, therefore, informs their teaching, making it relevant to current debates within business.

Year 1

Highers BBBB.
A-levels BBC.
IB Diploma with a total of 32 points.

HNC or HND with Bs in graded units.
Access courses and other UK/EU and international qualifications are also welcomed.

Year 2

A-levels or Advanced Highers ABB to include Business Studies/Management.
HND in related subject with Bs in graded units.

Year 3

Applicants with an HND in Business will be considered on an individual basis with a good academic profile.

General entry requirements apply.

International students can study our Undergraduate Certificate if they do not possess the necessary entrance requirements to be admitted directly to the first year of an undergraduate degree course.

Other information

If examinations are taken over two sittings, or there are repeats or upgrades, the entrance requirements may be higher.

Required subjects

English at Standard Grade (2), Intermediate 2 (C) or GCSE (C) or equivalent.
Mathematics at Standard Grade (3), Intermediate 2 (C) or GCSE (C) or equivalent.
Applicants with English Standard Grade (3) will also be considered, although alternative entry conditions may be made in this case.

information on possible sources of funding

Semesters 1 - 3

You are introduced to the main areas of management and consider the ways in which the behavioural sciences help our understanding of business behaviour and people at work. You are also given a grounding in the analytical techniques that underpin business activity and management.

In addition, students who intend to specialise in Business Studies are encouraged to take modules in related subject areas such as Accountancy, Business Law, Computing Science, Economics, Psychology or Sociology.

Semesters 4 - 8

You will take core advanced modules in Organisational Behaviour, International Business, Information Technology, Management Strategy and Organisational Research plus at least one from Human Resource Management, Management Science, and Public Management and Administration. You may then pursue one of these areas in more depth or choose from the broader range of options available.

Option modules include:

• Business and Society in Europe
• Business in East Asia
• New Public Management
• Growing your own Business
• Launching a New Venture
• People Management
• Employment Relations
  
• Learning and Development
• Management and the Environment
• Project Management
• Business Improvement

Teaching is by lectures, tutorials, seminars and practical 'hands-on' sessions. In the advanced modules, great emphasis is placed on the acquisition of skills as well as knowledge. You will deliver presentations in varying formats and formality, helping you to acquire the skills to present yourself as a competent and accomplished individual. Essays and reports help you develop effective written communication skills and the ability to argue a point of view effectively. A variety of seminar formats and projects also allow you to perfect your ability to work in teams.

Finally, the dissertation in the final year lets you conduct research in a business or public sector organisation and apply your academic knowledge to a problem encountered there.

(For a Combined Honours degree the higher entrance requirements of the subjects usually apply.)

You have the opportunity to study abroad through Stirling's well-established connections with several international universities.

Business Studies graduates are well-placed for management careers in many sectors of the economy. Our graduates have gone on to careers in communications, banking, insurance, human resources, information management, advertising, retailing, international trade and research and development. Some of our graduates continue their education with postgraduate study.