Program Overview

Work Based and Integrative Studies (WBIS) BA/BSc (Hons)

Course Summary

Our course will enable you to 'learn while you earn'. We recognise that in the modern world learning does not just take place in classrooms and lecture theatres – the workplace itself is increasingly an important site of knowledge generation. So if you are a working professional and feel that you deserve academic reward for your hands-on learning through your everyday work, this may be the course you are looking for. And as it is focused on knowledge and skills acquisition, it can also significantly enhance your professional development and career progression.

Why You'll Love It

• It allows you to negotiate your own bespoke learning pathway and award title.
• This means the course reflects your own unique experiences, talents and perspectives.
• It can be studied flexibly, at distance.
• We are experts at the facilitation of distance learning for professionals and pioneered this in Higher Education.
• It draws on 25 years of academic expertise in professional development.
• Chester has worked closely with government agencies such as the Cabinet Office over this period to provide relevant and bespoke education that breaks down barriers.

What You'll Study

Our Work Based and Integrative Studies (WBIS) degree offers part-time, personalised learning that recognises your expertise and rewards you for prior experiential learning. Our course will enable you to 'learn while you earn' and is designed for busy professionals.

• The first module – called Self Review and Negotiation of Learning – will help you to undertake a self-audit and complete claims for prior learning (if appropriate) where learning in the workplace can be rewarded academically. It also provides the opportunity for needs analysis and action planning, in order to enable you to successfully create an individual pathway of study and gain an award title that meets your learning needs. This award title will relate to your area of professional practice.
• Subsequent modules are negotiated and typically allow you to negotiate work-based projects that can have real business impact and where you will be professionally advised by one of our expert academics. You will often be able to use artefacts that you have generated as part of your working life towards the module assessments.
• Learning pathways at all levels tend to be a combination of claims for prior experiential learning, where relevant, and Negotiated Experiential Learning (such as current work based projects and similar). There may also be the opportunity, if practicable, to integrate into your chosen pathway other relevant topics from the University bank of modules.
• The course typically ends with a module called Exit Review and Forward Planning, which enables you not only to take stock of your learning experiences but also plan your future professional learning and career development.

Who You'll Learn From

• Dr David Perrin - Deputy Head of Division
• Dr Lisa Rowe - Associate Professor
• Dr Pip Weston - Senior Lecturer
• Karen Cregan - Senior Lecturer in Human Resources & Business Management
• Jan Jones - Senior Lecturer
• Paul Mckie - Senior Lecturer
• Dr Nicky Shaw - Senior Lecturer

How You'll Learn

• Teaching can involve workshops, online tuition and experiential learning at work
• Assessment is through coursework
• This course is designed around in-person study
• There may be some online learning activities

Our course is a blended learning experience and can involve workshop-led modules, online tuition and experiential learning at work (such as work-based projects). It is flexible, and within certain agreed parameters you can work at your own pace.

There are no formal exams. You will be assessed through a variety of formats – for example, reflective assignments, portfolios, reports, presentations, and dialogue assessment.

Entry Requirements

• Home Students: There are no formal entry requirements for undergraduate courses, although determination, commitment and self direction are needed.
• International/EU Students: Students from countries outside the UK are expected to have entry qualifications roughly equivalent to UK A Level for undergraduate study and British Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) for postgraduate study. To help you to interpret these equivalents, please click on your country of residence to see the corresponding entry qualifications, along with information about your local representatives, events, information and contacts.
• We accept a wide range of qualifications and consider all applications individually on merit. We may also consider appropriate work experience.
• English Language Requirements:
  • IELTS Academic: Undergraduate: 6.0 (minimum 5.5 in each band)
  • Postgraduate: 6.5 (minimum 5.5 in each band)

Where You'll Study

• Queens Park, Chester
• Home of Chester Business School
• A corporate learning hub
• With links to key employers and entrepreneurial opportunities to help you get the future you want.
• Get supported
• At Queen's Park you will have all the support you need from Careers and Employability to Student Support and Study Skills. A dedicated business library offers printed books, journals and e-books, laptop loan and open access computers. It has pods for team working with friends, or quiet areas for study.
• Modern learning, historic city
• Our historic buildings offer modern and spacious teaching and learning areas; seminar rooms, PC labs, and student common rooms, a 200-seat lecture theatre, and a unique boardroom and atrium - where you can enjoy career fairs and business events and listen to a host of visiting speakers from industry.
• Close to the city
• The Queen's Park Bridge is your scenic five-minute route into the historic centre of Chester, with riverside cafes and bars, Grosvenor Park, and the Roman gardens and amphitheatre all on the way.
• Get connected
• As well as ensuring industry-relevant degree courses, our many business partners offer experiential learning, networking, and industrial placements, all helping you to get connected for your future.

Fees and Funding

• Home Students: £9,535 per year for a full-time course (2025/26)
• International Students: £14,450 per year for a full-time course (2025/26)
• Additional Costs: Some modules include trips to regional places of worship. Entry fees for compulsory fieldtrips are covered by your tuition fees but there may be additional travel costs.
• Bursaries: The University of Chester supports fair access for students who may need additional support through a range of bursaries and scholarships.

Your Future Career

• Job Prospects: Students are professionals across a range of practice areas, from nursing, teaching and IT, through to public policy, finance, and a wide range of management spheres. Many students go on to significantly enhance their careers through participation in the programme and the professional development opportunities it offers.
• Careers service: The University has an award-winning Careers and Employability service which provides a variety of employability-enhancing experiences; through the curriculum, through employer contact, tailored group sessions, individual information, advice and guidance.
• Careers and Employability aims to deliver a service which is inclusive, impartial, welcoming, informed and tailored to your personal goals and aspirations, to enable you to develop as an individual and contribute to the business and community in which you will live and work.