BA (Hons) Business (Marketing) (Top-Up)

Business (Marketing) (Top-Up)

BA (Hons)

Summary

Study level
Part time
1 year+
Location
Online
Faculty of Business

What makes Arden University special?

Education
Education for everyone, everywhere
Whether you're constrained by location, cost, time, or other life commitments, we're passionate about giving you access to higher education that fits into your busy, modern life.
Where to study
You decide how and where to study
We offer a wide range of flexible undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in both our online and blended study modes.
Support
Full support both online and on-site
We're also proud to offer non-standard entry, meaning your work experience and previous qualifications are taken into account when assessing your application.
Employability
Strong focus on employability
You will gain in-depth subject knowledge and transferable skills that employers from a huge range of industries will value. Many of our courses at Arden are also accredited by leading professional bodies in the UK.

Course Overview

Maximise your future opportunities in the world of business and marketing with a top-up degree that’s designed to set you apart from your peers. 

Looking to develop your understanding of business? Keen to gain transferable marketing skills? Then this is the right course for you. If you’ve previously completed a HND in business (or equivalent) then this degree will enable you to achieve a full undergraduate qualification with just one extra year of study. 

Your studies will focus on skills and knowledge specific to marketing, strategy planning, and marketing communications, which can be applied across the world in your choice of industry. The course will also teach you the importance of digital techniques and social media marketing in today’s highly competitive marketing environment. And, as this course will also give you a solid grounding in business techniques, your future career options will also include generalist business roles. 

Studying Business at Arden
Video • 1 min

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Career development resources
You'll have online access to a huge range of career development tools from the day you start studying.
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Professional accreditation
This course is accredited by the Chartered Management Institute, supporting your career and connecting you with likeminded professionals. 

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Course details and modules

Marketing is an essential part of any successful business - not just for appealing to consumers, but also in feeding intelligence to management teams to support effective decision making and planning. Throughout your business and marketing top-up degree, you'll study modules that are designed to give you specialist knowledge and a range of practical skills that will enable you to become an effective marketer in any industry you choose.

Toby Bradley

It’s a great way to study if you’re looking for flexibility. It was challenging to balance a full-time job with my degree but once I was in a routine, it was much easier to manage everything. Online learning has actually helped me become very good with time management and given me the ability to prioritise tasks.

Toby Bradley
BA (Hons) Business & Accountancy
Adrian Williams

"I was already in the working world and running two businesses. Not to mention I also have a young family, so the freedom online learning offered, and the cost effectiveness of the course, was a big draw for me."

Adrian Williams
BA Business (Human Resource Management)

Modules

  • Contemporary Management Issues
  • Strategic Management
  • Managing Self and Others
  • International Marketing
  • Research Methods and Dissertation

How do we assess you?

The way we assess our students gives the opportunity to demonstrate your strengths and knowledge in a variety of ways. That’s why we choose a range of different methods to assess and track your progress. These methods include:

  • Assignments
  • Essays
  • Presentations
  • Case Studies
  • Portfolios of work

Study options

This course is available to students as a fully online programme, which gives you the convenience of being able to study from anywhere worldwide. 

Martine Crawford

This course was the best decision I have ever made. It's given me a chance to have a career in a subject I love, and it’s given me more confidence in myself and my ability to succeed.

Martine Crawford
BA (Hons) Business (Marketing)

Online learning

How does it work?

Studying this course online gives you the ultimate in convenience. You can enrol with Arden from anywhere in the world and study your degree from the comfort of home, without the requirement to attend classes in a physical location.  

Our online students study their degree through ilearn, Arden’s university campus in the cloud.  ilearn provides everything you need to study at University. It offers an integrated virtual learning experience, including your virtual classroom, lecture theatre, and access to our Library Portal. The portal includes an extensive digital library including thousands of journal titles, eBooks, and academic and industry databases which you can use to research your assignments and projects. All of these materials are provided to you free of charge, and contain all the research information you’ll need to complete your degree with us.

ilearn is also integrated with Zoom, making it easier to chat with your course tutor during your scheduled seminar sessions. You can even integrate our study materials into your Kindle, making it possible to study wherever you have you Kindle handy. 

Studying online doesn’t mean studying alone. As well as receiving regular feedback and guidance from your course tutor, you’ll be studying with likeminded students who you can meet with through our Unitu community, and you’ll have access to community message boards to discuss your course and the topics being raised within it. We’ve even set up community boards embedded into each of the course modules so you can have discussions with your tutor and classmates on the topics you’re currently learning. 

Online learning students resident in the UK can apply for a Tuition Fee loan to pay for their course. If you cannot attend your course in person because of a disability, you may also be entitled to a Maintenance Loan to cover living expenses. Please find more information on our fees and funding page. If you're a student from Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland you can find information about obtaining a student loan to cover your costs from your student finance body.

Learn more about online learning

Entry requirements

At Arden University we consider applications on a case by case basis. If you have significant work experience, have qualifications you have gained elsewhere, or a degree or qualification that isn't a clear pathway to this degree - we are more than happy to discuss your application.

Eligibility

To be eligible for this BA (Hons) Business (Marketing) top-up degree, we need to see that you have:

  • A HND in Business or equivalent, provided that your prior learning is consistent with Level 5 of the functional areas of Business (Finance, Marketing, HRM and Operations Management)

English Proficiency

  • IELTS 6.0 (no less than 5.5 in any element); or TOEFL iBT 80; or equivalent

We also offer an internal English test for applicants. More information on this can be found here.

We are happy to consider an application from you if you can show us you have the motivation to study this business and marketing top-up course. 

We’ll ask you for a personal statement that demonstrates your ability to study the course. We may also want references and evidence of relevant experience.

Before you start studying

Whilst you can read your study materials on your smart phone or tablet, to make the most of your learning experience, you will need access to a laptop or computer (we recommend one running the latest version of Windows), and a good stable internet connection.

Course fees and funding

Faculty of Business Online Learning Offer

For a limited time only, UK applicants can save £500 on the cost of BA (Hons) Business (Marketing) (Top-Up). To qualify, you need to enrol to start studying with us on our July or October 2023 start dates. Eligible students who take advantage of this offer will have their fee per level reduced to £6,435. Terms and conditions apply.

Find your country

Use the dropdown above to find course fees and funding information for your country. If you can’t find information for your country in the dropdown, visit our International support page.

Meet the faculty

Professor Dilshad Sheikh

We design our marketing courses with an emphasis on the student learning experience and international industry standards. Our course content is reviewed regularly to ensure you are getting the most relevant and up-to-date marketing information possible. I look forward to welcoming you to the Arden University family.

Professor Dilshad Sheikh
Dean of the Faculty of Business 

Career prospects

Marketing is a key element for business success, which means graduating with a business and marketing top-up degree will provide you with a huge range of career options. As a successful graduate, you’ll have access to a range of opportunities across private, public, and voluntary sectors. This could be anything from financial, consumer, and IT companies to not-profit organisations. 

What can a business (marketing) top-up degree do for me?

This course will provide you with a wealth of knowledge and skills that can be attributed to several different career paths in a range of exciting industries. So whichever role you envisage yourself in, this course will help to accelerate you to your desired career. Some of the stand-out skills you’ll master on this course include: 

  • Professional skills in business, supplemented by an understanding of marketing 
  • Understanding of key aspects of current marketing best practice as well as emerging developments within the marketing sector
  • Essential skills and tools to work professionally in a business situation and to be a creative and professional practitioner, working independently and as part of multidisciplinary team
  • Effective marketing communication through a variety of media
  • An awareness of entrepreneurial approaches and business skills which encourage the growth of enterprise and support the creation of new businesses

What can I do after Arden University?

As mentioned above, business and marketing degrees open up a world of opportunity across a wide range of sectors. Take a look at some of the professions our previous graduates have gone on to explore: 

  • Brand Manager
  • Campaign Manager
  • Communications Manager
  • Sales and Marketing Manager
  • Marketing Executive
  • Communications Executive or Assistant
  • Event Organiser
  • Product Manager
  • Public Affairs Consultant
  • Public Relations Account Executive
  • Public Relations Officer

Industry skills

Chartered Management Institute (CMI)

This course awards a CMI Level 5 Certificate in Management & Leadership and offers CMI Foundation Chartered Manager Status *

The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) promotes excellence in UK management and leadership. As the CMI possesses a Royal Charter, they are the only organisation in the UK that can award Chartered Manager status to their members – the gold standard in management. With 140,000 members, the institute aims to boost career development across the management sector and connect like-minded professionals.

As an Arden student, you’ll have free CMI Membership throughout your studies, giving you access to a range of additional resources including a mentoring service and invitations to networking events both online and offline. 

Upon completion of this CMI-accredited course, you will be awarded CMI Level 5 Certificate in Management & Leadership and gain CMI Foundation Chartered Manager Status. This recognises you have the skills needed to be an effective manager, helping you stand out from the competition and start your management career journey - with a CMI qualification and a clear pathway to full Chartered Manager status.

*Upon completion of your course, the CMI award and level of chartered status awarded will depend on your level and length of study, whether you entered your course with Recognition for Prior Learning (RPL) or if any compensation is applied on your modules throughout the duration of study. If this criteria applies to you, you may receive one of the 2 different levels; an Award or Certificate.

Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)

Students completing this course will gain exemptions for CIM Certificate qualifications, meaning you will only need to complete one or two modules instead of three.

The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) is the world’s largest organisation for professional marketers and plays a key role in setting industry standards.

The CIM helps and supports its members at every stage of their marketing careers, helping you develop your marketing capabilities and keeping you informed about industry developments and employment opportunities across the sector – focusing on providing you with the ‘4Cs’ of CIM membership: Career, Capability, Community and Content.

The cost of your CIM Affiliate Membership is included while you are studying with us, which gives you access to all of these resources and more.

Career Development Resources

Career development resources

Once you’ve enrolled with Arden, our careers centre is easily accessible directly from inside our online platform, ilearn. The careers centre is here to help you discover the areas of your academic and professional life that you find most meaningful and rewarding, and then apply this to your career pathway. 
Just a few of the career tools you’ll find in the careers centre include:

  • CV360, which analyses your CV and provides instant feedback for improvement
  • Interview360, helping you practise your interview technique in a stress-free environment and tackle some of the most common interview questions - as many times as you need to
  • Aptitude tests to help your improve your critical thinking, numeric, and logical reasoning skills
  • 100s of interactive courses focused on giving you the skills and confidence you need to excel in your professional life. 
  • My Jobs, where you can search employment vacancies, browse employer profiles by location and, or connect with other employees on LinkedIn.

Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) membership.

Arden University is a member of the prestigious Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). AACSB International is a global association of leaders in education and business dedicated to supporting and advancing quality business education worldwide.

This membership reflects the fact that Arden University has successfully matched the high standards required by the AACSB, and enables the sharing of ideas and the exchange best practises between global business schools. Membership also gives our faculty members access to in-depth data and research to support the development of our courses and teaching methods, ensuring that we are able to provide you with the best possible university experience.

Business Graduates Association (BGA)

The BGA is a membership and quality assurance body. As a member, Arden University have signed up to the BGA Charter, committing their institution to responsible management practices and lifelong learning, positively impacting their students, communities, and the economy. This shows our students that we are demonstrating responsible management ourselves, as well as it being a central theme that runs through our own courses.

As Arden University is a member of the Business Graduates Association (BGA), students will receive complementary BGA student and graduate membership. Through this membership, current students will have access to the BGA Career Development Centre, packed with interactive tools, e-learning content, partner discounts and the latest job opportunities. This is a lifetime access, which means students will continue to have access to these services even after they graduate.