International Business BA Honours

This course will help you develop the knowledge, skills and capabilities to respond proactively and creatively to contemporary business issues and the challenges of the global business environment. This will make you an attractive prospect for UK-based companies that wish to gain an employee with the added value of depth of knowledge of the communication in and cultural context of a particular international environment and to employers based abroad who wish to gain an employee with expertise in international business with the added value of the ability to communicate in English and/or knowledge of the UK business environment.

Upon graduation, you could pursue careers in the main business-related professions within private business, public or third sector organisations or create your own business opportunities. Past graduates of this degree have found successful employment in diverse sectors such as international business development, business consultancy, investment banking, human resource management, logistics, events management and marketing. They can be found working all over the world: as an Influencer Marketing Manager at JUNIQE in Berlin, Germany; a senior analyst at PFC, Milano, Italy; a tax and financial advisor trainee at RsA - Asia Tax Advisors in Shanghai, China; a creative senior associate for TED Conferences, New York City, USA; a quality analyst for due diligence at Dow Jones' Barcelona office, Spain; and a global mobility consultant at Mercer, here in London.

Increasing numbers of our students progress to further study on graduation: either taking professional qualifications or proceeding to a specialist Master’s degree.

The University's Careers and Employability Service has built up a network of over 3,000 employers around the world, helping all our students explore and connect with exciting opportunities and careers.

• Develop your innovation and entrepreneurial skills
  Develop your innovation and entrepreneurial skills in The Big Idea competition, sponsored by Santander.
• Kickstart your career
  Learn how to use social media in your job hunt or LinkedIn to kickstart your career.
• Develop your CQ
  Develop your cultural intelligence – or ‘CQ’ – by studying alongside students and staff representing more than 100 nationalities.

Industry links

Westminster Business School is one of London’s leading centres for business education based in the heart of London and its political, media and financial services scene. Staff who currently teach on this course have extensive professional experience in public and private sectors both in the UK and overseas. Their research interests cover strategy development and implementation, competitive advantage, innovation, international marketing, emerging markets, diversity issues in employment and sustainability. We maintain excellent links with our alumni, many of whom repeatedly return to the University to share their experiences with current students.

Job roles

The course will prepare you for a wide variety of roles in business. Examples of these from our recent graduates are:

• Account executive
• Business development executive
• Business partner
• Business sales executive
• Global mobility consultant
• Graduate trainee (commercial/international)
• International recruitment officer
• Senior talent coordinator

Graduate employers

Graduates from this course have found employment at organisations including:

• American Express
• Bloomberg LP
• BT
• Debenhams
• Deloitte
• Euveris Aerospace GmbH
• Sparta Global
• Mercer

Westminster Employability Award

Employers value graduates who have invested in their personal and professional development – and our Westminster Employability Award gives you the chance to formally document and demonstrate these activities and achievements.

The award is flexible and can be completed in your own time, comprising a set of core and optional extracurricular activities.

Activities might include gaining experience through a part-time job or placement, signing up to a University-run scheme – such as mentoring or teaching in a school – or completing online exercises.

Course structure

This course is designed to provide a solid foundation in business management, with a focus on the opportunities and challenges of conducting business across borders. In the first year, you will study five core modules and choose one option module. In the second and third year, you’ll take four core modules, choosing one option and one elective module. If you're interested in learning a new language or developing one of your current languages, our Polylang programme offers eight major languages to choose from.

The following subjects are indicative of what you will study on this course.

Year 1

You are introduced to essential business topics spanning marketing and communications, finance, management and the global business environment. From the start of your course, we’ll prepare you to conduct and interpret research, be ready for your final dissertation and develop analytical and report-writing skills that will benefit you throughout your working life. You’ll start with a basic literature review, for example, critiquing articles on what managers actually do, and you will interpret the challenges faced by international companies.

Subjects of study include:

• Communication for Global Business
• Foundations of Accounting and Finance
• Global Business Environment
• Introduction to Management
• Marketing for International Business

You will also have the opportunity to take an optional module that broadens your skills or helps you to gain more in-depth knowledge of your specialist area; your option module may be a foreign language.

Credit Level 4

Year 2

You’ll deepen your knowledge of the international business environment in terms of such topics as technology, infrastructure, international knowledge management, international mergers and acquisitions, and sustainability. You will explore the nature and extent of monetary and financial relations between countries. This will help you better understand the factors that determine exchange rates between currencies and the pros and cons of different financial models. We’ll also look at contemporary international finance issues, such as the impact of government borrowing, with recent figures from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimating worldwide debt to be in the region of $11.4tn. You’ll advance your research skills further in preparation for your final dissertation, typically incorporating an international business case study. So, for example, within the context of organisational behaviour, you might look at how Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company, has tried to rebuild trust within the market following the 737 Max crash.

Subjects of study include:

• International Business Practice
• International Business Research
• International Financial Analysis
• Organisational Behaviour

Plus one option from Digital Business, International Business Law or other areas of business including languages.

Credit Level 5

Placement Year

Professional experience or Study Abroad year

Between Years 2 and 3, you may choose to study English-taught courses for a year at one of our overseas partner institutions. Currently, you can take a Year Abroad studying (or combining work and study) in Frankfurt, Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris, and other locations including Brisbane, Sydney (Australia), Hong Kong, Japan, Canada and the USA. There are also many opportunities for those with appropriate language skills to study in the local language in France, Germany and Spain, among others. You can also choose to split your year abroad into a first-semester exchange and a second-semester work placement, both conducted overseas, or undertake a placement year overseas.

Alternatively, between Years 2 and 3, you can undertake a one-year, full-time business placement as a Professional Experience Year within the UK. Past students have completed placements in a variety of prestigious organisations, including Barclays Bank, British Airways, Disney UK, IBM and the NHS, as well as in smaller businesses.

Year 3

Developing your specialist knowledge further, we examine the ramifications of international project management. Previous students, when studying the 2012 London Olympics and the enormous task of stakeholder management, had an opportunity to visit Olympic Park to consider the lasting legacy of the event. The University’s Vice Chancellor Peter Bonfield, who co-created the event’s sustainable development strategy and took the lead on the sustainable procurement of construction products, gave a talk on his experience.

In the final year, you’ll complete an extended piece of independent research on an international topic. This helps to showcase to future employers your self-motivation, ability to prioritise time and resources to meet deadlines, deal with pressure effectively, apply your own informed perspective, and prepare a cogent analysis based on clearly articulated evidence. For example, one of our previous students chose to research Middle East supply chains in the FMCG (Fast-moving Consumer Goods) sector, while another looked at faux luxury goods in China.

Subjects of study include:

• International Economy
• Strategic Perspectives
• International Business Dissertation
• International Project Management

Plus one option from Comparative International Management, International Financial Management, Global Marketing Management or other areas of business, including languages.

Credit Level 6

International Opportunities

Many of our courses offer international study and work experiences, and the University provides other global opportunities that all students can apply for - so whatever you're studying, you'll have the chance to go abroad.

Opportunities could include:

• Taking part in a semester or year-long exchanges at institutions around the world
• Attending an international summer school or field trip
• Developing your CV through volunteering or work placements abroad

International experience broadens horizons, boosts self-confidence, and improves global understanding, alongside being fantastic for your career.