International Business

MSc/PgDip/PgCert

School - Salford Business School

Subject area - Business and Management

Start Dates(s): September; January; March; June; November; July

Duration:

MSc (one year full-time or two years part-time)
PgDip (eight months full-time or two years part-time)
PgCert (four months full-time, one year part-time)

Fees:

UK - £9,500

International - £14,500

Full-time PgDip - £5,670

Full-time PgCert - £2,835

View all fees...

In Brief:

This is a practical course with an international focus that offers the opportunity to gain a broad overview of the subject before specialising in your chosen area
Our strong industry links allow you to mix theory with practice, visiting companies and hearing from expert industry speakers both in the UK and overseas
You can benefit from a residential study week in Europe, giving you an invaluable insight into organisations and their activities in industrial sectors such as agriculture and tourism
Part-time study option
Work/industrial placement opportunity
International students can apply

Course Summary

This course is aimed at students with a background in business or business-related studies, who wish to further their knowledge of international business. During your time with us, you’ll develop an integrated and critically-aware understanding of the international activities of business organisations, at both the strategic and operational level. This understanding is necessary if you want to effectively develop and execute international business strategy and operations.

Course Details

The programme is block delivered and there are six entry points per year. Students will take the modules below in a sequence dependent on their start date.

SEMESTER 1

Strategic International Business Management

You will gain a thorough grounding in the major issues and perspectives of management, with a particular focus on strategic, global and organisational issues in an international context. You will be encouraged to think critically about theory and practice in an ethical and professional manner.

International Financial Management

You will examine exchange, inflation, interest rates and other factors which impact on the performance of firms and assess the significance of decision-making in a global context. You will also evaluate the principles and practices that guide the financial management of multinational enterprise. This module also places an emphasis on the differences between multinational and domestic financial management.

SEMESTER 2

Marketing International Business: Branding, Communication and Relationships

Develop your understanding of the variety of communications methods used to establish and maintain cross-cultural business relationships with a variety of stakeholders. You will gain an overview of culture as a basis on which to develop international branding, marketing communications and business relationship development.

Global Supply Chain Management

You will learn about the critical nature and meaning of global supply chain management and its application in various organisations and sectors internationally. You will also gain an overview of the design, monitoring and control of global procurement, logistics and supply chain systems, while developing skills to facilitate a critical evaluation of the contribution of global logistics and supply chains to deliver competitive advantage.

SEMESTER 3

Business Innovation Project (BIP)

Flexible final study options

Salford Business School has one of the most flexible suites of post-graduate taught programmes in the UK.

For the final third of your studies you can choose from 4 differing pathways, all of which are designed to accommodate your career aspirations and enhance your professional practice:

Dissertation – traditional 3 month research pathway.
Live Project – 3 month group project activity researching a commercial project.
Internship – 3 month opportunity to develop your skills working in partnership with an organisation.
Placement – 6 month paid work experience implementing a commercial project.

Dissertation

This traditional route involves a substantive piece of research, which can examine contemporary or historical challenges in business, economic or management contexts.

The dissertation can be undertaken within a company, a sponsoring organisation, or investigate an area which is of interest to you. Study is undertaken in the UK, or sometimes overseas – some international students may possibly return to their country to work on an industrial research project.

3 month research project culminating in a 12-15,000 word dissertation
Topics can be undertaken in a number of areas:
- personal interest in a topic area which supports your career aspirations.
- an academic’s research area which explores challenging developments in the supervisor’s area of expertise.
- in partnership with a company or sponsoring company.
- an entrepreneurial opportunity, particularly suitable if you wish to research your own business opportunity.

Live Project

This is a group project (teams of 2 to 5 students) examining an organisational problem or opportunity. Students work on sizeable commercial projects, which are broken down by the team. Live projects reflect commercial realities of delivering complex commercial projects through the combined efforts of a committed team.

3 month commercial research project.
Group presentation and executive report, coupled with an individual 8-10,000 word report.

Internship

This involves working on a company project. The majority of internships are voluntary positions, which support work experience with a company in a particular sector. A number of projects exist for suitable students, in many cases students are supported in finding and securing internships with the support of the School’s Employability Hub.

1 to 3 month commercial project, undertaken full or part-time with the host company.
Internship positions provide interesting project experience. They vary between paid and voluntary and are facilitated by the School's dedicated Employability Hub.
30-40 minute commercial presentation and 10,000 word professional dissertation.

Placement

Placements are paid positions working on implementing a commercial project. Placements provide valuable experience for student to demonstrate their commercial capabilities. Placements are limited and are competitive.

4 to 6 month work based project undertaken at the organisations premises.
Assessment consist portfolio of work, visitor assessment, presentation and interim report, culminating in a work related dissertation of 10,000 words.
Placements can be undertaken in the UK or overseas.
Students can undertake placements with their sponsor or employing organisation.
For international students placements are 6 months maximum due to visa restrictions.
For home/EU students, placements can possibly be extended to 12 months.
The salary range for placements range from £14,320 to £25,000 pro rata – the average is £19,555 pro rata.

Part-time

If you are on the part-time course, you will be able to register for individual modules as part of CPD. The following is an example of how the course could be taken on a part-time basis over two years:

Year 1 - Semester 1
Strategic International Business Management

Semester 2
Operations and Information Management

Semester 3
International Financial Management

Year 2 - Semester 1
Marketing International Business: Branding, Communication and Relationships

Semesters 2 & 3
Business Innovation Project

Entry Requirements

Normally a minimum 2:1 honours degree or equivalent.

Student with a 2:2 in a cognate discipline or successful completion of the Graduate Certificate International Management will also be accepted.

A wide range of Professional Qualifications are also accepted either in partial or complete fulfilment of entry requirements.

Where a student has gained a recognised Honours degree in a cognate discipline but does not meet the normal entry qualification requirement, they may still be considered for entry if they can demonstrate work experience of a minimum 2 years duration post study and acceptable level of responsibility.

Salford Alternative Entry Scheme (SAES)

We welcome applications from students who may not have formal/tradiational entry criteria but who have relevant experience or the ability to pursue the course successfully.

The Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) process could help you to make your work and life experience count. The APL process can be used for entry onto courses or to give you exemptions from your course.

Two forms of APL may be used for entry: the Accreditation of Prior Certified Learning (APCL) or the Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL).

English Language Requirements

Normally IELTS 6.5 with no individual element below 5.5, or equivalent recognised Secure English Language Test, (SELT).

If the English language qualification is slightly below this level candidates may be able to take one of the many English courses available in the University. Please search for English using the University Course Finder.

Suitable For

This course is ideal if you wish to develop your knowledge and understanding of business in a rapidly changing international context.

Applicant profile

You should have a strong interest in international management. This course offers excellent scope for aspiring and existing managers who want to improve their career development opportunities and employability. If you want to progress into a senior position in the public, private or third sectors this course will offer you the chance to gain skills which are highly sought by employers across a wide variety of organisations.

Fees 2017-18

Type of Study	Fee
Full-time	£9,500
Full-time International	£14,500
Full-time PgDip	£5,670
Full-time PgCert	£2,835

Additional Costs

The cost of this MSc is higher than standard MScs within Salford Business School because it includes a mandatory overseas residential study trip. The costs of accommodation and travel for this study trip are included in the tuition fee you pay.

Students may incur a £50 charge for a visa application for the study trip abroad. Costs are approximated based on the current academic year.

You should also consider further costs which may include books, stationery, printing, binding and general subsistence on trips and visits.

Scholarships and Bursaries

We offer awards to help you study through our:

Vice-Chancellor's Excellence Scholarship
University of Salford student loyalty discount
Country bursary scheme for International students only

There are also other sources of funding available to you.

For more information please see our funding section

Teaching

The course is currently delivered in four blocks of three-day intensive study periods, followed by independent study and online support through the University’s virtual learning environment, Blackboard. Each module is taken and assessed over a six week block.

From September 2017, this delivery format will change. Students will continue to study a single module for a 6 week period. Face to face teaching will be delivered on campus for two half days each week. In addition, you will attend the taught element of the Business Innovation Programme each Wednesday afternoon during the 6 week blocks, with independent study completed in your own time through Blackboard. Individual student timetables will be provided during induction week.

Teaching is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars and tutorials, using a wide range of learning activities.

Assessment

Over the duration of your course a range of assessment techniques will be used. Types of assessment include; essays, assignments, exams, multiple choice tests, online tests, group reports, and portfolio work. The weighting between exams and coursework varies between modules and years, but exams still play a major role.

Postgraduate Staff Profile

Dr Jonathan Swift

Senior Lecturer in International Business & Marketing Jonathan began his career teaching foreign languages and moved into cross-cultural training for multinationals such as ICI and Kellogs. He has worked closely with a variety of industrial clients, generally in the areas of international consultancy, and market research. He currently runs an international research project that examines the development of cross-cultural business relationships with various countries. He is currently Visiting Professor at the Universidad de La Salle, Bogotá, Colombia and has been widely published in academic books and journals.

Employability

In addition to a highly-regarded formal qualification, you’ll develop personal and organisational management skills that will significantly enhance your career prospects – particularly if you want to become a manager in a multinational company. Graduates often go on to build careers as managers, business consultants or entrepreneurs, operating on the international stage.

Graduates have become international recruitment consultants, while others go on to join international marketing research and international data analysis roles. This course will provide you with flexible employment opportunities leading to potential roles with a variety of management-level national and international sectors.

Recent Salford Business School graduates have gained employment with leading companies including:

Ernst & Young
Dixons Group plc
British Airways
Cooperative Insurance Services
BMW
American Express
BBC
Citibank
Ladbrokes
Numberica
Office of the Legal Services Ombudsman
KPMG
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Premier Travel Inn
BUPA
Thomson Holidays
BT
DTS Logistics
Greater Manchester Police
The NHS

Links with Industry

Our course team maintains excellent relations with local, national and international organisations, commentators and employers.

Our teaching is industry-led, inspired by contemporary practice and developed in partnership with business leaders. Our academics are experts in their field and work closely with industry to ensure that our courses reflect the needs of business and provide our students with that extra edge when it comes to securing a job.

Our part-time students are drawn from a wide range of public, private and third sector organisations, allowing you to enjoy highly valuable networking opportunities.

Salford Business School also operates a guest lecture course which allows you the chance to mix with professionals from industry, make connections, set up placements and conduct research.

Further Study

Find out more information about research opportunities here.

Facilities

Salford Business School is located at the heart of the University’s Peel campus in the newly refurbished Lady Hale Building, and the Chapman Building, offering state-of-the-art facilities for the Business School’s student learning community and just minutes from Manchester city centre. Chapman is a stylish modern space with six lecture theatres equipped with the very latest technology and large screen displays, a series of communal learning and breakout spaces, plus a Fairtrade café with panoramic views across the campus.

Lady Hale is the home to all dedicated business school student support including the school office, an employability hub, a base for the Business School society, and several open study spaces.

All University of Salford students also have access to the MediaCityUK campus including its study facilities. MediaCityUK is home to major BBC and ITV departments and over 80 businesses across the creative and digital sectors. It is recognised as one of the most innovative developments in Britain and is a vibrant place in which to live, work, socialise and study.

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