Business Management with Foundation Year
NP2XIn a fast-moving and complex global economy, the role of management has never been more exciting and challenging. Over 750,000 companies were founded in the UK in 2022, the second highest year on record.
Course overview
Whether you envisage life at a FTSE 100 company, or want to run your own start-up, at Winchester we’ll equip you to be a confident, responsible and innovative leader of the future able to meet the shifting demands of the contemporary business world.
This broad-based degree is closely linked to industry and will introduce you to the latest management theory and practice. You will explore finance and economics, marketing, design and innovation, business enterprise, supply chain management, international communications, and ethical leadership.
The programme’s flexibility enables you to pursue personal learning goals and career aspirations by selecting your own journey through a range of engaging business disciplines. Depending on the optional modules you choose, you may graduate with a specialism in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Project Management, Finance, or Marketing.
Before moving on to the final year, you may choose to spend a year on a paid work placement in a business relevant to your ambitions, increasing your professional confidence and employability.
The wide range of real-time business knowledge and skills gained will enable you to pursue a career in a diverse range of organisational sectors. You are also equipped with the skills suitable for self-employment and the confidence to set up your own business.
A Foundation Year is the perfect way to boost your academic skills, build your confidence and develop your wider subject knowledge so you can succeed at Winchester. This course offers an extra year of study at the start (Year 0) which leads onto a full degree programme (Years 1, 2 and 3).
A Foundation Year is ideal if you are returning to education after a break; haven’t quite achieved the entry qualifications required; are wanting more support during the transition to studying at university; or are unsure about which subject you wish to pursue.
In Year 0, you will study a set of modules from across the Faculty of Business, Law and Digital Technologies which are designed to develop your academic and practical skills. This broader focus in your first year introduces you to studying at university level and provides you with a better understanding of Fashion Business and Marketing and related subjects.
You will experience a variety of teaching methods including lectures, discussion-based seminars and independent study. You will also receive support to boost your academic skills to prepare you for the rest of your time at Winchester. Find out more and hear from our Foundation Year students at winchester.ac.uk/foundation.
What you need to know
Course start date
September
Location
Winchester campus
Course length
- 4 years full-time
Apply
NP2X
Typical offer
48 points
Fees
From £9,250 pa
Course features
- Study a diverse and flexible range of business modules, enabling you to pursue a career in a wide variety of sectors or immerse yourself in an area of specialism that fires your passion
- Learn how to optimise business for the future, with ethical and sustainable practices taught as a core principle - The University of Winchester Business School is a United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) Champion
- Develop your innovation and creativity skills to enable you to create your own business start up and become an entrepreneur
- Option for a one-year paid work placement, with past graduates placed at BMW, Intel, Siemens and Microsoft
Course details
Our aim is to shape 'confident learners' by enabling you to develop the skills needed to excel in your studies here and as well as onto further studies or the employment market.
You are taught primarily through a combination of lectures and seminars, allowing opportunities to discuss and develop your understanding of topics covered in lectures in smaller groups.
In addition to the formally scheduled contact time such as lectures and seminars etc., you are encouraged to access academic support from staff within the course team and the wide range of services available to you within the University.
Independent learning
Over the duration of your course, you will be expected to develop independent and critical learning, progressively building confidence and expertise through independent and collaborative research, problem-solving and analysis with the support of staff. You take responsibility for your own learning and are encouraged to make use of the wide range of available learning resources available.
Overall workload
Your overall workload consists of class contact hours, independent learning and assessment activity.
While your actual contact hours may depend on the optional modules you select, the following information gives an indication of how much time you will need to allocate to different activities at each level of the course.
Year 0 (Level 3): Timetabled teaching and learning activity*
Teaching, learning and assessment: 288 hours
Independent learning: 912 hours
Year 1 (Level 4): Timetabled teaching and learning activity*
Teaching, learning and assessment: 288 hours
Independent learning: 912 hours
Year 2 (Level 5): Timetabled teaching and learning activity*
Teaching, learning and assessment: 252 hours
Independent learning: 948 hours
Year 3 (Level 6): Timetabled teaching and learning activity*
Teaching, learning and assessment: 168 hours
Independent learning: 1032 hours
Placement: 0 hours
*Please note these are indicative hours for the course.
Location
Taught elements of the course take place on campus in Winchester.
Teaching hours
All class based teaching takes places between 9am – 6pm, Monday to Friday during term time. Wednesday afternoons are kept free from timetabled teaching for personal study time and for sports clubs and societies to train, meet and play matches. There may be some occasional learning opportunities (for example, an evening guest lecturer or performance) that take places outside of these hours for which you will be given forewarning.
Assessment
Our validated courses may adopt a range of means of assessing your learning. An indicative, and not necessarily comprehensive, list of assessment types you might encounter includes essays, portfolios, supervised independent work, presentations, written exams, or practical performances.
We ensure all students have an equal opportunity to achieve module learning outcomes. As such, where appropriate and necessary, students with recognised disabilities may have alternative assignments set that continue to test how successfully they have met the module's learning outcomes. Further details on assessment types used on the course you are interested in can be found on the course page, by attending an Open Day or Open Evening, or contacting our teaching staff.
Percentage of the course assessed by coursework
The assessment balance between examination and coursework depends to some extent on the optional modules you choose. The approximate percentage of the course assessed by different assessment modes is as follows:
Year 0 (Level 3)*:
83% coursework
0% written exams
17% practical exams
Year 1 (Level 4)*:
87% coursework
13% written exams
0% practical exams
Year 2 (Level 5)*:
71% coursework
16% written exams
13% practical exams
Year 3 (Level 6)*:
100% coursework
0% written exams
0% practical exams
*Please note these are indicative percentages and modes for the programme.
Modules
Please note the modules listed are correct at the time of publishing. The University cannot guarantee the availability of all modules listed and modules may be subject to change. The University will notify applicants of any changes made to the core modules listed. For further information please refer to winchester.ac.uk/termsandconditions
Modules
This module is designed to support students with the transition to university, the development of the academic skills and attributes necessary for successful future study and the foundations of a developing sense of vocation. Through a carefully structured and scaffolded series of seminars and workshops, students will be supported in building their self-awareness of, and confidence in, themselves as active learners. Delivered in the context of their subject area and aligned with the development of academic skills and attributes required across all Foundation Year modules, workshops will focus on academic skills such as referencing, selecting and using valid academic resources, reading/researching for academic purposes, using feedback constructively and gaining confidence in contributing to discussions and debates. Coordinated assessment points across the Foundation Year experience enables this module to provide students with ongoing support and opportunities to practice and develop their skills and confidence with a range of written and oral assessment types relevant to their subject area as they progress through the year.
This module is designed to raise students’ knowledge and competence in commercial awareness and digital skills so that they will be able to cope with the necessary demands of the undergraduate business and computing degrees. Students will be trained in a range of business and digital skills, reflecting and discussing how the development of their IT skills can enable future success at university and in the workplace.
This module introduces students to business management as an academic discipline through exploring a range of approaches, theories and contemporary themes. Specifically, students will study a range of topics and begin to understand the ways in which strategy, people, markets, finance, and ethical issues are entwined with, and impact upon, responsible business.
Modules
Modules
- Volunteering - 15 credits
- Project Management in Practice Applications and Implementation - 15 credits
- Project Management, Monitoring and Control - 15 credits
- Be Your Own Boss - 15 credits
- Disruptive Business Innovation - 15 credits
- Information Management and Data Analytics - 15 credits
- Predictive Data Analytics - 15 credits
- Visualisation of Business Intelligence - 15 credits
- Web Development - 15 credits
- UX Design - 15 credits
- Personal Income Taxation - 15 credits
- Financial Management - 15 credits
- Relationship Marketing - 30 credits
- Consumer Behaviour - 30 credits
Modules
- Capstone Business Management - 30 credits
- Capstone Project: Project Management - 30 credits
- Programme and Project Management Implementing Strategy - 15 credits
- Complex Projects and Megaprojects - 15 credits
- Design & Develop It - Your Business Startup - 15 credits
- Pitch & Launch It - Your Business Startup - 15 credits
- The Startup Accelerator - 30 credits
- Strategic Analytics - 15 credits
- Investments - 15 credits
- Financial Risk Management - 15 credits
- Disruptive Technologies - 15 credits
- Brand Identity - 30 credits
- Social Media - 30 credits
- Capstone Project: Marketing - 30 credits
- Capstone Project: Finance - 30 credits
- Non-profit Organisations - 15 credits
- Social Enterprise - 15 credits
This module provides a holistic overview of strategic management from a global perspective. Drawing upon traditional academic theories and current debates, the module evaluates the relationship between strategic analysis, strategic formulation, strategic implementation, and business performance in the global arena. The module examines how external and internal factors influence strategic decisions and how strategic choices contribute to an organisation’s performance in an increasingly dynamic and hypercompetitive environment. In the module, students will apply different strategic management tools to analyse and evaluate the strategic position of firms, develop a set of alternative strategies that will enable a firm to become or remain competitive in the national and global marketplace and recommend how organisational systems should be aligned to support a firm’s national and international strategic direction.
Sun Tzu said ‘Amid the chaos, there is also an opportunity and opportunities multiply as they are seized’. For organisations to survive in a constantly changing market landscape (financial crisis, pandemic, Brexit, climate change impacts), they need to analyse the probability and consequences of crises which involves assessing the likelihood of a crisis occurring (and the frequency) and then determining its possible impact on business operations. Ethical leadership is guided by the goal of creating the most value for society, therefore, it goes beyond the obvious ethical rules (‘don’t lie’, ‘don’t cheat’) as rooted in the work of the philosophers Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, and Peter Singer—this provides the much needed clarity for leaders to navigate through crises, organisational change, strategic alliances, and organisational politics to shape a more value-focused culture.
This module aims to develop informed, critical and responsible managers who can lead others in an effective, ethical and consistent way, aligned with their values. The students will have both a systematic understanding of the key issues and concepts in the leadership, change [including formulating and executing change as well as overcoming resistance to change], and crises with a critical perspective. On completion of the module, students should be able to critically evaluate why and how ethical leadership is important and how it guides organisations through change and crises from a practical, ethical and international perspective.
Entry requirements
Our offers are typically made using UCAS tariff points to allow you to include a range of level 3 qualifications and as a guide, the requirements for this course are equivalent to:
A-Levels: EEE from 3 A Levels or equivalent grade combinations
BTEC/CTEC: PPP from BTEC or Cambridge Technical (CTEC) qualifications
International Baccalaureate: To include a minimum of 1 Higher Level certificates at grade H4
Additionally, we accept tariff points achieved for many other qualifications, such as the Access to Higher Education Diploma, Scottish Highers, UAL Diploma/Extended Diploma and WJEC Applied Certificate/Diploma, to name a few. We also accept tariff points from smaller level 3 qualifications, up to a maximum of 32, from qualifications like the Extended Project (EP/EPQ), music or dance qualifications. To find out more about UCAS tariff points, including what your qualifications are worth, please visit UCAS.
In addition to level 3 study, the following GCSE’s are required:
GCSE English Language at grade 4 or C, or higher. Functional Skills at level 2 is accepted as an alternative, however Key Skills qualifications are not. If you hold another qualification, please get in touch and we will advise further.
If you will be over the age of 21 years of age at the beginning of your undergraduate study, you will be considered as a mature student. This means our offer may be different and any work or life experiences you have will be considered together with any qualifications you hold. UCAS have further information about studying as a mature student on their website which may be of interest.
If English is not your first language, a formal English language test will most likely be required and you will need to achieve the following:
- IELTS Academic at 5.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in all four components (for year 1 entry)
- We also accept other English language qualifications, such as IELTS Indicator, Pearson PTE Academic, Cambridge C1 Advanced and TOEFL iBT
If you are living outside of the UK or Europe, you can find out more about how to join this course by contacting our International Recruitment Team via our International Apply Pages.
2024 Course Tuition Fees
| UK / Channel Islands / Isle of Man / Republic of Ireland |
International |
|
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | £9,250 | £16,700 |
| Year 2 | £9,250 | £16,700 |
| Year 3 | £9,250 | £16,700 |
| Year 4 | £9,250 | £16,700 |
| Total | £37,000 | £66,800 |
| Optional Sandwich Year* | £1,850 | £3,340 |
| Total with Sandwich Year | £38,850 | £70,140 |
Additional tuition fee information
If you are a UK student starting your degree in September 2024, the first year will cost you £9,250**. Based on this fee level, the indicative fees for a four-year degree would be £37,000 for UK students.
Remember, you don't have to pay any of this upfront if you are able to get a tuition fee loan from the UK Government to cover the full cost of your fees each year. If finance is a worry for you, we are here to help. Take a look at the range of support we have on offer. This is a great investment you are making in your future, so make sure you know what is on offer to support you.
UK Part-Time fees are calculated on a pro rata basis of the full-time fee for a 120 credit course. The fee for a single credit is £77.08 and a 15 credit module is £1,156. Part-time students can take up to a maximum 90 credits per year, so the maximum fee in a given year will be the government permitted maximum fee of £6,935.
International part-time fees are calculated on a pro rata basis of the full-time fee for a 120 credit course. The fee for a single credit is £139.14 and a 15 credit module is £2,087.
* Please note that not all courses offer an optional sandwich year. To find out whether this course offers a sandwich year, please contact the programme leader for further information.
Additional costs
As one of our students all of your teaching and assessments are included in your tuition fees, including, lectures/guest lectures and tutorials, seminars, laboratory sessions and specialist teaching facilities. You will also have access to a wide range of student support and IT services.
There might be additional costs you may encounter whilst studying. The following highlights the mandatory and optional costs for this course:
Mandatory
Volunteering and placements:
Students will incur travel costs on a mandatory volunteering placement in their Foundation Year (Year 0). Indicative cost: £5 - £30 per day
Printing and Binding:
The University is pleased to offer our students a printing allowance of £5 each academic year. This will print around 125 A4 (black and white) pages. If students wish to print more, printer credit can be topped up by the student. The University and Student Union are champions of sustainability and we ask all our students to consider the environmental impact before printing.
Optional
Core Text:
Multiple copies of core text are held within the library and e-books are identified where possible, however due to limited availability students are recommended to purchase a copy for their own use. It is possible for students to purchase second-hand copies. Indicative cost: £50 - £300 per year
Volunteering and Placements:
Students may incur travel costs on optional volunteering placements in the second and third year of study. Indicative cost: £5 - £30 per day
There may be an additional contribution for optional school trips. Indicative cost £5 - £30 per day.
Smart Wear:
Students may be expected to dress formally for oral assessments. Costs will vary depending on the students existing wardrobe. Indicative cost: £0 - £50.
SCHOLARSHIPS, BURSARIES AND AWARDS
We have a variety of scholarship and bursaries available to support you financially with the cost of your course. To see if you’re eligible, please see our Scholarships and Awards.
CAREER PROSPECTS
Students pursue careers within strategic planning, project management, business development, product development, finance, human resources and marketing.
The University of Winchester ranks in the top 10 in the UK for graduate employability and further study according to the Graduate Outcomes Survey 2023, HESA.
Pre-approved for a Masters
If you study a Bachelor Honours degrees with us, you will be pre-approved to start a Masters degree at Winchester. To be eligible, you will need to apply by the end of March in the final year of your degree and meet the entry requirements of your chosen Masters degree.
OUR CAREERS SERVICE
“I feel like the University has definitely prepared me."
