Business Management (Graduate Apprenticeship) - BA (Hons)

Rewarding for you as a student

A Graduate Apprenticeship enables you to study for a degree whilst in employment. This course is a practical and integrated way to launch a new career or develop expertise with your current employer, who will benefit from a more highly skilled, more motivated and ambitious employee.

How can the businesses of tomorrow function better? What is the best way for organisations to manage their resources and break into new markets? How important is the business manager in driving this success? Whatever industry you work in, and no matter how experienced you are, a Graduate Apprenticeship degree in Business Management at QMU will equip you with the skills and expertise you need to meet these challenges – and more.

Rewarding for employers

The Graduate Apprenticeship scheme has great benefits for employers as well as students. Find out more about the benefits of the Graduate Apprenticeships scheme to employers in our video.

On this course you will:

• study while continuing in employment;
• boost your professional development and employability;
• study the same core modules as full-time Business Management students, covering core management areas such as marketing, business law, digital business and strategy;
• study work-based learning modules throughout your degree, allowing you to complete projects designed to support your employer’s business goals and objectives;
• benefit from guidance, mentoring and one-to-one supervision provided by our academic staff in support with your employer mentor; and
• benefit from learning alongside other GAs, who will come from very different organisations and have a range of experience. This provides a stimulating and rewarding stage in your professional and personal development, and a unique networking opportunity.

Structure

You can opt to study for an honours degree over four years or an ordinary degree over three years. You will complete a range of modules each year as outlined.

You will spend one day per week on campus and four days per week in the workplace.

Teaching, learning and assessment

You will be taught in lectures, seminars and practical workshops. Outside these timetabled sessions you will be expected to continue learning through self-study. You will be assessed by a range of methods such as written exams, reports, business plans, live pitch, group presentations and negotiation role play.

You will have the iterative support of Academic Development (AD) throughout your course to enable you confidently to manage the purely academic challenges of your study, and address the diverse technical requirements of your assignments. AD will be available not only as a regular taught component of your study timetable, but in the form of self-study materials available via your module hubs/websites etc. and as ad-hoc one-to-one or small group sessions, which can usually be arranged at short notice.

Workplace learning

You will continue to work in your current role while you study. This will help you develop your learning into practical, real-world business expertise.

Teaching staff, class sizes and timetables

You can read more about the teaching staff on this course at the bottom of this page. Please note that teaching staff is subject to change.

For more information, please also visit ‘How we teach and how you’ll learn’.

Year Two

You will:

• focus on operational aspects of managing businesses in an ethical and fair manner across a range of business environments; and
• develop your analytical and data visualisation skills using analytical methods and software valued by employers.

Modules

• Work-Based Learning Two
• Human Resource Management
• Operations Management
• Digital Marketing and E-Commerce Management
• Business Law

Year Three

You will:

• examine business and management themes at a more strategic level, choosing electives from a range of modules on offer;
• develop valuable project management skills and experience in the application of project management techniques through a client brief; and
• create a fully costed business plan for a new business venture.

Modules

• Work-Based Learning Three
• Project Management
• One elective
• Leading and Managing Change
• New Enterprise Start-up

Year Four

You will:

• deepen your understanding, and awareness, of contemporary issues and challenges facing organisations at a strategic level;
• complete an independent piece of research through a consultancy project; and
• develop a range of practical skills necessary for management roles such as negotiation, collaboration, conflict resolution and influencing skills.

Modules

• Work-Based Learning Four
• Strategy
• Negotiation Theory and Practice
• Organisational Behaviour
• Consultancy Project

NB The modules listed here are correct at time of posting (Feb 2023) but may differ slightly to those offered in 2024. Please check back here for any updates.

You will already be employed, so you won’t suddenly hit the job market like most graduates do. You will be able to take the theoretical understanding you have learnt in your degree and apply it directly to challenges in your workplace. From there, your goal will be to use your new skills to step your career up to the next level.

Entry requirements

Direct entry

• HNC in a related subject with B in the graded unit
• Scottish Higher: BC at Advanced Higher in relevant subjects plus BB at Higher

Your application will be assessed on an individual basis, taking into account any previous industry experience you may have. If you have already completed a Foundation or Modern Apprenticeship in a related subject, this will also contribute towards meeting the entry requirements.

You can apply if you have already completed a degree with SAAS funding, you could still do a GA, particularly if it is a career change to something new.

Eligibility

The BA/BA (Hons) Business Management (Graduate Apprenticeship) is available if you:

• are aged 16 or over (there is no maximum age limit)
• are living in Scotland and have been for three years*; and
• working in Scotland on a full-time or part-time basis.

*Students must be living (ordinarily resident) in Scotland on the day their course starts. Where ‘ordinarily resident’ means to have 'habitual and normal residence in one place'. The Scottish Government expects someone who is ordinarily resident in Scotland to have made their home in Scotland with the intention of staying and living here, and not just to undertake a course of study. More information is available from SAAS .

Am I a Widening Access student?: We apply the minimum entry criteria to applicants who meet one or more contextual factor. To see if this would apply to you, please refer to the access and application page.

Your application will be assessed on an individual basis, taking into account any previous industry experience you may have. If you have already completed a Foundation or Modern Apprenticeship in a related subject, this will also contribute towards meeting the entry requirements.

How to apply

If you are a school leaver or not in employment but think that a GA could be for you, you can apply the same way you would apply for a job. The vacancies are advertised on the Apprenticeships Scotland website.

Before applying for this course, please email GA@qmu.ac.uk in the first instance to discuss your application. We just need to make sure you meet the criteria and that your employer is happy for you to apply to be a Graduate Apprentice.

Disability/health conditions

If you have a disability, long-term physical or mental health condition, or learning disability, it should not stand in the way of your studying at QMU. However, if you are not sure whether your disability might be a barrier in your studies or in relation to the professional standards, please contact the disability service who will be able to have a conversation with you about reasonable adjustments and supports available to you.

Terms and Conditions

The delivery of this course is subject to the terms and conditions set out in our 2024/25 Entry Terms and Conditions (Undergraduate).