Marketing - BSc (Hons)
with a Year in Industry

This is an archived course for 2021 entry
2023 courses

Are you looking to pursue a successful career in marketing? Accredited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), the programme prepares you for your future career as a marketer, providing the skills, knowledge and experience to make an immediate impact.

Overview

Marketing graduates have excellent employment prospects and pursue careers across a variety of sectors, where roles include marketing manager, brand manager and SEO Specialist. Marketing at Kent was ranked 9th overall and 2nd for graduate prospects in The Complete University Guide 2021.

Marketing is a core business function and essential to the success of businesses operating in a highly competitive environment. As a marketing student as Kent Business School, you develop the essential skills needed to thrive as a successful marketer.

On this programme, you gain in-depth marketing knowledge and understanding of the core theories, practices and techniques of marketing in a global context. Alongside your marketing specialism, you will explore sustainable innovation and responsible management practices and the changing international environment in which companies operate.

Our BSc Marketing degree programme

Studying Marketing at Kent, you gain analytical and strategic skills needed to evaluate marketing scenarios critically and make informed strategic decisions. You are given a detailed introduction to marketing in a global context and explore topics such as digital marketing, branding and green marketing. You also study modules covering accounting, financial and business ethics, demonstrating how marketing fits into the wider business context.

On our flexible programme, you take a broad range of compulsory modules in your first year. You then select from a variety of options in your second and third year, and can even choose to deepen your knowledge of an aspect of through a research-led project.

You will have excellent opportunities to experience marketing in action through hands-on experience via in-class live case studies from our visiting speakers, enterprise challenges and company visits. You will also have an opportunity to gain entrepreneurial and life skills that enable you to accelerate your innovative thinking into practice.

Experiential Learning

Kent provides a variety of employability opportunities for students during their studies. These range from short-term company internship opportunities to, voluntary work with local charities and University Business Societies. The central Careers and Employability Service also offers an exciting Employability Points Scheme.

In addition to this, Kent Business School specialised team of Employability experts provides support to all our students in personalised 1:1 meetings as well as online support via the Employability blog. Unique to KBS, our Alumni have access to all employability support for three years after their graduation.

Gain 1-Year long professional experience: Year in industry

You have the option to take this programme with a year of professional experience, in the UK or internationally. You are supported by our dedicated in-house Employability and Placements team to identify, secure and enjoy your placement year.

For more details, see Marketing with a Year in Industry.

You don’t have to make a decision before you enrol at Kent but certain conditions will apply.

For more information, see Programme Structure and Career sections.

Extra Activities

In addition to your studies, our students can discover how to turn their ideas into a successful business at our ASPIRE centre, which provides practical advice and support to all entrepreneurially minded students, and runs our Business Start-up Journey initiative.

Many of our students get involved with societies including the Kent Marketing Society, which in previous years has organised:

  • Social events
  • Talks from industry leaders including Becky Sims (CEO, Reflect Digital) and Emmanuel Enemokwu (JehuCal founder).
  • Networking events
  • Workshops

An Outstanding Student Experience

“The course has a real community feel; we’re all in this together!” Abbie, BSc Marketing Student (Stage 3)

Kent Business School is dedicated to ensuring a positive experience for all our students, from induction to graduation, and beyond. As a Student Success school, we are committed to championing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion, and warmly welcome students from all backgrounds. Your experience is central to what we do, so we will listen to you every step of the way, through our robust Student Voice processes and mechanisms.

Alongside a world-class teaching and educational experience, KBS delivers a wide-ranging package of support, designed to ensure that you can maximise your time with us:

  • Every student is allocated an Academic Adviser from our highly skilled academic staff team, who will meet with you individually to give you personalised guidance on your academic journey with KBS.
  • Our dedicated Student Support Team, led by the Senior Tutor, are on-hand throughout term time and during vacations to provide confidential, sensitive, pastoral support and guidance to our students.
  • Academic Peer Mentors, recruited from the School’s most experienced undergraduate students, are available to help you to navigate your course and the modules that they themselves have sat, giving you insider access to someone who knows what it is like to study on your course.

About School

Our School is proud to be in the top 1% of business schools globally to hold accreditations from three large business organisations:

Our programmes offer world-class business education enabling transformative learning experiences built around the School’s fundamental values of sustainable innovation and responsible management practice. Our students are at the heart of all considerations and through engaging teaching, world-class research, professional partnerships and an international community, we create an exciting atmosphere in which to learn and thrive.

All of our programmes at Kent Business School address the challenges of modern global business and we aim to meet industry demands of producing quality graduates by ensuring we unlock our students’ potential, expand their thinking and nurture their talent.

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Entry requirements

Please also see our general entry requirements.

  • medal-empty

    A level

    ABB-BBB

  • medal-empty GCSE

    Mathematics grade 4 / C and English grade 4 / C.

  • medal-empty Access to HE Diploma

    The University will not necessarily make conditional offers to all Access candidates but will continue to assess them on an individual basis. 

    If we make you an offer, you will need to obtain/pass the overall Access to Higher Education Diploma and may also be required to obtain a proportion of the total level 3 credits and/or credits in particular subjects at merit grade or above.

  • medal-empty BTEC Nationals

    Distinction, Distinction, Merit in Business. Other subjects will be considered on a case-by-case basis

  • medal-empty International Baccalaureate

    34 points overall or 16 points at HL including Mathematics 4 at HL or SL

  • medal-empty International Foundation Programme

    Pass all components of the University of Kent International Foundation Programme with a 60% overall average (plus 50% in LZ013 Maths and Statistics if you do not hold GCSE Maths at 4/C or equivalent).

International students should visit our International Student website for further specific information. International fee-paying students who require a Student visa cannot study part-time due to visa restrictions.

English Language Requirements

Please see our English language entry requirements web page.

If you need to improve your English language standard as a condition of your offer, you can attend one of our pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes before starting your degree programme. You attend these courses before starting your degree programme.

Course structure

Duration: 4 years full-time

The course structure provides a sample of the modules currently available for this programme. Most programmes require you to study a combination of compulsory and optional modules. You may also have the option to take ‘elective’ modules from other programmes offered by the University in order that you may explore other subject areas of interest to you or that may  further enhance your employability.

The following modules are offered to our current students. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation:

Stage 1

Your first year is a compulsory introductory year, designed to provide you with a solid foundation in the understanding of business practices and their related functions, including topics such as accounting, finance, and marketing.

Compulsory modules currently include

The module introduces students to theories of management beginning with classical management perspectives through to contemporary management concepts. It will illustrate the continuities and transformations in management thinking throughout the 20th and 21st century. The main topics of study include: Scientific Management; Human Relations Approach; Bureaucracy and Post-Bureaucracy; The Contingency Approach; Culture Management; Leadership; Aesthetic Labour; Extreme Management.

Find out more about BUSN3120

The module will cover various aspects of the changing international business environment, and their impact upon business operations and strategy. It will give students an appreciation of the business difficulties faced; the variety of factors influencing the choices and compromises that have to be made in international businesses, and the implications of those for the future viability and effectiveness of the organisations concerned.

An indicative list of topics is given below:

1. Globalisation

2. External environment in a cross-border context

3. Introduction to international trade

4. Introduction to international investment

5. Global finance

6. Technology,Innovation and sustainability

7. Introduction to international entrepreneurship

8. Social responsibility and ecological environment

9. Challenges, risks and change

10. variety of geopolitical country contexts

Find out more about BUSN3430

An indicative set of topics to be covered within the module are outlined below.

• Basic Spreadsheet Functionalities: Introduction to common spreadsheet features: workbooks, worksheets, menus, cells, rows, columns, data types, relative and absolute cell addressing, copying, basic formulae, naming cells, formatting, charts and graphs, printing.

• Data Management Facilities: sorting, filtering, data forms, pivot tables.

• What-If Analysis: scenario manager, goal seek, data tables.

• Basic Financial Analysis: Introduction to basic financial analysis and how to carry this out using spreadsheets: compound interest, discounting, NPV, IRR, loans and mortgages.

• Advanced Spreadsheet Functionalities: automating tasks and solving simple optimisation business problems.

Find out more about BUSN3640

The module will begin with an introduction to the link between business and accounting in order to show the value to the students of their having some knowledge of accounting. The module is designed to teach students how to prepare, read and interpret financial information with a view to their being future business managers rather than accountants.

The module will continue with a brief demonstration of double-entry bookkeeping. Students will not be examined on this, it is merely to put bookkeeping and accounting in context. Following on from this, students will be shown how to prepare financial statements from a trial balance and make adjustments to the figures given by acting on information given in a short scenario.

The regulatory framework of financial reporting will be considered as will the annual reports and accounts of a variety of organisations. The module will finish will an analysis of financial statements with students shown how to interpret data and make sensible recommendations

Find out more about BUSN3690

The module introduces to students the importance of marketing in competitive and dynamic environments.

The key indicative topics of the module are:

• The marketing role and concept

• Auditing the marketing environment as part of the marketing planning process

• Market segmentation, targeting and positioning

• Brand development and management

• Management of the marketing mix

o Product; including new product development and the marketing of services

o Pricing

o Promotion; including digital media, advertising, sales promotion, publicity, PR, personal sales

o Place

o Extended marketing mix; including people, physical evidence and process

• Ethical issues in marketing

Find out more about BUSN3700

This module provides fundamental knowledge of a range of business organisations, business purpose, ownership types and stakeholder influence. It further introduces organisational structures, functional areas and the impact of the external environment on business. Furthermore, this module introduces the many factors that shape the nature of organisations operating in an increasingly complex business environment such as innovation, internationalisation, entrepreneurship, and sustainability. Module participants explore this dynamic nature of business and consider successful existence within modern organisations through studying and applying employability skills such as leadership, teamwork, and resilience.

Find out more about BUSN3910

This module aims to develop an understanding of the digital marketing environment and introduce the impact that digital technology has had on marketing activity and customers. It also aims to develop an understanding of the range of digital marketing tools available to marketers and how they can be used to develop marketing content.

Indicative topics are:

• Evolution of Digital Technologies in marketing

• Organisation and governance of the internet

• Digital platforms available to Marketers and how they engage with different customers

• Digitalisation and implications for consumer behaviour

• Digital brand management

• The main elements in the digital marketing toolbox

• How digital marketing tools can be used with a range of different customers

• Overview of different content options for Digital Marketing tools

• Key steps for producing successful Digital marketing content.

Find out more about BUSN4020

This module introduces students to economics in its two main components, microeconomics and macroeconomics. The module is designed to explain the main ways in which economists think about economic problems faced by individuals, firms, markets and governments. The module emphasises the use of basic economic concepts to business analysis.

The first part of the module focuses on explaining a selection of basic microeconomic topics including, the behaviour of individuals and firms; demand and supply of goods and services and determination of prices; costs in the short and long term and market structures. The second part aims to introduce the core of macroeconomic topics; for instance, macroeconomic objectives and trade-offs; unemployment; inflation; international trade; balance of payments and exchange rates; and the main types of economic policies that are implemented by governments. The attention is to understand the relevance of macroeconomics topics (e.g. interest rates, exchange rates, etc.) to business.

The module is self-contained to provide a basic understanding of simple economic concepts and debates. It is a suitable module for students interested in taking economics further, either as part of another degree programme or as part of a future professional qualification.

Find out more about ECON3130

Stage 2

Your second year allows you to develop your critical understanding of marketing, developing skills in marketing strategy, branding, marketing research and analysis, plus the opportunity to apply theory to practice.

Compulsory modules currently include

This module aims to provide students with understanding and experience of the theory and practice of marketing research. During the module students design and implement a marketing research plan, design a questionnaire, collect and analyse data, prepare an oral presentation and write a marketing research report.

The main topics of study are as follows:

• Introduction to marketing research: Defining and designing marketing research projects

• Understanding data: Secondary data and databases

• Primary data collection techniques.

• Questionnaire design

• Measurement and measurement scales and error.

• Sampling and sample design and error

• Entering and coding data with SPSS

• Data analysis techniques

• Communicating the results of marketing research.

Find out more about BUSN5450

This module aims to develop a critical understanding of the role of digital marketing in modern organisations. The module considers what digital marketing strategy means looking at a range of examples across business sectors. Core areas are looked at including the technologies which make digital marketing possible, the relationship between digital marketing strategies and the wider organisation, the key issues in the development and implementation of digital marketing strategies and the threats, security and other, posed by digital marketing.

Some topics are:

Enabling technologies for e-commerce: The Digital Marketing Environment, Digital Marketing Strategy; The Internet and the World Wide Web; Mobile platforms; Dot com and multi-channel; Social Media and Web 2.0; Database and data warehouses; Web site design and management; Marketplaces; B2B Digital Marketing; Business Models and Innovation.

Find out more about BUSN5870

Business ethics and sustainability are central to contemporary management and thus this module will explore the following topics:

• History, definitions and timeline of society's view on business ethics and sustainability

• Cross-disciplinary approaches to ethics and sustainability

• Role of globalisation, policy and culture

• Ethics and ethical dilemmas

• Change Management, Values, Governance and Leadership

• Sustainable Business Models

• Social Innovation

• Partnerships and collaboration

• Responsible Supply Chain Management

• Environmental Assessment Frameworks and Sustainable Management in practice

• Sustainable Supply Chain Management

• Innovation and creativity

• The role and responses of Corporations, SMEs, Public and not-for-profit organisations

Find out more about BUSN7330

This module introduces students to core theories about brand, branding and brand management as well as contemporary issues related to branding and brand management. It is based around understanding what brand, branding, and brand management are and illustrating effective brand management practices through a systematic and strategic branding process. This module will include:

• Introduction to Brand and Branding

• Brand positioning and values

• Brand loyalty and brand equity

• Plan and build brand equity

• Brand performance

• New products and brand extensions

• Manage brand over time

Find out more about BUSN7350

This module introduces students to core concepts and theories about consumer behaviour, including individual and organisational perspectives. It is based around understanding the critical application of sociological, economic, socio-psychological and psychological concepts to and theories to consumption.

Indicative topics are:

• Consumer Research Philosophies: What is a consumer?

• Culture: Components of Culture, myths and rituals

• Marketplace cultures

• Dark Consumption and Ethical Consumption

• Personality, Identity and the Self

• Motivational Theories

• Learning Theories

• Organisational Buying Behaviour

Find out more about BUSN7380

The module introduces to students the importance of marketing in competitive and dynamic environments.

• Introduction to strategic marketing – corporate vs. marketing strategies

• Identify and assess marketing ethics dilemmas

• Auditing the external and the internal environments

• Marketing information

• Identifying consumer and business segments

• Formulating marketing goals and specific objectives

• Developing a marketing plan for a commercial or a social organization

• Define adequate control and performance indicators to control the marketing plan

Find out more about BUSN7580

The module helps prepare students to acquire and develop the employability and transferable skills necessary to search and successfully apply for work experience and graduate opportunities in the commercial and public sector and postgraduate study.

The curriculum builds on employability support offered at Stage 1 providing intermediate level knowledge and exercises in application writing, CVs, careers advice, interview and assessment centre techniques, numeracy and competency tests, and psychometric evaluation.

Find out more about BUSN7900

Optional modules may include

The law affects the commercial world in many ways. This module focuses on the importance of law in governing transactions between individuals and businesses; what is required for legally compliant contracts; what the law expects of organisations in terms of protecting the consumer, and how businesses manage and avoid disputes. By enabling students to become familiar with those parts of the law they are most likely to encounter in their careers and in business the module helps them better understand the obligations that parties have to each other in law.

Indicative topic areas are:

• The English Legal System

• The Legal Process and Dispute Resolution

• Law of Contract – including:

• Formation

• Contract terms

• Vitiating elements, including misrepresentation and economic duress

• Performance and discharge of contract, including frustration

• Breach of contract

• Common law and equitable remedies, including damages

• Consumer Protection

Find out more about BUSN3012

This module will introduce students to the key concepts of managing people involving and examination of organisational, management and human resource management theory and practice. This will be achieved through relating relevant theory to practical people and organisational management issues.

The key topics of the module are:

• The nature of human resource management

• Motivation in the workplace

• Work organisation, job design and flexible working

• Groups and team working

• Diversity in the workplace

• Recruitment & selection

• Learning and development

• Employee Involvement and participation

• Employee performance and reward

• Ethical HRM

Find out more about BUSN5013

The law affects the commercial world in many ways. This module focuses on how businesses fulfil their legal obligations to customers, suppliers and their workforce. As well as exploring how businesses are structured and the duties on directors and partners it also considers the legal obligations individuals and organisations have over those to whom they have a duty of care. The module further covers the main laws governing the employment of staff and contractors. By applying the law to real-world business situations students are able to fine-tune their problem solving skills, and their ability to construct well-reasoned and persuasive arguments.

Indicative topics are:

The English Legal System, Legal Process, Dispute Resolution and the impact of European Union Law in the UK;

Law of Negligence – including general principles and negligent misstatement;

Law of Business Organisations - classification of business organisations; main principles applying to general and limited liability partnerships and registered companies, and directors' duties;

Employment Law - the general scope of the legal obligations owed by employers to employees, including the employment contract, discrimination and dismissal.

Find out more about BUSN5016

Students will be expected to develop the ability to use appropriate techniques of analysis and enquiry within Operations and Service Management and to learn how to evaluate the alternatives and make recommendations. Topics include:

• The nature of services and service strategy

• Service development and technology

• Service quality and the service encounter

• Project/Event management and control

• Managing capacity and demand in services

• Managing inventories

Find out more about BUSN5200

This module provides a critical introduction to the main theories and debates in International Business and uses these theoretical lenses to explain core phenomena in international business.

• Explaining international economic transactions (trade theories, national competitiveness)

• Explaining the existence of MNEs (internalisation theory, eclectic theory, monopolistic advantages)

• Explaining the coevolution of environment and MNEs (institutional theory, resource dependence theory, evolutionary theory, investment development path, product life cycle theory)

• Explaining the growth and decline of MNEs (stages model, market entry/expansion modes)

Find out more about BUSN6005

This module is designed to provide students across the university with access to knowledge, skill development and training in the field of entrepreneurship with a special emphasis on developing a business plan in order to exploit identified opportunities. Hence, the module will be of value for students who aspire to establishing their own business and/or introducing innovation through new product, service, process, project or business development in an established organisation. The module complements students' final year projects in Computing, Law, Biosciences, Electronics, Multimedia, and Drama etc.

Find out more about BUSN6120

This module presents an overview of what workforce diversity is and its relevance and usefulness in improving our understanding and management of people (including ourselves) at work. The demographics of the population and the workplace are changing drastically because of a number of factors, such as an increasing number of ethnic minorities and women in the workforce and in management. Accordingly, there is a need to effectively understand and manage workforce diversity not only to increase organisational business outcomes but also to create an inclusive workplace in a socially responsible manner.

The module will examine issues confronting managers of a diverse workforce. In particular issues such as ethnicity, race, language, ageing, disability, gender, and intersectional identities will be discussed. Two key approaches towards managing diversity will be explained, i.e. the social equity case of managing diversity, and the business benefits case of managing diversity. The module will explore a range of diversity related concepts and topics, such as social identity, stereotyping, discrimination, intergroup conflict, structural integration, and organisational change.

Indicative topics are:

• Origins of diversity and equal opportunity in the workplace context;

• Social and psychological perspectives on workplace diversity;

• The UK and European diversity contexts;

• Business benefits case and social equity case of managing diversity;

• The legal framework for diversity;

• Organisational approaches to diversity;

• Contemporary issues central to the experiences of diverse individuals in the UK and in organisations across a range of diversity dimensions;

• Diversity management in an international context

Find out more about BUSN6580

The module provides a broad, basic understanding of strategy and strategic management, on which further strategic analysis and exploration of strategic issues can be built. It introduces students to the key vocabulary, concepts and frameworks of strategic management and establishes criteria for assessing whether or not a strategy can be successful. It introduces students to frameworks for analysing the external and internal environments and to different theories of how these relate and of their impact on strategy formulation and implementation.

Students will learn how to identify strategic issues, develop strategic options to address them and decide which option(s) to recommend. Through theoretical readings and case studies, students will develop an appreciation of strategy in different contexts and from different perspectives and of the complexity of strategic decision-making. Students will enhance their ability to read business articles from a strategic perspective and to present strategic arguments in a structured manner

Find out more about BUSN6760

The aim of this module is to provide students with in-depth knowledge about the accounting and control systems businesses use for making managerial decisions. In particular, the module focuses on profit planning decisions and it gives students a thoughtful understanding of the functioning and range of financial controls managers use for making profit planning decisions, related to both the business as a whole and its segments. Students are expected to conduct a management project: they will prepare a business plan that takes into account strategic, marketing and financial aspects. The module also enables students to know how to use accounting and control tools to assess business performance, provide feedback and give recommendations for improvements aimed to create more socially responsible and sustainable businesses. As such, this module is core to the degree program, because it gives an introduction to three key areas: managerial decision making, performance management and organisational financial management.

Find out more about BUSN6770

This module will explore more advanced management and organisational theory to facilitate students' examination of the challenges that face managers in contemporary organisations. As well as considering these challenges from a mainstream managerial perspective, the module will also draw on the perspective of critical management studies as a means of providing an alternative viewpoint on contemporary management issues. Indicative areas to be covered may include:

• Identity in organisations and how the construction and performance of it requires managers to cope with existential challenges around anxiety and freedom.

• The uses and abuses of managerial power and the inequality and insecurity that comes with it.

• Neoliberal capitalism and its various consequences for organisational life.

• Pressures to make organisations more sustainable, socially responsible, equal, diverse, and fair.

• Organisational cultures based on entrepreneurialism.

• The performance of gender in organisations.

• New organisational forms and their emphasis on Speed.

• The intensification of the control of Bodies, Spaces, and Time in contemporary organisations.

Find out more about BUSN6780

Making decisions is one of the most important things any manager or business must do. Making smart decisions, however, can be extremely difficult due the complexity and uncertainty involved. Decision Analysis (DA) provides a structured and coherent approach to decision making. It involves a wide range of quantitative and graphical methods for identifying, representing, and assessing alternatives in order to determine a best course of action. DA is regularly employed by many leading companies in the pharmaceutical, oil and gas, utilities, automotive, and financial services sectors. In this module, you learn about the basic concepts of DA and how to apply it in a variety of practical business planning situations.

Find out more about BUSN6880

The module aims to provide a critical understanding of the challenges of managing creativity and innovation within contemporary organisations. The experience of work and employment, management practices are affected by rapid technological change, intensifying global competition and changing demographic profiles and values of the work force. Contemporary organisations are pressurised to tackle these developments through creativity, innovation and new organisational forms. This module examines the nature, antecedents, processes and consequences of creativity and innovation and their complex links with organisation, while also exploring major social and technological changes relating these to organisational creativity and innovation. Students will be introduced to the main concepts and theories on creativity, innovation and organisation through readings and discussions of the main themes and debates in the field. Case studies will be used to illustrate how these concepts are connected together and how they could impact upon management decision making within contemporary organisations. Students will be encouraged to explore some of the most notable historical and contemporary shifts in media and technology and discover how new organisational forms and methods have been devised to exploit them. They will develop awareness for the cross-fertilisation between disciplines in analyzing the dynamics of creativity, innovation and organisation and their complex relationships.

Topics include:

• Conceptual foundations of creativity, innovation and organisation

• Personality and individual creativity

• Organisational creativity and innovation

• Cognition, knowledge and creativity

• Models and processes of innovation

• Organisational culture and systems for supporting creativity and innovation

• Leadership and entrepreneurship

• Creative organisations across fields/ industries

• Socio-technological change and new forms of organisation.

Find out more about BUSN7440

This module offers a critical analysis of how multinationals select their target markets and modes of entry and how they manage their various functions in an international context, balancing the needs for global integration and local responsiveness respectively.

• Managing the internationalisation process

• Country selection

• Choosing and designing entry modes

• Managing collaborative arrangements

• International marketing

• International human resource management

• International supply chain management

• International finance

• Research and development in an international perspective

• Managing multinationals using electronic commerce

• Managing multinationals responsively

Find out more about BUSN7490

This module presents an overview of what work psychology is and its relevance and usefulness in improving our understanding and management of people (including ourselves) at work. Many work places operate sophisticated and expensive systems for assessing the costs and benefits of various workplace elements but often do not extend this to the management of employees. This module aims to demonstrate the benefits of having a comprehensive understanding of the role psychology can play in the management of people in contemporary organizations. Indicative content includes:

• Work psychology

• Individual differences and psychometrics

• Best practice personnel selection

• Stress and well-being

• Motivation

• Stereotypes and group behaviour

• Leadership and diversity

• The dark side of personality

• Political behaviour in the workplace

• The psychology of entrepreneurs

• Using work psychology to enhance employability

Find out more about BUSN7510

International and Comparative Human Resource Management aims to provide an analysis of the HRM systems in seven countries: USA, Germany, Sweden, France, Italy, China and India. Students will be introduced to the main concepts and theories through readings and discussions of the main authors in the field.

Within a broad historical context, an international comparative approach will be adopted to consider the development of the relationship between national governments, employers and trade unions. This will include an investigation of the development and decline of employment relations systems and the emergence of human resource management.

Find out more about BUSN7530

Students will be expected to develop the ability to use appropriate techniques of analysis and enquiry within Operations Management and to learn how to evaluate alternatives and make recommendations. Topics are likely to include:

• Strategic role of operations and operations strategy

• Design of processes and the implications for layout and flow

• Design and management of supply networks in national and international contexts

• Resource planning and management

• Lean systems

• Quality planning and managing improvement

Find out more about BUSN7860

The aim of this hands-on and highly practical module is to introduce students to the power of data intelligence in transforming the way businesses operate. Students will learn how to develop a successful big data strategy and deliver organisational performance improvements through the use of data analytics. Students will have hands-on exercises primarily based on spreadsheet tools such as Excel and will gain a basic knowledge of coding tools such as Python.

Indicative topics covered in the module include: business intelligence principles, data visualisation and dashboards, data warehouse and integration, artificial intelligence in business applications, big data, social network analysis, text mining, and participatory approaches for problem structuring.

Students will be exposed to a variety of case studies which demonstrate how pervasive data intelligence and analytics have become in every industry and sector, including examples from supply chain management, transport, marketing, finance, healthcare, and human resources. By the end of the module, students will have an understanding of how specific companies use big data and a grasp of the actionable steps and resources required to utilise data effectively.

Find out more about BUSN7980

Year in industry

All students spend a year in industry in the UK or internationally, supported by a dedicated Employability and Placement teams. The programme is designed to ensure that students gain experience in the functional areas and industries of their choice. For students taking one of the specialist pathways, our strategic partnerships provide opportunities for placements in specific areas.

Unique to KBS, students can take a Self-Employed Placement year during which they develop their initial business idea into a feasible business plan. The ‘Selfie’ programme students are supported by an in-house entrepreneur who acts as their specialist mentor.

The placement allows you to experience, first hand, many of the issues addressed in the taught programme and to use the tools, techniques and applications in a real business setting. It will become a vital component of your CV and will give you a distinct advantage over other business graduates.

Compulsory modules currently include

The Year in Industry to which the module relates provides a structured opportunity to combine appropriate developmental work experience or entrepreneurial activity with academic study. The Year in Industry experience allows students to develop and reflect on managerial and / or professional practice in real and often complex situations, and to integrate this with the study of the relevant subject(s) of their main programme. Where relevant, they develop, reinforce and apply professional and / or technical expertise in an employment or entrepreneurial context.

The ability to integrate this work based learning with the modules of Stages 1, 2 and 3 is a high level cognitive task. The particular combination of the student's degree programme and choice of modules together with the great variety of increasingly diverse Year in Industry situations make the "curriculum" of each Year in Industry unique. The unifying features, with which the project for this module is concerned are integration of theory and practice, and the development of the student as an independent learner and reflective practitioner.

This background is why the report for the module has to be linked to the Year in Industry portfolio.

The assembly, content and organisation of this activity are assessed in BUSN6990 Year in Industry Experience. This module assesses how effectively the student can use this to demonstrate integration of theory and practice, self-assessment of achieved learning and reflection on this.

Find out more about BUSN6980

The Year in Industry experience provides you with a structured opportunity to combine work experience or entrepreneurial activity with academic study.

The Year in Industry allows students to develop and reflect on managerial and/or professional practice in real and often complex situations, and to integrate this with the study of the relevant subject(s) of your main degree programme.

Where relevant, students develop, reinforce and apply professional and/or technical expertise in an employment or entrepreneurial context. The placement portfolio requires students to document their experiences in relation to both their university studies as well as to a wide range of employability skills.

In addition, the portfolio allows demonstration of professional development through the collection and presentation of relevant evidence.

To be able to undertake this module it is necessary for the student to secure a placement or to have validated a Business Start-Up during Stage 2.

The Business Start-Up should build on the student's planned business activity as developed and validated by the ASPIRE Business Start-Up Journey.

The particular combination of the student’s degree programme and choice of modules together with the great variety of increasingly diverse Year in Industry situations make the "curriculum" of the Year in Industry essentially unique.

This module documents and assesses the evidence of Year in Industry learning being achieved.

Find out more about BUSN6990

Stage 3

Your final year has a greater focus on capstone marketing modules such as new product marketing, digital marketing applications and marketing communications with the opportunity to undertake a marketing management project.

Compulsory modules currently include

This module will introduce students to the key concepts, theories and issues involved in international marketing. In doing so it will enable students to understand how to identify and evaluate opportunities in international markets and assess the different market entry modes available to companies. In addition students will consider the need to adapt marketing mix elements for different international markets. Indicative topics of study are as follows:

• Introduction to international marketing: Definitions, theories, approaches and motives.

• International Marketing Research

• Assessing international markets: The political and economic environment

• Assessing international markets: The Sociocultural environment

• Theories and frameworks for International market evaluation and selection

• Market entry modes: export, intermediate and hierarchical

• International marketing plans and strategy: Segmentation, targeting and positioning

• Designing the global marketing mix: Product, pricing, communication and distribution decisions

Find out more about BUSN5440

The module will provide students with the tools of marketing communications. Specifically students taking this module will be able to evaluate strengths and weakness of marketing communications channels. Over the course of a term the module will provide students with an understanding of the principles, methods and strategies of marketing communications. The main tools of marketing communications will be discussed as well as their suitability and effectiveness:

Topics may cover:

• The communications process

• Advertising

• Strategy and media planning

• Image, brand management and packaging

• Direct marketing

• Digital and interactive media

• Sales promotion, merchandising and point of sale

• Public relations and corporate identity

• Exhibitions, trade shows, product placement and sponsorship

• Personal selling

Find out more about BUSN5460

The module looks at how digital marketing applications can be used by modern organisations. The module considers the fundamental technologies that support digital marketing along with the regulatory and societal challenges that must be taken into account, for example, privacy and data protection. The methods available to attract customers through digital marketing are covered making a distinction between paid methods, such as sponsored search, and non-paid methods, such as an organisation's own social media assets. Issues around loyalty are considered especially in the context of falling search costs which enable customers to switch providers.

The unique nature of digital products, for example music downloads or video streaming, are outlined with the marketing challenges and opportunities this presents. The module stresses the importance of implementation, using applied examples, and the uncertainty involved.

Indicative topics are: The digital marketing environment; Enabling technologies for digital marketing; Website design, implementation and analysis; Social media; Social commerce; Customers in the Internet age: knowing, reaching & retaining the customer; Network effects and versioning; Loyalty, Customer Relationship Management and Data Mining; E-Marketing campaigns; Brands in the Internet age; Data protection, privacy and legal issues; Digital marketing and globalisation

Find out more about BUSN6020

This module allows students to extend their knowledge and understanding of innovation and new product marketing. It is based around conceptual understanding of what a new product is and illustrating effective new product marketing practices through a systematic new product marketing process. Indicative topics are:

• New Products Marketing and Innovation

• New Product Strategies

• Models on New Product Development

• Market Research and its Influence on New Product Development

• Managing the New Product Development Process from Idea Generation to Commercialisation (and this includes national and global rollouts).

• The Marketing/R&D Interface

Find out more about BUSN6930

The module aims to provide students with a broad perspective of the role of marketing in society. The module will also provide students with the tools to analyse and reflect on their own consumption behaviour in relation to sustainability and broader societal implications. Specifically, students will be able to examine the current trends and challenges facing society, including sustainability, social responsibility, poverty, ethics and other social-economic related issues. Ultimately, the students will be able to develop a deeper appreciation of the role and impact of marketing and business practice on today's society. Sessions in this module will cover concepts such as:

• Concepts, theories and debates about the roles and responsibilities of marketing in society

• Societal and green marketing - definitions and frameworks.

• Pillars of sustainability

• Designing, implementing and evaluating social marketing programmes

• Transformative consumer research

• Subsistence and 'Bottom of the Pyramid' marketing

• Macro- and critical marketing

• Ethical issues emerging in marketing

Find out more about BUSN7820

Many developed economies are dominated by services, and service organisations require a distinctive approach to marketing strategy both in development and execution. The module will demonstrate how a holistic approach to the incorporation of a services perspective is crucial for marketing in general. The module will explore the distinctive characteristics of services and explain how they impact on the marketing approaches used by firms. Sessions in this module will cover concepts such as:

• The nature of services and their importance in creating value for customers

• Developing effective services marketing strategies that create competitive advantage for firms

• The customer decision making processes within service encounters

• The application of marketing mixes to services

• The sharing service economy

• Complaint handling and service recovery

• Service quality models

• Service dominant logic vs goods dominant logic.

Find out more about BUSN7830

The module helps prepare students to acquire and develop the employability and transferable skills necessary to search and successfully apply for work experience and graduate opportunities in the commercial and public sector and postgraduate study.

The curriculum builds on knowledge and experience gained in related employability modules delivered at Stages 1 and 2, providing further guidance and more advanced practical exercises in application writing, CVs, careers advice, interview and assessment centre techniques, numeracy and competency tests, and psychometric evaluation. The aims here are to support students during their final year in applying for good graduate jobs and MSc degree programmes.

Find out more about BUSN7920

Optional modules may include

This module will introduce students to the key concepts of managing people involving and examination of organisational, management and human resource management theory and practice. This will be achieved through relating relevant theory to practical people and organisational management issues.

The key topics of the module are:

• The nature of human resource management

• Motivation in the workplace

• Work organisation, job design and flexible working

• Groups and team working

• Diversity in the workplace

• Recruitment & selection

• Learning and development

• Employee Involvement and participation

• Employee performance and reward

• Ethical HRM

Find out more about BUSN5013

The law affects the commercial world in many ways. This module focuses on how businesses fulfil their legal obligations to customers, suppliers and their workforce. As well as exploring how businesses are structured and the duties on directors and partners it also considers the legal obligations individuals and organisations have over those to whom they have a duty of care. The module further covers the main laws governing the employment of staff and contractors. By applying the law to real-world business situations students are able to fine-tune their problem solving skills, and their ability to construct well-reasoned and persuasive arguments.

Indicative topics are:

The English Legal System, Legal Process, Dispute Resolution and the impact of European Union Law in the UK;

Law of Negligence – including general principles and negligent misstatement;

Law of Business Organisations - classification of business organisations; main principles applying to general and limited liability partnerships and registered companies, and directors' duties;

Employment Law - the general scope of the legal obligations owed by employers to employees, including the employment contract, discrimination and dismissal.

Find out more about BUSN5016

Students will be expected to develop the ability to use appropriate techniques of analysis and enquiry within Operations and Service Management and to learn how to evaluate the alternatives and make recommendations. Topics include:

• The nature of services and service strategy

• Service development and technology

• Service quality and the service encounter

• Project/Event management and control

• Managing capacity and demand in services

• Managing inventories

Find out more about BUSN5200

The module aims to develop critical appreciation of the management activities and leadership skills required in dynamic organisations operating in both national and international contexts. Current theory and research on the role which appropriate leadership behaviours can play in improving managerial and organisational effectiveness is explored. In addition a core feature of the module is student engagement in a range of individual and group development activities and their subsequent self-reflection on their progress and ongoing development needs. In doing so the module aims to develop self-awareness and emotional intelligence in the practice of management, as well as promoting the importance of personal strategies relating to career management, and individual leadership behaviour.

Areas to be covered will include:

• Review of Management Activities and Roles: Planning and decision making, organising and resourcing, controlling and accountability including performance management responsibilities.

• Leadership v Management: Consideration of the differences in these roles within organisations.

• Development of Leadership Theories: From transactional to ethical, authentic and transformational leadership approaches and models of 'leaderful' practice.

• Strategic leadership: Business values, organisational culture(s) and business ethics.

• Leadership in Different Cultures: International perspectives on leadership behaviour and effectiveness; communicating across cultures.

• Managing Self: Self-concept; impression management, networking; organisational power and politics; career development strategies.

• Managing & Influencing Others: Emotional intelligence, assertiveness, ethical power and influence strategies, delegation, empowerment and trust.

• Managing & Leading Teams: Creating high performance teams; team roles; stages of group formation/team life cycle; team building.

Find out more about BUSN6003

This module provides a critical introduction to the main theories and debates in International Business and uses these theoretical lenses to explain core phenomena in international business.

• Explaining international economic transactions (trade theories, national competitiveness)

• Explaining the existence of MNEs (internalisation theory, eclectic theory, monopolistic advantages)

• Explaining the coevolution of environment and MNEs (institutional theory, resource dependence theory, evolutionary theory, investment development path, product life cycle theory)

• Explaining the growth and decline of MNEs (stages model, market entry/expansion modes)

Find out more about BUSN6005

This module is designed to provide students across the university with access to knowledge, skill development and training in the field of entrepreneurship with a special emphasis on developing a business plan in order to exploit identified opportunities. Hence, the module will be of value for students who aspire to establishing their own business and/or introducing innovation through new product, service, process, project or business development in an established organisation. The module complements students' final year projects in Computing, Law, Biosciences, Electronics, Multimedia, and Drama etc.

Find out more about BUSN6120

This module facilitates the development of an entrepreneurial mind-set, and equips students with necessary cutting-edge knowledge and skills vital for generating value in a knowledge based economy. The curriculum will include the following areas of study:

• Broader application of entrepreneurship

• Co-creation as a new form of generating value in an innovation ecosystem.

• Managing innovation entrepreneurially

• Entrepreneurial opportunity

• Entrepreneurial Motivation

• Entrepreneurial Marketing

• Entrepreneurial Finance – Finance fuels entrepreneurship.

Find out more about BUSN6130

This module presents an overview of what workforce diversity is and its relevance and usefulness in improving our understanding and management of people (including ourselves) at work. The demographics of the population and the workplace are changing drastically because of a number of factors, such as an increasing number of ethnic minorities and women in the workforce and in management. Accordingly, there is a need to effectively understand and manage workforce diversity not only to increase organisational business outcomes but also to create an inclusive workplace in a socially responsible manner.

The module will examine issues confronting managers of a diverse workforce. In particular issues such as ethnicity, race, language, ageing, disability, gender, and intersectional identities will be discussed. Two key approaches towards managing diversity will be explained, i.e. the social equity case of managing diversity, and the business benefits case of managing diversity. The module will explore a range of diversity related concepts and topics, such as social identity, stereotyping, discrimination, intergroup conflict, structural integration, and organisational change.

Indicative topics are:

• Origins of diversity and equal opportunity in the workplace context;

• Social and psychological perspectives on workplace diversity;

• The UK and European diversity contexts;

• Business benefits case and social equity case of managing diversity;

• The legal framework for diversity;

• Organisational approaches to diversity;

• Contemporary issues central to the experiences of diverse individuals in the UK and in organisations across a range of diversity dimensions;

• Diversity management in an international context

Find out more about BUSN6580

The aim of this module is to provide students with in-depth knowledge about the accounting and control systems businesses use for making managerial decisions. In particular, the module focuses on profit planning decisions and it gives students a thoughtful understanding of the functioning and range of financial controls managers use for making profit planning decisions, related to both the business as a whole and its segments. Students are expected to conduct a management project: they will prepare a business plan that takes into account strategic, marketing and financial aspects. The module also enables students to know how to use accounting and control tools to assess business performance, provide feedback and give recommendations for improvements aimed to create more socially responsible and sustainable businesses. As such, this module is core to the degree program, because it gives an introduction to three key areas: managerial decision making, performance management and organisational financial management.

Find out more about BUSN6770

This module will explore more advanced management and organisational theory to facilitate students' examination of the challenges that face managers in contemporary organisations. As well as considering these challenges from a mainstream managerial perspective, the module will also draw on the perspective of critical management studies as a means of providing an alternative viewpoint on contemporary management issues. Indicative areas to be covered may include:

• Identity in organisations and how the construction and performance of it requires managers to cope with existential challenges around anxiety and freedom.

• The uses and abuses of managerial power and the inequality and insecurity that comes with it.

• Neoliberal capitalism and its various consequences for organisational life.

• Pressures to make organisations more sustainable, socially responsible, equal, diverse, and fair.

• Organisational cultures based on entrepreneurialism.

• The performance of gender in organisations.

• New organisational forms and their emphasis on Speed.

• The intensification of the control of Bodies, Spaces, and Time in contemporary organisations.

Find out more about BUSN6780

This module extends students' knowledge and understanding of strategic management and strategic issues. It introduces a range of contemporary issues associated with the formulation and implementation of corporate and business strategies with an emphasis on identifying and implementing strategic change within the organisation, building dynamic capabilities and developing coherent strategies. Issues might include strategies in the face of uncertainty, global strategies, knowledge-based strategies, strategies where profit is of secondary (or no) importance.

Find out more about BUSN6790

This module will introduce students to the key concepts of managing people, involving an examination of organisational, human resource management and industrial relations theory. This will be achieved through relating relevant theory to practical people and organisational management issues.

Topics of study are:

The theory of strategic HRM; Strategic HRM and Business Strategy;

Strategic HRM and Organisational Performance;

Strategic employee involvement and participation;

HRM in the public sector;

HRM in Small and Medium Enterprises;

HRM in the voluntary sector;

Strategic HRM in the international context.

Find out more about BUSN6840

Making decisions is one of the most important things any manager or business must do. Making smart decisions, however, can be extremely difficult due the complexity and uncertainty involved. Decision Analysis (DA) provides a structured and coherent approach to decision making. It involves a wide range of quantitative and graphical methods for identifying, representing, and assessing alternatives in order to determine a best course of action. DA is regularly employed by many leading companies in the pharmaceutical, oil and gas, utilities, automotive, and financial services sectors. In this module, you learn about the basic concepts of DA and how to apply it in a variety of practical business planning situations.

Find out more about BUSN6880

The aim of the module is to provide students with an opportunity for an in depth independent study of an aspect of marketing management chosen by the student in agreement with the convenor and supervisor. It also aims to develop student's research, writing and communication skills.

The topics covered will include:

• Developing marketing plans and strategies

• Literature search and data collection

• Use and analysis of consumer research and market information

• Preparing and structuring the Marketing Report

• Referencing, Citations and Developing writing skills

• Presentation skills

Find out more about BUSN7370

The module aims to provide a critical understanding of the challenges of managing creativity and innovation within contemporary organisations. The experience of work and employment, management practices are affected by rapid technological change, intensifying global competition and changing demographic profiles and values of the work force. Contemporary organisations are pressurised to tackle these developments through creativity, innovation and new organisational forms. This module examines the nature, antecedents, processes and consequences of creativity and innovation and their complex links with organisation, while also exploring major social and technological changes relating these to organisational creativity and innovation. Students will be introduced to the main concepts and theories on creativity, innovation and organisation through readings and discussions of the main themes and debates in the field. Case studies will be used to illustrate how these concepts are connected together and how they could impact upon management decision making within contemporary organisations. Students will be encouraged to explore some of the most notable historical and contemporary shifts in media and technology and discover how new organisational forms and methods have been devised to exploit them. They will develop awareness for the cross-fertilisation between disciplines in analyzing the dynamics of creativity, innovation and organisation and their complex relationships.

Topics include:

• Conceptual foundations of creativity, innovation and organisation

• Personality and individual creativity

• Organisational creativity and innovation

• Cognition, knowledge and creativity

• Models and processes of innovation

• Organisational culture and systems for supporting creativity and innovation

• Leadership and entrepreneurship

• Creative organisations across fields/ industries

• Socio-technological change and new forms of organisation.

Find out more about BUSN7440

This module offers a comprehensive introduction to the area of cross-cultural management research. Based on a critical analysis of the assumptions underlying various approaches to studying national cultures, frameworks are applied to understand cross-cultural issues managers in international organisations may face. Indicative topics are:

• Management and culture

• Different approaches to cross-cultural management

• Cultural-frameworks and its application

• Roles of the global manager

• Global management challenges

Find out more about BUSN7460

Project Management aims to provide an understanding of the key concepts and practices within the context of the organisational setting and the wider business and technological environment.

This module aims to develop a critical understanding of project management to enable students to recognise the importance of the discipline in a variety of organisational and functional contexts. Students should develop a critical understanding of the concepts employed in project management at strategic, systems and operational levels, and an appreciation of the knowledge and skills required for successful project management in organisations.

Included topics of the module are:

• Project life cycles and alternative development paths;

• Feasibility studies;

• Time management;

• Project planning and control techniques, including Gantt charts, CPM;

• Resource planning;

• Quality Control;

• Project communication;

Find out more about BUSN7500

This module presents an overview of what work psychology is and its relevance and usefulness in improving our understanding and management of people (including ourselves) at work. Many work places operate sophisticated and expensive systems for assessing the costs and benefits of various workplace elements but often do not extend this to the management of employees. This module aims to demonstrate the benefits of having a comprehensive understanding of the role psychology can play in the management of people in contemporary organizations. Indicative content includes:

• Work psychology

• Individual differences and psychometrics

• Best practice personnel selection

• Stress and well-being

• Motivation

• Stereotypes and group behaviour

• Leadership and diversity

• The dark side of personality

• Political behaviour in the workplace

• The psychology of entrepreneurs

• Using work psychology to enhance employability

Find out more about BUSN7510

International and Comparative Human Resource Management aims to provide an analysis of the HRM systems in seven countries: USA, Germany, Sweden, France, Italy, China and India. Students will be introduced to the main concepts and theories through readings and discussions of the main authors in the field.

Within a broad historical context, an international comparative approach will be adopted to consider the development of the relationship between national governments, employers and trade unions. This will include an investigation of the development and decline of employment relations systems and the emergence of human resource management.

Find out more about BUSN7530

Students will be expected to develop the ability to use appropriate techniques of analysis and enquiry within Operations Management and to learn how to evaluate alternatives and make recommendations. Topics are likely to include:

• Strategic role of operations and operations strategy

• Design of processes and the implications for layout and flow

• Design and management of supply networks in national and international contexts

• Resource planning and management

• Lean systems

• Quality planning and managing improvement

Find out more about BUSN7860

The aim of this module is to provide students with (1) a systematic understanding of how information technology is driving business innovation, (2) the methods and approaches used by managers to exploit new digital opportunities, and (3) an appreciation of the knowledge and skills needed to manage the business innovation. By the end of this module, students will be equipped with the necessary knowledge and tools to deal with current business issues including digital transformation and emerging business models via technological innovations.

Find out more about BUSN7880

The aim of this hands-on and highly practical module is to introduce students to the power of data intelligence in transforming the way businesses operate. Students will learn how to develop a successful big data strategy and deliver organisational performance improvements through the use of data analytics. Students will have hands-on exercises primarily based on spreadsheet tools such as Excel and will gain a basic knowledge of coding tools such as Python.

Indicative topics covered in the module include: business intelligence principles, data visualisation and dashboards, data warehouse and integration, artificial intelligence in business applications, big data, social network analysis, text mining, and participatory approaches for problem structuring.

Students will be exposed to a variety of case studies which demonstrate how pervasive data intelligence and analytics have become in every industry and sector, including examples from supply chain management, transport, marketing, finance, healthcare, and human resources. By the end of the module, students will have an understanding of how specific companies use big data and a grasp of the actionable steps and resources required to utilise data effectively.

Find out more about BUSN7980

Fees

The 2021/22 annual tuition fees for this programme are:

  • Home full-time £9,250
  • EU full-time £12,600
  • International full-time £16,800

For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.

For students continuing on this programme, fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* 

Your fee status

The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.

Fees for Year in Industry

Fees for Home undergraduates are £1,385.

Fees for Year Abroad

Fees for Home undergraduates are £1,385.

Students studying abroad for less than one academic year will pay full fees according to their fee status. 

Additional costs

General additional costs

Find out more about accommodation and living costs, plus general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.

Funding

We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.

Search scholarships

University funding

Kent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. See our funding page for more details. 

Government funding

You may be eligible for government finance to help pay for the costs of studying. See the Government's student finance website.

Scholarships

General scholarships

Scholarships are available for excellence in academic performance, sport and music and are awarded on merit. For further information on the range of awards available and to make an application see our scholarships website.

The Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence

At Kent we recognise, encourage and reward excellence. We have created the Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence. 

The scholarship will be awarded to any applicant who achieves a minimum of A*AA over three A levels, or the equivalent qualifications (including BTEC and IB) as specified on our scholarships pages.

Teaching and assessment

Our enthusiastic team of international teaching staff are all experts in their field of study and are regularly published in leading journals worldwide. They guide and support your learning, bringing their subject to life and drawing you into the conversation.

Teaching

We use a variety of teaching methods, including;

  • lectures
  • small group seminars
  • group projects
  • presentations
  • computer-based simulations.

Classroom-based learning is supported by the latest online technologies and learning platforms.

Assessment

Your progress is assessed through coursework and exams. Coursework takes a variety of forms and includes;

  • reports
  • essays
  • group presentations
  • video podcasts
  • online tests and quizzes.

Exams are individual written assessments tested under time-controlled conditions.

As part of your studies it is also possible to take a foreign language module in stage 1 and for students going on a Year Abroad in year 1 and 2 subject to programme requirements. Alternatively, our university also offers language courses as part of extra-curricular activities.

To proceed to the next year you must achieve satisfactory results. Your final degree is based on marks gained in the second and third years (and Placement Year/Year Abroad if chosen) and credits which you build up throughout the whole programme.

Contact hours

Undergraduate students can expect around 8 contact hours per week, depending on year of study and optional module choices made. The remainder of the working week consists of self-guided study based on degree programme content and requirements of specific modules. For a student studying full time, each academic year of the programme will comprise 1200 learning hours, which include both direct contact hours and private study hours. The precise breakdown of hours will be subject dependent and will vary according to modules. Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.

Programme aims

For programme aims and learning outcomes please see the programme specification below:

BSc Marketing

Independent rankings

Marketing at Kent was ranked 9th overall and 2nd for graduate prospects in The Complete University Guide 2021.

In the National Student Survey 2019, over 87% of final-year Marketing students who completed the survey, were satisfied with the overall quality of their course.

Careers

For graduate prospects, Marketing at Kent ranked 2nd in The Complete University Guide 2021 and of Marketing graduates who responded to the most recent national survey of graduate destinations, over 93% were in professional work or further study within six months (DLHE, 2017).

Successful KBS Graduates: Graduate destinations

Our Marketing graduates go on to careers in all aspects of marketing, business and management, finding both overseas and in the UK in a wide range of companies and organisations, including: 

  • Deloitte
  • KPMG
  • PwC
  • Lloyds Bank
  • Sainsbury’s
  • Tesco
  • Transport for London
  • Yahoo! UK
  • Thames Valley Police
  • Heineken.

Many of our students also stay local and find job opportunities regionally in small and medium firms or even set-up their own businesses as well-equipped entrepreneurs.

Embedded employability: Developing career-enhancing skills

The Backpack to Briefcase scheme provides bespoke career and skills development events and activities for all Kent Business School students. Available from the first year through to graduation, Backpack to Briefcase is designed to prepare you for a successful career after university.

To help you appeal to employers you will graduate with a solid grounding in core business management concepts, theories and skills in a global context but also key transferrable skills such as critical reflection, cultural awareness, creativity and innovation, effective time-management and productive teamwork as well as enhanced confidence, intellectual curiosity and resilience. As a KBS graduate you will be able to demonstrate to your employer how you have developed The Grad Goals.

You can also gain skills by signing up for one of our Kent Extra activities, such as adding much-sought-after analytical skills or computing skills to your degree via Kent’s Q-Step Centre.

Ongoing support: Help finding a job

Kent Business School has an excellent international reputation and good links with businesses locally and globally. Our qualified careers practitioners provide support to all business undergraduate students for up to three years after graduation.

In addition, Careers and Employability Service at the University, can also provide advice on how to apply for jobs, write a good CV or perform well in interviews.

Professional recognition

Kent Business School has also joined forces with the Chartered Institute of Marketing
(CIM) to give students the opportunity to gain professional
qualifications through the CIM Graduate Gateway. CIM qualifications are
highly sought after by employers.

Apply for Marketing with a Year in Industry - BSc (Hons)

This course page is for the 2021/22 academic year. Please visit the current online prospectus for a list of undergraduate courses we offer.

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Enquire online for full-time study

T: +44 (0)1227 768896

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International student enquiries

Enquire online

T: +44 (0)1227 823254
E: internationalstudent@kent.ac.uk

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Discover Uni information

Discover Uni is designed to support prospective students in deciding whether, where and what to study. The site replaces Unistats from September 2019.

Discover Uni is jointly owned by the Office for Students, the Department for the Economy Northern Ireland, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and the Scottish Funding Council.

It includes:

  • Information and guidance about higher education
  • Information about courses
  • Information about providers

Find out more about the Unistats dataset on the Higher Education Statistics Agency website.