Business Management (Top-Up)

The highlights

• This top-up degree builds on and embellishes the knowledge you’ve already gained to give you a full honours degree in BA (Hons) Business Management. You can join at stage 2 or 3.
• From the get-go, you'll be thinking about how to apply what you're learning, through topical case studies, business simulations and real consultancy projects.
• Covering global and strategic management issues, you’ll study the specialist areas of management and leadership and marketing.
• You can also select optional modules that cover areas to suit your own interests and career aims.*
• You'll benefit from the inside perspectives of guest speakers from industry and professional bodies.

*Optional module choices may be limited for those taking the part-time route.                                                            

Let's do business

Join this challenging and varied business management degree at either stage 2 or 3 to learn about organisations, their management and the global environments in which they operate. You’ll learn new ways of thinking as well as a host of practical skills, and be challenged to apply these to real-world business and management scenarios.

We’ll help you prepare for a career in a global business environment that is rapidly changing, by supporting you to become more agile, innovative and resilient. You will also develop self-learning and team-working skills, which are crucial to success in the professional sphere.

Importantly, you will also learn to see things differently, by working with students from many other countries — both in your classes and online through joint projects with our overseas partner universities. You will see how people from different cultures tackle the same business issue and discover that who we are and where we are affects how we do business.

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.

Our teaching methods will be varied, interactive and engaging. You will take part in:

• formal lectures, sometimes involving guest speakers
• tutor-led and student-led seminars
• one-to-one and small group tutorials
• self-directed study

We have a diverse range of guest speakers to inspire our students and share their stories. Recently we had Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, who delivered a session on ‘The concept of microcredit’ as part of our 2021 Student Lecture Series.

Business Consultancy Project

During stage 3, you will undertake one of the most important parts of the course: the Business Consultancy Project. After learning the project management and research skills that are essential to any business professional, you will then apply these to solve a real problem for a business. 

This is a fantastic opportunity to put to use all your newly-acquired knowledge and skills and prove what you can do. Not only will you gain valuable experience, but you will also become much more confident in your abilities. 

How you are assessed

We mostly assess you through practical coursework assignments — the sort of tasks you might undertake in the workplace. Sometimes these will be individual tasks and at other times, you will need to work in a group. Assignments could include:

• business reports
• research and consultancy projects
• presentations
• design of digital materials such as videos, blogs or augmented reality posters
• computer-based assessments. 

You need to have an HND or Foundation degree in a relevant subject.

You need at least five GCSEs (or equivalent) including Maths and English at grade 4/C or above.

When you apply, please send us a transcript of the modules you have already studied so that we can make sure that the HND or foundation degree is compatible with the top-up programme.

English language requirements

IELTS: 6.0 (with at least 5.5 in each skills area)

2024/25

Further information about our fees and support you may be entitled to.

By the end of the course you will have sound business acumen and a wide range of practical skills. This astute business focus and depth of insight offered by this course means you emerge prepared for a career in a variety of areas, such as operations manager, business analyst, business development manager, HR officer and many, many more.

Because this is such a broad degree, lots of different job roles will be open to you, in areas such as project management, analysis, consultancy, accountancy, operations, human resource management, marketing, sales, logistics and finance. Previous students have gone on to work for prominent employers — including Deloitte, PwC, Capita, the BBC, DHL, Barclays, Tata, Mott MacDonald and IBM — while others have set up their own businesses. 

On completion, you could go straight to a Masters degree, which is just one more year of full-time study, and you’ll be eligible for an alumni fee discount as a Derby graduate.

Our Careers and Employment Service will provide you with support from day one of your course to ensure you leave Derby as a ‘work-ready’ graduate – industry aware, motivated and enterprising. Throughout your studies, you’ll also benefit from our Personal Development Planning (PDP) scheme which enables you to reflect on your learning and develop your career ambitions. 

The support continues once you’ve completed your course too: you are entitled to further help and guidance from the Careers and Employment Service for up to three years after leaving our University.

Contact us

If you need any more information from us, eg on courses, accommodation, applying, car parking, fees or funding, please contact us and we will do everything we can to help you.

Additional information about your studies

Teaching hours

Like most universities, we operate extended teaching hours at the University of Derby, so contact time with your lecturers and tutors could be anytime between 9am and 9pm. Your timetable will usually be available on the website 24 hours after enrolment on to your course.

Course updates

The information provided on this page is correct at the time of publication but course content, costs and other individual course details do change from time to time and are updated as often as possible, so please do check these pages again when making your final decision to apply for a course. Any updated course details will also be confirmed to you at application, enrolment and in your offer letter.

If you are thinking about transferring onto this course (into the second year for example), you should contact the programme leader for the relevant course information as modules may vary from those shown on this page.

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