Undergraduate Course 

BA (Hons)

Business Management and Sustainable Practice with Placement Year

 Accredited by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) 

Gain a solid grounding in the fundamentals of business management, while gaining skills for the future as industries move towards a sustainable future. 

The world of business is changing at an exponential rate as companies work towards sustainability goals across net zero carbon, social responsibility and environmental sustainability, and companies will require managers of the future to have a solid grounding in how to move businesses forward whilst adapting to meet these priorities.

Our modules have the United Nations Sustainable Development goals and the UNESCO sustainability competencies embedded as part of your learning, so you’ll develop skills to be at the forefront of embedding change and responsible management in organisations. Real world learning is a key part of your studies – from working on live industry briefs, guest speakers from the business world, and the opportunity to complete a placement year between your second and third year, you’ll have opportunities to put your skills into practice before you graduate.

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Boost your employability with a placement year

You’ll have the opportunity to take a placement year to put the skills you’ve learned into practice in a real-world environment. We'll support you to find your placement and throughout your year in industry. Placements allow you to gain valuable experience to add to your CV, make industry contacts and help you to narrow down what kind of role you may be interested in after graduation. 

Tailor your degree

All our Business Management degrees have a common first year. After that you can continue on our Business Management and Sustainable Practice, or you can choose one of our other specialist pathways:

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Professionally approved

Chartered Management Institute accreditation means the CMI has independently assessed that the course meets its own high standards and priorities. The CMI is a UK professional body dedicated to promoting excellence in management and leadership. CMI accreditation is, therefore, a sign of a high-quality degree. 

And, because the course is 'dual accredited', you will also automatically receive a CMI professional qualification when you graduate, on top of your BA (Hons) from us! Find out more about the benefits of CMI accreditation.

What you will study

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.

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Where Business Finds Its Edge

A modern hub for business and innovation, the Cavendish Building brings industry thinking to life, shaping future leaders in a cutting-edge environment.

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Undergraduate Open Days

The best way to find out if studying at Derby is right for you is to experience an Open Day. Get a feel for the city and campus, tour our first-class facilities and see where you could be living.

Book your Undergraduate Open DayBook your Undergraduate Open Day

How you will learn

You will learn through interactive lectures and seminars, debates and discussions, field trips, from practitioners drawn from across the private, public and third sector. You will draw on both theoretical and contemporary literature and work with live case study briefs. There is a high of practical application in the module coupled enabling you to apply the concepts and models learnt in the module in business settings.

Who will teach you

Dr Tina Bass

Programme Leader

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Dr Tina Bass

Dr Tina Bass is an Associate Professor and Head of Discipline (Business and Management). She has a Doctorate of Social Science (DSocSci) from the University of Leicester and her research interests are currently focused upon change mana...

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Anne Wylie

Senior Lecturer in Business and Management, Programme Leader for BA (Hons) Business Management

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Anne Wylie

As a Senior Lecturer in Business Management and Programme Leader for the BA (Hons) Business Management, Anne teaches on a number of undergraduate modules and helps to drive the continuous development of the programme and the developmen...

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Sheena Bevitt

Senior Lecturer Human Resource Management and Programme Leader BA (Hons) Business Management (HRM)

Sheena sitting, smiling.

Sheena Bevitt

Sheena Bevitt is a Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader for the BA (Hons) Business Management (HRM) degree and the Academic Lead supporting Business School students taking a year in work placement. Before joining the University, Sheena...

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Rob Moon

Senior Lecturer in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship

Rob Moon

Rob Moon

Rob Moon is a Senior Lecturer in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship. Rob was a design engineer with over 20 years’ experience within the global manufacturing industry, and has lectured extensively in Southern Africa, Europe and...

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Dr Vic Curtis

Course Director - College of Business, Law and Social Science

Vic Curtis teaching an enterprise and entrepreneurship class

Dr Vic Curtis

Vic Curtis is DBS Course Director, Senior Lecturer in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship and Subject Leader for Joint Honours Business Enterprise pathway. He encourages students to take a more enterprising approach to their studies to ach...

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Dr Xueer Ma

Lecturer

Xueer Ma

Dr Xueer Ma

Xueer Ma is a lecturer in Business and Management, BLSS. Her research area focuses on strategic transformation and cross-culture studies. She also focuses on entrepreneurship and strategic human resource management (SHRM). She has abro...

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Helping you reach your full potential

Our Personal Academic Tutoring programme supports your academic journey, helping you achieve your goals and unlock your potential.

Explore the programme

Careers

Due to the variety of modules studied on the course you’d be well suited for a range of roles across areas such as:

As well as specialist roles in the field of change management, sustainability and zero carbon.

Getting you career ready

Your degree is only part of your story.

We're here to help prepare you for life after university.

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94%
of UK graduates are in employment or further study.

2nd
for employability.
Uni Compare Annual Student Review Rankings 2026.

87%
of UK graduates say their current activity is meaningful.

Entry requirements

Contextual offers may apply to students who meet certain criteria.

2026/27

These are the typical qualification requirements for September 2026 entry.

RequirementWhat we're looking for
UCAS points112
A LevelBBC
T LevelMerit
BTECDMM
GCSEGCSE Maths and English Grade 4/Grade C (or above) or equivalent qualification
Access to HEPass Access to HE Diploma with 60 credits: 45 at Level 3 with a minimum of Distinction: 15, Merit: 24, Pass: 6
English language requirementsN/A

Fees and funding

2025/26
2026/27
2025/26Full-timePart-time
UK

£9,535 per year

N/A

International

£16,900 per year

N/A

2026/27Full-timePart-time
UK

£9,535 per year

N/A

International

£17,500 per year

N/A

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

How to apply

UK students

If you are in Year 13 and applying for a full-time undergraduate course (including our joint honours courses), we recommend that you apply through UCAS.

International students

The quickest and easiest way to apply is through our online application portal.

If you'd like support with your application, you can contact one of our trusted local representatives.

If you're currently living in the UK and applying for a full-time undergraduate course, we recommend using UCAS.

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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