Business and Management (Marketing)

The highlights

• Gain the knowledge, skills, and specialist expertise to pursue a career in business management with a focus on marketing, in any sector and any country
• Study a curriculum shaped around the latest business and marketing trends, challenges, and opportunities – including digital transformation, consumer behaviour, and sustainable branding
• Join a diverse international community of students with a wide range of cultural and professional backgrounds, enriching your learning through shared perspectives
• If you already hold an HND or level five qualification, fast track your studies to achieve a degree in 1-2 years with our part-time online BA (Hons) Marketing (Top-Up) degree

A marketing-focused business degree for the future

If you want to combine strong business and management skills with specialist marketing expertise, this degree is designed for you. Delivered online and built with flexibility in mind, it enables you to balance your studies with work and personal commitments.

We welcome learners from all walks of life – whether you already have business experience or are starting your career journey – provided we are confident you have the drive and ability to succeed.

The BSc (Hons) Business and Management (Marketing) degree equips you with a forward-looking understanding of both management and marketing, covering contemporary challenges and opportunities faced by organisations worldwide. Alongside core business modules, you’ll explore topics such as:

• Strategic marketing and brand management
• Digital marketing and analytics
• Marketing across cultures and international contexts
• Sustainability, ethics, and responsible leadership
• Innovation, entrepreneurship, and customer-centric value creation

Bridging theory with real-world practice

Throughout the course, you’ll be encouraged to apply marketing and management theory directly to real business contexts – including your own workplace, if relevant. Case studies, live scenarios, the latest research, and contributions from your peers will help you strengthen your knowledge while seeing challenges from multiple perspectives.

A global outlook for marketing careers

The pathway not only enhances your ability to manage within organisations but also prepares you to navigate the fast-changing marketing landscape on an international scale. You’ll explore global business issues, cultural approaches to consumer behaviour, and international marketing strategies.

Graduates from this degree are well prepared for roles in marketing, communications, brand management, and leadership positions across industries – from start-ups to multinational corporations.

Previous learning or experience

Have you already studied at another institution, completed a training course, or does your work experience appear equivalent to one or more modules of this course? If so, you may be able to translate this prior learning into credits towards your course modules, so you don’t have to study them again.

For this BSc, you can apply for credits of up to 50% for each stage. You can find out more in our recognition of prior learning section.

To achieve this degree, you will need to complete 120 credits at each award stage, totalling 360 credits to achieve the BSc (Hons) Business and Management (Marketing).

If we have insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module, this may not be offered. In addition, where demand is high, some modules may be subject to a cap.

Credits will be made up from the following core modules and optional modules.

Please note that our modules are subject to change - we review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects.

Teaching and Learning

This course is delivered entirely online, so you can study from anywhere in the world and fit your studies around your existing work or personal commitments. We use a Virtual Learning Environment to deliver this course, which offers you a highly interactive experience.

You will learn through:

• Your own online study and research, which you can choose to do at times that suit you
• Live, interactive sessions delivered by a module tutor, which are also recorded and available to watch later
• Pre-recorded videos delivered by members of the academic team, which are available to watch at any time
• Discussion boards, which enable you to work with other students on activities, or discuss a particular topic with fellow students and tutors
• Guest lectures delivered by industry specialists, alumni, or CMI representatives, which will provide you with current insights

Support for your learning

You will get plenty of support, so if you are new to online learning or haven’t studied for a while, you don’t need to worry. You will be taught by our expert academics, who bring a wealth of experience and specialist knowledge to enrich your learning. There will also be a team of online learning advisors who will help you with any non-academic queries.

Pace of study

The academic year is made up of three, ten-week terms, known as trimesters. We recommend doing about 20 hours of study each week to complete one, 20-credit module over a trimester.

If you want to complete the course faster, you can choose to take our accelerated study plan. For this, you will need to study two modules in one trimester, which would mean about 40 hours of study each week. Think carefully before you choose the accelerated rate - it’s important that you have enough time to fully engage with your studies and produce the best work that you can. We often advise that you start by studying one module at the standard rate, before deciding whether to then increase to the accelerated rate of study.

Assessments

All your assessments will be coursework. Assignments vary so that you can develop a range of skills, but they may include essays, reports, projects, answering questions or various combinations of these submitted as a portfolio of work. Wherever appropriate, we try to ensure assignments bring in real-life business case studies or your own professional experiences.

Assignments may involve discussions with fellow students, but you will always be assessed individually.

All the resources you need to complete these assessments will be available electronically via our library, such as ebooks and journal articles.

Student support and guidance

Whilst we encourage our students to become independent, life-long learners, we also recognise that offering the right support and guidance will help you to achieve your goals. There is a wealth of support available to you at the University, from your dedicated Personal Tutor and Online Learner Advisor, through to our:

• Library
• Health and Wellbeing Centre
• Careers and Employability Service
• IT Support
• Union of Students
• Develop@Derby for study, personal and employability skills

All these services, and more, are available to you as an online student at the University of Derby.

The BSc (Hons) Business and Management (Marketing) is designed for people who aspire to build careers in marketing, brand management, and communications, as well as in wider business and leadership roles across any industry and country.

You’ll graduate with essential knowledge across all key business areas – including management, strategy, leadership, HR, and finance – alongside specialist expertise in marketing, such as digital marketing, strategic brand development, and international marketing.

Through this pathway, you’ll also gain an in-depth understanding of the latest trends shaping modern business and marketing, including:

• Responsible and ethical management
• Agility, resilience, and change leadership
• Creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship
• Digital disruption and evolving customer behaviour

In addition, you will develop highly transferable skills valued by employers worldwide, including:

• Digital and information literacy
• Teamwork, leadership, and collaborative problem-solving
• Cross-cultural awareness and global business perspectives
• Adaptability, self-direction, and resilience in fast-changing markets

Your next steps

Graduates of this degree are well prepared for roles such as:

• Marketing Manager
• Brand Manager
• Digital Marketing Specialist
• International Marketing Executive
• Business Development Manager
• Management or Strategy Consultant

If you’re keen to continue your studies, postgraduate options such as the online MBA Global or MSc Strategic Management are open to you.

Utilise our Careers and Employment Service​

Whilst you are a student at the University of Derby, and for three years after you graduate, our Careers and Employment Service can assist you with job search advice, CV creation, workshops and events, as well as one-to-one appointments with employment advisers to help with career planning and interview preparation.

You will need A-levels or equivalent qualifications such as a BTEC certificate or diploma, an international baccalaureate, OU credits, an access to HE diploma, Scottish highers or Irish leaving certificate.

We’ll also consider all the information that you include in your application, including evidence of any relevant experience which demonstrates you have the potential to succeed on this online learning degree.

Exemptions

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, origins, countries of residence and walks of life, as long as you can be considered adequately prepared to complete the course. This can be proved either by relevant academic and/or professional qualifications and/or business experience.

If you have experience of working in a business environment, we can take this into account. For example, you may be eligible for the direct entry at Stage 3 (Level 6) if you have significant proven managerial experience; this enables you to complete the course in one year on the accelerated route, or in two years following a standard route. Our Admissions Tutor would consider the supporting documents (e.g., CV, personal statement, recommendation letters, etc) to determine how relevant your work experience is and suggest an appropriate entry level.

English language qualifications

If English is not your first language you will need an English language qualification. For this course you will need at least one of the following:

• IELTS (International English Language Testing System) 6.0
• TOEFL 550 (paper based) 213 (computer based) or 80 (internet based)
• Pearson Test of Academic English: 51
• Cambridge Advanced Certificate: Pass
• London Tests of English: we accept level 4 for undergraduate courses
• International GCE O-level English Language: Grade C
• International GCSE English/English as a Second Language: Grade C

Find out more about our English language requirements

^‡2025/26 for new entrants

Starting between September 2025 and August 2026.

About your fees

This figure would be the total cost of this course based on the fee in the current academic year. However, please note that fees normally increase in line with inflation and the University's strategic approach to fees, which is reviewed on an annual basis. The total fee you pay may therefore increase if your course lasts longer than one year.

If you are required to undertake any associate study or additional study as a condition of your offer for the programme, please be aware that the cost for this may be in addition to the programme cost stated above.

Flexible payment plans available

Choose from two payment plan options:

• Pay monthly and only for the modules you are studying

• Pay your full course fees upfront and avoid annual increases

Undergraduate funding options

Depending on where you are from in the UK or EU, and on your pace of study, you may be eligible for an undergraduate student loan. Accessible through Student Finance, this is a non-income based loan to meet the cost of tuition fees.

If you are considering applying for a student loan, please also see our additional guidance on Loans for Online Students.

If you already hold an honours degree, and you are looking to re-skill or up-skill, you may still be eligible for a loan to study this course.

Contact us

Contact the University of Derby Online Learning: