Program Overview

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Business and Financial Management with Integrated Foundation Year BA (Hons)

Overview

This four-year version of our popular BA (Hons) Business and Financial Management course includes an integrated foundation year. Gain a solid business education and develop essential skills in financial management. Undertake a paid placement and develop specialist knowledge of the profession, leading to many business career paths, including the global accounting and finance sector.

Why Us?

• We've been shortlisted for Business School of the Year in the Times Higher Education Awards 2024.
• The Sunderland Business School is a member of ‘The Association of Business Schools’.
• Our Accounting and Finance courses are in the Top 20 in the UK (Guardian University Guide 2024).
• Cutting-edge topics are covered, such as issues around Sustainability in Business and Digital aspects of Business in 21st-century workplace.
• Course content has been carefully designed with students and employers to enhance employability.

Course Structure

With an innovative mix of experiential learning and knowledge development, the course provides opportunities for creative, reflexive, innovative, and entrepreneurial skills development in live work environments.

Year 1 (National Level 4)

• Business Organisations and Society (30 credits)
• Business Management Skills Development (30 credits)
• Understanding Markets and Marketing (30 credits)
• Fundamentals of Financial Decision Making (30 credits)

Year 2 (National Level 5)

• Managing Self and Others (30 credits)
• Delivering Projects for Organisational Success (30 credits)
• Corporate Finance and Portfolio Valuation (30 credits)
• Finance and Financial Decision Making for Managers (30 credits)

Optional 48-week Placement

• Applied Placement Portfolio 1 (120 credits)

Final Year (National Level 6)

• Strategic Leadership and Collaboration (30 credits)
• Managing Business Continuity and Resilience (30 credits)
• Business Consultancy Project (30 credits)
• Financial Governance (30 credits)

Facilities

You'll be based at The Reg Vardy Centre, on the Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St Peter’s. It’s a modern building with great views of the River Wear, and just a few minutes’ walk from the coast.

Entry Requirements

We don’t currently display entry requirements for Ireland. Please contact the Student Admin team for more information.

Eligible entry qualifications:

• If you've studied for a GCSE which has a numerical grade, you'll need to achieve a grade 4 or above.
• Equivalent alternative qualifications are also accepted, such as Level 2 Key Skills in Communication and Application of Number.
• If English isn't your first language, please see our English language requirements.

Fees and Finance

The annual fee for this course is £5,760 if you're from the UK/Ireland/EU settled/pre-settled.

Undergraduate fees are set according to rules from Government in line with forecast inflation. The fee for your first year of study for 2025/26 will be £5,760. You will pay tuition fees for every year of study. Fees may increase every year based on the Retail Price Index.

If you're a full-time UK/Irish/EU settled/EU pre-settled student, you may be eligible to receive financial support to cover your fees for the full four years. UK and EU settled students may also be eligible to receive a maintenance loan.

Please note, this course isn't available to international students.

Career Ready

Our students graduate with sought-after skills and knowledge across all areas of business and management. You'll understand how businesses create success, how to manage business operations, how to make informed decisions, and how to lead change in organisations. In addition, CIPD-accredited qualifications can significantly enhance your career opportunities.

The employability-focused curriculum of the course has been designed in collaboration with a range of employers, including CDC Wealth Management, Caterpillar, Nissan, Network Rail, NCC Education, NHS, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Uplift Associates, Sedgefield SSP CIC, Castle Howard, and NRL Ltd.

Paid Placements

The faculty-based employability team will support you in securing an optional paid work placement to further enhance your employability between your second and final year. It effectively becomes a third year of a four-year course, and you’ll earn an average salary of £14,000-£18,000 a year depending on your location.

Placements are an excellent opportunity to put your learning into practice and understand the context for your new knowledge. The contacts made during placements can also be valuable for future job offers.

Student Business Society

The University supports student-led initiatives that help you gain practical experience of management. The Student Business Society organises events and guest speakers, as well as attending tours of various companies. With its professional approach, it’s a great way to put into practice the lessons about how to make organisations function effectively. There is something for every student who is studying a subject related to business.

Guest Speakers

Our regular programme of guest speakers from industry allows you to listen to people who are already in the type of management position that you may one day hold. Recent speakers include Maurice Duffy, CEO of Global Blackswan, Mike Johnson, CEO of Castrol and Executive Vice President of BP, Uday K. Dholakia, Senior Partner of Global Consulting, Neil Stephenson, CEO of ONYX, James Ramsbotham, CEO of the North East Chamber of Commerce, as well as other representatives from a number of our region’s largest employers.