International Business
with a Year in Industry
Develop the industry-relevant skills to respond to the challenges and opportunities of business in a global context.
Develop the industry-relevant skills to respond to the challenges and opportunities of business in a global context.
If you're excited by the global nature of business and are motivated by the cultural context of enterprise, then our BSc International Business is the course for you.
You’ll study broad topics such as management, marketing, entrepreneurship, and finance with a focus on how they operate in a global context. You’ll build an understanding of international markets and trade and develop your awareness of global business opportunities. You’ll also cultivate the communication, teamworking, and data-analysis skills that will allow you to succeed, no matter your chosen career path.
You take a year in industry following your second year of study, enabling you to apply your expertise in a work setting and earn a salary, too.
Be inspired and challenged by teaching staff in immersive seminars and workshops where you can put theory into practice using real business data. As a Kent Business School graduate, you’ll be equipped with the industry-relevant skills and essential knowledge to equip you for the challenges and opportunities faced by global businesses in a rapidly evolving world.
Gain CV boosting work experience with a year in industry.
Study at a ‘Triple Crown’ business school accredited by AACSB, AMBA, and EQUIS.
Bring your business ideas to life at our ASPIRE centre.
in the UK for Business and Management (The Guardian University Guide 2024).
Grow your employability skills while having fun.
Our typical offer levels are listed below and include indicative contextual offers. If you hold alternative qualifications just get in touch and we'll be glad to discuss these with you.
If you don't meet the academic requirements for direct entry, our International Business with a Foundation Year course offers one year of full-time study prior to the start of the BSc degree.
ABB
DDM
128 Tariff points from your IB Diploma, Typically H5, H6, H6 or equivalent.
Mathematics grade 4 / C and English grade 4 / C.
Pass the University of Kent International Foundation Programme.
The University will consider applicants holding T level qualifications in subjects closely aligned to the course.
Access to HE Diploma with 45 Credits at level 3 with 30 credits at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit.
This module listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.
Your first year is a compulsory introductory year, designed to provide you with a strong foundational understanding of key concepts and ideas in business, including the basics of accounting, management, and marketing. It will give you an insight into key areas that will support a career in business such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and theorising.
Studying international business has helped me to develop a global perspective on business and enhanced my cultural awareness.Anna Spencer
Your second year allows you to develop your ability to think critically about the global context of business with greater emphasis on emerging markets and international trade. You’ll learn about operations management, understand international finance, and expand your awareness of the challenges that businesses face around making ethical and sustainable decisions.
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.
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.
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.
Your final year has a greater focus on capstone modules that look at the strategic side of international business and more closely examine our commercial relationship with Europe. You’ll also choose from a range of optional modules that may include more specialised areas relating to your course like international marketing and cross-cultural management, or more general areas, including diversity in organisations. Equally, you’ll have the option to undertake an international business project and develop your skills of working independently.
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.
We use a variety of teaching methods, including;
Classroom-based learning is supported by the latest online technologies and learning platforms.
Your progress is assessed through coursework and exams. Coursework takes a variety of forms and includes;
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.
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.
For programme aims and learning outcomes please see the programme specification.
Kent Business School students find work in public and private sector management both overseas and in the UK in a wide range of companies and organisations, including:
The 2024/25 annual tuition fees for this course are:
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.*
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 undergraduate students are £1,850.
Fees for undergraduate students are £1,385.
Students studying abroad for less than one academic year will pay full fees according to their fee status.
Find out more about accommodation and living costs, plus general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.
Kent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. See our funding page for more details.
We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.
We welcome applications from students all around the world with a wide range of international qualifications.
Student Life
In the QS World University Rankings 2024, Kent has been ranked 39th within the UK and is in the top 25% of Higher Education Institutions worldwide.
Kent Sport
Kent has risen 11 places in THE’s REF 2021 ranking, confirming us as a leading research university.
An unmissable part of your student experience.