Business Management BA (Hons) (with Foundation Year)
 Business Management.jpg)
UCAS Code: N201|Duration: 4 years|Full Time|Hope Park
UCAS Campus Code: L46
Accredited|Work placement opportunities|Study Abroad opportunities
About the course
Business management is fast-paced and ever-changing. Organisations face major shifts and complex challenges both in the UK and worldwide. Students entering this field must understand the business environment and how organisations function in uncertain situations. The Business Management degree at Liverpool Hope University examines small to medium-sized enterprises as well as global multinational companies—public, private, and not-for-profit. It focuses on business principles, organisational dynamics, and management processes.
Liverpool Hope Business School, holder of the prestigious AACSB accreditation, has a strong reputation for delivering a high-quality business management course that shapes students with solid theoretical knowledge. Students gain a thorough understanding of modern business practices, supported by the latest research. Our connections with local and national businesses, alongside professional bodies, ensure you are well-prepared for the job market.
This comprehensive business management degree lets you explore how businesses operate and their ethical and social impacts on communities. A dedicated, student-focused team will help you understand this context while building the critical and transferable skills employers seek.
A standout feature of our Business Management programme is the YE (Young Enterprise) initiative for all second-year students. This innovative project ties together the entire curriculum. Each student joins a business start-up team, where they collaboratively establish and run a new legal business. This hands-on experience of starting a “real-life” business is often cited by students as their favourite and most valuable part of the degree.
Course structure
Teaching for this degree includes lectures, smaller seminars, and tutorials. Lectures provide a general overview of Business Management, while seminars help deepen your understanding and apply what you learn. In tutorials, you will further develop your grasp of Business Management and sometimes take part in student-led activities. Seminars and tutorials also aim to strengthen your leadership and employability skills.
If you are studying Business Management as a single honours degree, expect about 12 teaching hours per week in your first year, reducing to around 10 hours in your second and third years. For a combined honours degree, you will have approximately 6 hours per week in your first year, dropping to about 5 hours in the second and third years.
In addition to teaching hours, you should dedicate extra time each week to independent study. This may include research, reading, attending guest lectures, preparing for sessions, revising for exams, completing assessments, and participating in group projects.
Accreditation
Liverpool Hope Business School is an accredited member of AACSB International - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. For over a century, AACSB Accreditation has been synonymous with the highest standards in business education. Accredited schools have successfully undergone a rigorous review process conducted by their peers in the business education community, ensuring that they have the resources, credentials, and commitment needed to provide students with a first-rate, future-focused business education.
Our Business Management course is accredited by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).
Assessment and feedback
Throughout your three years of study, you will complete a variety of assessments. Exams are normally held at the end of each academic year, and you are required to undertake a series of assessment tasks during each year. These typically include business reports, essays, and a portfolio. In your final year, you will also complete a research project or dissertation.
You will have opportunities for formative feedback on assessments, allowing you to make improvements before your final submission. Feedback on your completed assessments will be provided, and you will have the chance to discuss it in more detail with your tutor.
Foundation Year
Successful completion of the Foundation Year will enable you to progress into the first year (Level C) of your chosen honours degree.
Year One
Introduction to Business Management
Students will learn the basic principles of Business Management, providing a foundation to progress through the degree. They will explore what a business is, how it interacts with its environment, serves customers, and handles competition. Key topics include:
The Internal and External Environment
Understanding the factors that affect management decisions is crucial. Students will study the external environment and how it shapes business strategy. Organisational Behaviour will also allow them to examine how groups and teams contribute to business success.
Organisational Behaviour and the Nature of Work
Students will study organisational activities, rules, roles, and employee responsibilities. They will explore how to design structures that enable clear information flow to achieve goals. Topics such as workplace motivation, organisational culture, and change management will also be covered.
Skills and Employability
This year will equip students with essential employability skills. Group work will strengthen teamwork abilities, while student-led tutorials will develop skills in interpreting, producing, and presenting information. By the end of the year, students will be able to manage multiple projects within tight deadlines. Employability is central to the curriculum, preparing students for the job market after graduation. Business analytics and introductory statistics will also be included to support core research skills.
Students studying single honours Business Management will also cover:
Principles of Marketing
Marketing involves strategies that companies use to attract and retain customers. This section covers marketing basics, segmentation, communication, promotion strategies, and the ‘4Ps’ of marketing. It will also examine how organisations use digital technologies to market their services.
Management Information Systems
Students will be introduced to data from various systems and will learn how to analyse this data to create reports that support management decision-making.
Economics
This topic examines economic systems and how markets, demand, and supply affect resource distribution. It also considers how individuals, businesses, governments, and nations make decisions about allocating resources.
Year Two
Introduction to Business Management
In year two, students will learn how business functions work with management. This helps them understand the operational challenges faced by today’s organisations. Single honours students will also study the global, economic, and ethical frameworks shaping business.
Entrepreneurship
Students will learn about enterprise and how different parts of a business connect. They can take part in the Young Enterprise initiative, which simulates real-life challenges in starting and running a business.
Key Business Functions
Students will examine key areas like Human Resource Management, Finance, and Operations Management. The HRM section will cover recruitment, selection, and performance management. Accounting and Finance will teach essential principles for understanding and analysing company accounts. Students will also explore the complex role of operations management.
Research Methods
To prepare for the year three dissertation or project, students will learn independent research methods, including operationalising a research question, research philosophy, sampling, data collection, analysis, and research ethics.
Single honours Business Management students will also study:
Future of Work
This topic looks at how geopolitical, economic, social, and technological forces shape work and organisations. It ends with a brief look at the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on professional roles.
International Business
Students will assess globalisation's effects on markets and production. They will connect theory to practice across industries, analysing challenges and opportunities for international organisations. The course also discusses contemporary economic models in a global context.
Corporate and Social Responsibility and Ethics
Students will study business ethics and its relevance today, learning ethical principles and theories and applying them to real-world situations, including both normative and descriptive ethics.
Employment Law
This topic covers the basics of employment law and its impact on Human Resource policies, including legislation on discrimination, unconscious bias, workplace diversity, health, safety, and employee well-being.
Project Management
Students will learn the project management life cycle stages, potential risks, tools, and methodologies. They will apply these concepts to real-world business scenarios.
Contemporary Economic Models
This section covers macroeconomic concepts, including GDP, its measurement, and limitations, as well as factors affecting long-term economic growth and the role of state policies.
Year Three
In the final year, students adopt more strategic, global, and contemporary perspectives. They also undertake a research project or dissertation on an organisational issue of their choice. At this stage, the course takes a strategic lens to explore the nature and scope of business and management in an ever-changing, increasingly global, and dynamic context.
Both academic and professional competencies are refined in the final year. Critical evaluation becomes central, helping students develop as reflective thinkers and practitioners. Completing an individual research project or dissertation also fosters a proactive mindset, preparing students for the workplace or further study.
Topics covered in the third year include:
Management Strategy
Students learn how organisations plan, monitor, analyse, and assess the actions needed to achieve their goals. The topic covers evaluating current strategies, reviewing internal structures, setting objectives, and analysing competitor actions to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.
Sustainability
This topic examines how businesses can operate without harming the environment, communities, or society. Students explore both the positive and negative effects of business activities on society and the environment.
Students choose 2 out of 3 from the following topics:
- Leadership
- Talent Development
- Operations and Logistics
Single honours Business Management students will also study:
Social Entrepreneurship
Building on prior learning in business ethics, entrepreneurship, and business in society, this topic explores the traits of social entrepreneurs, alternative social enterprise models, and the social-solidarity economy. Students examine how social enterprises drive societal change, engage with critical theories and case studies, and evaluate a leading social enterprise to develop analytical skills.
Globalisation
Students develop a critical understanding of globalisation in the context of economic and social development. Key debates include the impact of globalisation on economic growth, poverty, inequality, and the environment.
Evolving Work
This topic examines the rapid evolution of work, driven by technological change, particularly AI. Students explore the implications of these changes for employment and organisational adaptation, considering historical, current, and future perspectives.
Final Year Dissertation
Students complete an independent research project or dissertation, applying their knowledge and research skills to a chosen organisational topic.
Entry requirements
There may be some flexibility for mature students offering non-tariff qualifications and students meeting particular widening participation criteria.
Careers
Our Business Management degree prepares you for a career in management, business advisory, or even to start your own venture. You’ll develop highly sought-after skills—problem-solving, critical analysis, teamwork, presentations, report writing, and reflective practice—that employers value across industries.
Graduates have pursued roles such as Customs Relations Manager, Human Resources Assistant, Retail Supply Chain Graduate, Business Development Assistant, Account Manager, Business Research Intern, and Event Coordinator.
Enhancement opportunities
SALA
The Service and Leadership Award (SALA) is offered as an extra-curricular programme involving service-based experiences, development of leadership potential and equipping you for a career in a rapidly changing world. It enhances your degree, it is something which is complimentary but different and which has a distinct ‘value-added’ component. Find out more on our Service and Leadership Award page.
Study Abroad
As part of your degree, you can choose to spend either a semester or a full year of study at one of our partner universities as part of our Study Abroad programme. Find out more on our Study Abroad page.
Tuition fees
The tuition fees for the 2026/27 academic year are £9,535* for full-time undergraduate courses.
If you are a student from the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands, your tuition fees will also be £9,535*.
The University reserves the right to increase Home and EU Undergraduate and PGCE tuition fees in line with any inflationary or other increase authorised by the Secretary of State for future years of study.
*subject to Council approval.
Additional costs
As well as the cost of your tuition fees, you will need to consider the cost of your core textbooks which we estimate to be around £180. There is also a voluntary contribution cost of £5-£10 for the Young Enterprise venture.
You will also need to consider the cost of your accommodation each year whilst you study at university. Visit our accommodation pages for further details about our Halls of Residence.
Scholarships
We have a range of scholarships to help with the cost of your studies. Visit our scholarships page to find out more.
International tuition fees
The International Tuition fees for 2026/27 are £14,500.
Visit our International fees page for more information.
Course combinations
This course is also available with Foundation Year as a Combined Honours degree with the following subjects: