About this course
- Entry year: 2012/13
- Course code: N501
- Applications: UCAS
- Level: Undergraduate
- Tariff points: 300
- Department: Bristol Business School
- Campus: Frenchay
- Duration: Three years full-time
Four years sandwich
- Delivery: Full-time, Sandwich
- Study Abroad: There are opportunities for students to undertake a study year abroad or international placement year
- Programme leader: Dr Jenny Lloyd
Introduction
Marketing is one of the most important and dynamic of all business disciplines. Its focus on the understanding of customer needs and the delivery of customer satisfaction effectively and efficiently makes marketing central to any successful business. The BA(Hons) Marketing Communications course has particular resonance for those students seeking to specialise in the area of marketing communications with the introduction of a broad range of marketing communication techniques. In addition this course enables students to acquire relevant marketing and business knowledge and skills so that they can make an early and developing contribution in a range of organisational roles and acquire a further basis for life-long learning. As a consequence we offer a curriculum that aims to challenge your ways of thinking, learning and behaving. Issues of ethics and ethical decision-making, sustainability and global citizenship are embedded throughout.
Key Benefits
Practical courses designed for the real world
Our courses are developed and designed with employer input, using guest speakers, real life case studies and linking between subjects to allow you to see the bigger picture, all of which will help you to develop attributes essential for the real world.
Employability
Employability starts from the very first term with each course offering a module that requires students to start thinking about their future aspirations, what it means to be a professional in a given aspect of business and to develop a strong sense of self, supported by access to personal development workshops.
Included within all courses are transferable skills which facilitate the transition into higher education and underpin employability and lifelong learning. You will also have access to employability support through the UWE careers team, placement office, graduate development programme and a series of employer talks.
Placements
We offer you the opportunity to complete a 40 week industrial placement during your third year of study as we know that this experience has a significant positive impact on your future degree classification and employability outcome. We have a wide range of placement employers including companies such as IBM, Lloyds TSB, Disney, Unilever and the Avon and Somerset Constabulary.
Alternatively, you will have the opportunity to undertake a study year abroad where courses are taught in English. Students are selected for a study year abroad through a competitive process. Employers look favourably upon those students that have studied abroad as they are able to gain a global perspective, which is becoming even more valuable with increasingly globalised markets.
Flexibility
In the first year you will study modules which are common across a number of Business and Management courses. This offers you the flexibility to switch between courses at the end of the first year as your interests develop and change.
Structure
Content
You will study three modules in each semester. The first year provides a foundation for the development of the knowledge, skills and attributes necessary for your future success. In the second year, you will study core marketing modules and you will develop your research and enquiry skills. All students are encouraged to spend their third year on placement and the curriculum in the second year provides support for the process of securing the placement. The final year will include a major project, modules which require the integration of the knowledge gained in the earlier years of study and the ability, through choice of optional modules, to focus on particular areas of interest. The final year curriculum also includes a focus on managing change, both in organisational terms and in terms of your own career.
Year 1
Semester one:
- Meeting the Management Challenge, including ‘Becoming a Marketing Professional’
- Understanding Business and Financial Information
- Understanding the Business and Economic Environment
Semester two:
- Understanding Organisations and People
- Understanding the Market Process
- Engaging in Critical Business Enquiry
Year 2
Semester one:
- Consumer Behaviour and Professional Practice
- Financial Aspects for Marketing, Enterprise and Tourism
- Principles and Practice of Marketing
Semester two:
- Market Research and Enquiry
- Managing Business Processes
- Integrated Marketing Communications
Final year
Semester one:
- Project: Work-based or Enterprise or Business Enquiry
- Strategic Management
- Public Relations
Semester two:
- Contemporary Issues in Marketing, including Managing Individual Change
- Interactive and Digital Marketing; OR Events and Festivals Management; OR credits from Placement year*
* Students completing a Placement year do one fewer option module in their final year.
Teaching and learning
The course is taught through a blend of learning activities which include tutor-led and face-to-face, student-led and independent, online, group projects and students supporting each others' learning.
Lectures, workshops/seminars, group project work, and tutoring account for 12 hours of contact time per week. However, you will be expected to spend at least as much time again in essential independent study: preparation for workshops/seminars study; reviewing lectures; online work; reading and other research activity, as well as in the preparation of assessed work and revision for end of module exams.
Our learning and teaching approaches are student focused with the emphasis on helping you to actively find out things for yourself. You will be expected to work with a mix of theory and practice, academic rigour and a practical approach, so that you can appreciate the relevance and application of concepts learnt. To help in this, you will be expected to gain high quality work experience, ideally through the 40 week Placement but if not, then through short term internships;paid work e.g. as a Student Ambassador or as a Peer Assisted Learning Leader; or through volunteering.
Assessment
You will be assessed through a mix of coursework and examinations, all of which aim to assess not only what you know and can do but also develop the graduate attributes that are valued by employers. These attributes include communication and presentation skills, IT and numeracy skills, team work, project and time management skills as well as the intellectual skills of problem solving, critical thinking, analysis and evaluation, creativity and innovation.
Coursework comes in many different forms: essays and reports; business plans and applied research projects; portfolios and weekly notes; assessed group and individual presentations and posters. You will also be required to reflect and comment on your own learning and personal development.
Special Features
Placements
We strongly recommend that you spend your third year in a marketing communications related work placement as you will gain valuable work experience and have the chance to put theory into practice in a real business environment - as well as earning a salary.
This is a period of commercially related work experience in an organisation, usually in the UK but occasionally overseas. You may choose the type of work you do, but we encourage all students to apply for placements which are relevant to their studies and, if possible, match their career aspirations. Your placement will enable you to obtain valuable work experience and to apply knowledge and skills in a practical situation. Students in previous years have undertaken placements in organisations ranging from large multinational corporations to small businesses.
The School's placements team will support you in finding a placement, providing guidance on CV writing, applications and interview skills, as well as access to an extensive database of placement opportunities. Whilst working, the Placements office continues to support you and your progress is monitored by both your employer and the Business School. The portfolio you complete whilst working is a valuable resource to support your future employability and evidences your achievements in your placement. In your final year, you will complete a project based on your placement experience.
The fee for the placement year for 2012/13 starters is £1,125. The final year fee will then be £7,875.
Study year abroad
As an alternative to a placement year, there are opportunities to undertake a study year abroad where courses are taught in English. Students are selected for a study year abroad through a competitive process. Employers look favourably upon those students that have studied abroad as they are able to gain a global perspective, which is becoming even more valuable with increasingly globalised markets.
GDP
The Graduate Development Programme (GDP) is a programme of activities to help you develop the confidence and skills for academic and employability success.
Study facilities
Your learning is supported by the provision of high quality study facilities: an excellent library and a dedicated Business Librarian and online support to help to develop the information literacy skills essential in helping to identify and evaluate resources. We also have flexible learning spaces in the Business School with wireless Internet access and study areas, meeting tables for group and sofas.
Careers/further study
The strong demand for graduates with this degree makes it an ideal launch pad for a career in management, marketing, finance and accountancy, human resources, IT, corporate finance - or just about any area of the public or private sector.
Our graduates are employed in a wide range of roles, such as Marketing Executive, Events Manager, Key Account Manager, Public Relations Executive and Market Researcher. They work across private and public sector organisations including Lloyds TSB, Intel, Airbus, BBC and Avon and Somerset Constabulary.
Almost three-quarters of UWE Bristol Business School undergraduates from the UK who studied on full-time and sandwich courses went on to secure graduate level employment in 2010. This was in a very competitive job market and demonstrates the high level of employability of our students.
Graduate destinations
Find out what our graduates are doing six months after graduating- includes examples of careers, employers and further study. Download a PDF from graduate destinations.
Creating employable students
UWE places strong emphasis on employability and skills development at every level. Through work placements, volunteering, study abroad and UWE initiatives which nurture talent and encourage innovation, students gain valuable real world experience and graduate with diverse career opportunities and a competitive place in the job market.
See great graduate prospects for further information.
Be inspired
Read about Jack's marketing internship with Hewlett Packard.
Hear Hayley's experience of undertaking a placement at Disney.
Useful links
UWE - graduate occupations
Guardian - what to do with a degree in marketing
The UWE careers service provides guidance and support throughout your studies in addition to useful resources, CV checks, career coaching and details of current job vacancies.
Entry
Typical offers
- Tariff points: 300
- GCSE: Maths and English Language at grade C or above required.
- Access: Achievement of the Access to HE Diploma; achievement of level 2 credits in Maths and English Language.
Advice on typical offers
In addition to the 'typical offer' given above, please read the general information about entry requirements.
Entry requirements
We welcome applications from students who do not have the entry requirements outlined. The university will consider applications on the basis of evidence of personal, professional and educational experience which indicates an applicant's ability to meet the demands of the degree.
International applicants
A large percentage of our student community is of international origin. We welcome enquiries from international applicants. Further information can be found on our international web pages.
How to apply
Please see the general information about
applications.
For further information
Page last updated 14 December 2011