Business Management with Foundation Year

The highlights

• We're looking for students who want to 'do' business, as well as learn about business — is that you? From the get-go, you'll be thinking about how to apply what you're learning, through topical case studies, business simulations, real consultancy projects and work placements. 
• Once you've completed your Foundation Year, you can continue on the general BA (Hons) Business Management degree or choose one of the following:
  • BA (Hons) Business Management and Entrepreneurship
  • BA (Hons) Business Management and Finance
  • BA (Hons) Business Management and Human Resource Management
  • BA (Hons) Business Management and Marketing
  • BA (Hons) Business Management, Supply Chain and Logistics
• All courses are accredited by the Chartered Management Institute, which means you gain an extra professional qualification on top of your degree as well as professional mentoring and access to CMI member benefits.

Foundation Year - helping you to achieve more

Including a foundation year as part of your four-year study programme will give you a head start in your academic and professional life. The foundation year offers the chance to strengthen your skills, knowledge and confidence – with extensive support from our expert staff – before you advance to stage one of your honours degree. It could also be beneficial if you are planning a career change and want to get to grips with aspects of subjects which are new to you.

Our degrees with a foundation year are continuous, meaning that you won’t need to apply again once you have successfully completed the first year.

Business Management – your questions answered

In the below video, Senior Lecturer, Olivia Ramsbottom, answers some of the most frequently asked questions about Business Management at the University of Derby. 

Let's do business

Join this challenging and varied business management degree 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, through projects, placements and internships. On this course, everyone gets to do business as well as learn about business. 

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.

We have recently updated this business management programme, so you will cover many growth areas and hot topics, including:

• responsible management
• business ethics
• business analytics
• digital media
• innovation and globalisation.

Professionally approved

This Business Management degree is accredited by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), a UK professional body which is dedicated to promoting excellence in management and leadership. This means that the CMI has independently assessed the course and is happy that it meets its own high standards and priorities. CMI accreditation is therefore a sign of a high quality degree. 

Because it's '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.

Foundation Year - helping you to achieve more

Including a foundation year as part of your four-year study programme will give you a head start in your academic and professional life. The foundation year offers the chance to strengthen your skills, knowledge and confidence – with extensive support from our expert staff – before you advance to stage one of your honours degree. It could also be beneficial if you are planning a career change and want to get to grips with aspects of subjects which are new to you.

Our degrees with a foundation year are continuous, meaning that you won’t need to apply again once you have successfully completed the first year.

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
• work experience and consultancy projects
• self-directed study
• optional placement and internship opportunities
• joint projects with overseas students.

Business Consultancy Project

In your final year, 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, you will also become much more confident in your abilities. 

Optional placement year or internships

You can choose to take a placement year between years two and three of your degree, which would super-charge your employability and improve your prospects after graduation. We can help you to find a placement and provide support throughout your year away. If that's not for you, you can choose to complete internships during the summer breaks instead. 

By the end of the course you will have sound business acumen and a wide range of practical skills. You’ll graduate with not only a degree in Business Management, but with an extra professional qualification (the CMI Diploma) and a host of real-world experience, so you’ll already have a head start in the careers market.

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.

Further study

You could continue your studies with one of our masters programmes, including the MBA Global and MBA Global Finance or MSc International Business.

Business Management graduate

Business Management graduate Orianne talks about her experience at the University of Derby. Orianne graduated from our Business Management degree in 2015. Now Senior Talent Acquisition Partner (Early Careers) at Experian, she talks about how she has used the skills, knowledge, and experience she gained at Derby to launch her career. She also offers some great tips on how to make the most of your time at university.

2024 entry

These are the typical qualification requirements for September 2024 entry.

Contextual offers may apply to students who meet certain criteria.

2025 entry

These are the typical qualification requirements for September 2025 entry.

Contextual offers may apply to students who meet certain criteria.

2025/26

*This is the fee for the Foundation Year. Subsequent fees are £9,535 per year.

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

Additional costs and optional extras

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.

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.