Business Management (International Management) with a Professional Placement Year (BSc)

at Cardiff University

Course structure

The programme is delivered through a range of core and optional modules that comprise taught lectures supported by seminars and other small group teaching and guided study. In each year you are required to take the equivalent of six 20 credit modules, four from Business Management and two from Welsh. In your second year and final years students begin to specialise by taking a number of optional modules. Year 3 of the programme is spent on a professional placement.

The teaching for the Welsh component will be entirely through the medium of Welsh.

All BSc Business Management programmes share a broadly common first year, during which you take compulsory modules from across a range of business disciplines, in order to obtain a broad understanding of business and management contexts and processes.  

The modules shown are an example of the typical curriculum and will be reviewed prior to the 2022/2023 academic year. The final modules will be published by September 2022.

Year one
The first year provides the core building blocks of management and business subjects, together with two modules in Welsh which place an emphasis on developing skills in the fields of language and literature.

Year two
Year two develops from the foundation provided in year one, with students focusing on core Business Management modules, whilst the Welsh component enables students to develop a broad understanding of the development of the Welsh language, its literature and culture.

Year three: Sandwich year

Year three is spent on a Professional Placement. This can be a very valuable part of your programme as there are many benefits that you can gain from it:

• You can access support throughout the application and recruitment process through tailored workshops and one-to-one advice.
• You will be supported whilst on placement. Most students settle into their placements very quickly but we are on hand to help and to advise if you need us.
• Your academic performance should improve - students who complete a placement year generally demonstrate an improved performance in their final year.
• You will gain an insight into an organisation and industry without any long-term obligations - this will help you with future career planning.
• You may be able to enter an organisation at a higher level on completion of your studies
• You will have the chance to earn whilst you study.
• You will develop new skills and add to your CV.

Acceptance onto this programme does not guarantee you a placement. You will be responsible for sourcing your placement, although our Careers and Employability team will assist you in finding something suitable, and in preparing you for the application and recruitment process.

We strongly advise that you start the process of finding a placement sooner rather than later. The recruitment process of many graduate employers opens around 12 months before the placements actually begin. There are often numerous stages to go through, including psychometric testing and assessment centres, and the whole process can take up to four months (sometimes longer) from beginning to end; it is really important that you start your search early.

We strongly encourage all students to source and secure paid work placements. However, we will consider unpaid placements providing it is evident that the experience allows you to meet the learning outcomes of the programme, and that you are fully aware of any financial implications.

Year four
The final year extends the business and management content of the degree with one 20 credit core double module and then 60 credits of optional modules from the list of double and single optional modules from the Business School. The Welsh content consists of 40 credits of modules from the list of Welsh optional modules, including several that will have direct relevance to specific fields of employment, such as language planning, scriptwriting and translation.

A level
AAB-ABB. Must include Chemistry. You will need to pass the science practical element of the A-level if this is part of your programme of study.

Extended/International Project Qualification: Applicants with grade A in the EPQ/IPQ will typically receive an offer one grade lower than the standard A level offer. Please note that any subject specific requirements must still be met.

International Baccalaureate
34-32 overall or 666-665 in 3 HL subjects. Must include grade 6 in HL Chemistry.

GCSE
Grade C or grade 4 in GCSE English Language.

IELTS (academic)
At least 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each subskill.

TOEFL iBT
At least 90 overall with minimum scores of 17 for writing, 17 for listening, 18 for reading and 20 for speaking.

PTE Academic
At least 62 overall with a minimum of 59 in all communicative skills.

Trinity ISE II/III
II: at least two Distinctions and two Merits.
III: at least a Pass in all components.

Tuition fees for 2022 entry

Fees for home status

• £9,000    

Fees for overseas status

• £19,700    

Our business degrees give students a broad range of skills which are valued by a range of employers in the private and public sectors. In 2016/17, 97% of the School's graduates who were available for work reported they were in employment and/or further study within six months of graduation.

There is clear demand for business management graduates who are able to operate bilingually. This degree would provide a way of addressing this need through enabling you to develop first-rate Welsh skills, as well as gaining an understanding of the workplace in a highly respected Business School. The Welsh modules provide an opportunity for you to concentrate on your linguistic skills. Graduates of this award would be extremely attractive to Welsh employers in the private and public sector who are looking for competent workers in a bilingual workplace.

Indicators of employability by Career Services inspections at universities also suggest that in general a higher number of Welsh graduates are employed than the national average for language graduates and a number of other subjects. 309 companies in the private sector have agreed to be part of a scheme ‘Support Welsh’, whilst 537 public sector institutions have language schemes bound to recruiting bilingual staff. According to Future Skills Wales, the next few years will see an increase in employers demand for people with skills in Welsh across Wales.

Numerous recruiting websites and job descriptions note Welsh as an essential or desirable skill, or of a distinguishable advantage. These posts usually require a higher standard of linguistic skills than basic fluency or bilingualism. Careers Wales found that 56% of 40 advertisements noted abilities in Welsh. 21 noted that Welsh was ‘desirable’, and 19 described Welsh skills as ‘essential’.

In addition to the central University Careers Service, our students benefit from a dedicated on-site Careers and Placements service to help them find internships, job opportunities and to access business-industry specific advice, training and guidance.