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Business (Top-Up)

BA (Hons)

Home Courses Undergraduate Business & Management degree

Summary

Study level

Undergraduate

Award

Degree Top-Up

Full time

1 year

Part time

1 year+

Location

London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds or Online

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Faculty of Business

Course Overview

Do you have an interest in business and a keen desire to manage? With this business top-up degree you’ll have the opportunity to combine those passions and rise up to the career you want.

On this one year top-up course, you'll gain all the skills that are necessary to become an effective manager in a variety of business environments. Developing professional level business skills and an understanding of business structures, the course give you the skills needed to fulfil your career aspirations in whichever sector you choose.

The perfect choice for anyone who’s already completed a HND in business (or equivalent), this top-up degree covers all aspects of business functions and practices, leaving you to decide where you want to go in your future career path. All you need to get started is the desire to succeed and the drive to push yourself to the next professional level.

Quick tools

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Download the course brochure to take a look at your course modules and syllabus content.

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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

This business top-up degree will bring you up to speed with the issues that managers face, while developing and enhancing your strategic and management skills. You’ll explore internal and external business environments and gain an in-depth understanding of business functions in the modern world – giving you excellent grounding to thrive in your future career.

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

Modules

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

How do we assess you?

The way we assess our students gives you regular opportunities 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 study through Arden’s blended learning study mode at our study centres in London Ealing, London Tower Hill, London Holborn, Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds.

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

"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)

Blended learning

How does it work?

When you choose our blended learning study mode, you’ll have eight hours of timetabled classes spread over two days at the Arden study centre of your choice. This is combined with around 25 hours of independent study, which takes place through ilearn, our university campus in the cloud. ilearn contains all the resources you need to study successfully. You’ll also have access to our online library, Perlego, which contains almost half a million books, journals, and industry literature which you can make use of throughout your studies, removing the need to buy expensive course books in order to study successfully.

Blended learning is the best option for students who prefer the structure of regular face to face classes with their tutor and fellow classmates, and is particularly suited to students who live within commuting or driving distance of one of our UK study centres.

If you're a student from the UK who is enrolling on a blended learning course with Arden (based in one of our UK study centres) then you can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan and Maintenance Loan to help pay for your living expenses. You can 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.

Please note: study centre classes are temporarily being conducted online in our virtual classroom due to Covid-19 restrictions. Face-to-face classes will resume once the current restrictions are lifted.

Learn more about blended learning

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 online library (which when used along with our supplementary library, Perlego, gives you access to almost half a million books and journals – yours for free while you study 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.

Find out more

Eligibility

To be eligible to study this BA (Hons) Business 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 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

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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

Here at Arden University we strive to provide a fresh and unique approach to your business and management education. With ideas and experiences taken from employers and thought leaders across the world, we give you the opportunity to put proven business skills and techniques into practice during your studies. I look forward to welcoming you to the Arden University family.

Dilshad Sheikh

Dean of the Faculty of Business

Career prospects

It’s your graduate status that most employers will be interested in, along with the transferable skills you’ve gained. These include analytical and critical thinking, problem solving, strong interpersonal and communication skills and an appreciation of organisational behaviour and structures. These skills show strong potential for future development in multiple areas, leaving your career options wide open.

Related Courses

What can a business top-up course do for me?

By developing a wide range of transferable skills throughout your studies, you’ll graduate with an exciting variety of employment opportunities. Once you’ve completed your degree, you’ll:

Have an in-depth understanding of business functions
Have demonstrated your ability to learn and solve problems
Be able to make a decision about where to target your career planning as a result of your module choices
Be an attractive proposition to many employers due to your transferable skills

What can I do after Arden University?

Your graduate status and the skills you gain throughout your degree are what employers will be interested in. These skills cover everything from analytical and critical thinking, problem solving, strong interpersonal and communication skills and an appreciation of organisational behaviour and structures. With it, you’ll have a variety of opportunities at your fingertips. Some of the job roles you might want to explore include:

Business Manager
Hotel Manager
Travel Consultant
Sales Manager
Business Development Executive
Marketing Executive
Operations Manager
Tour Manager
Travel Agency Manager
Event Organiser
Travel Administrator

Industry skills

Chartered Management Institute (CMI)

The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) promotes excellence in UK management and leadership. The institute aims to boost career development across the management sector and connect you with likeminded professionals across diverse sectors.

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. They are also active in business policy making across the globe, and ensure that their more than 140,000 members are represented in policy decision making.

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.

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.

Business Graduates Association (BGA)

Arden University’s Faculty of Business is an esteemed member institution of the Business Graduates Association (BGA), an international quality assurance body of world-leading education providers who share a commitment for responsible management practices and lifelong learning. Membership with the BGA means that Arden University will support its students’ professional growth, allowing them to contribute to an international network in which ‘Leaders Never Stop Learning’.