Course Summary

This course produces employable graduates who understand the dynamics of modern business marketing. During stage one you will relate marketing to finance, HRM and operations with specialist units in public relations and e-Business. During stage two you will look at key themes such as buyer behaviour, marketing research, branding, competition, media and communications. The final year combines all of the above in the form of integrated, practical assignments set in a contemporary strategic marketing context.

The final year combines all of the above in the form of integrated, practical assignments set in a contemporary strategic marketing context.

Why choose this course?

Key features

• You will study the latest strategic developments in many key sectors
• Possibility of transfer to our degrees in Advertising and Marketing Communications or Public Relations in the second half of stage two
• Marketing is studied in an international business context
• The business world needs `T-people, staff with a specialisation, but also a knowledge of several different areas of marketing and communications precisely the type of graduates we aim to produce

Areas of study include:

• Marketing management
• Marketing communications
• International business
• Marketing in contemporary contexts
• Marketing practice
• Marketing data applications

Further Information

BAMAR-S

Assessment

In order for the student to demonstrate achievement of learning outcomes and the quality of performance a wide range of assessment methods are employed: written and oral work, group and individual examination, reflection hard-copy portfolio work, case study analysis and creation, creative strategic integrated campaigns an applied dissertation incorporating critical analysis of research methodologies, a literature review and a research proposal.

Course Learning Outcomes

On graduating with an honours degree in Marketing students will be able to:

1. Exhibit the capacity to apply their own perspectives to their studies, to deal with uncertainty and complexity, to explore alternative solutions, to demonstrate critical evaluation and to creatively integrate theory and practice when considering a wide range of situations.

2. Be effective in critically interpreting a broad range of business and management theory and be able to appreciate the connectivity of this relationship, recognising the importance of an integrated framework.

3. Relate to and interpret business, marketing and marketing communications and thereby appreciate the intricacies and influences of marketing theory through their exposure to a rich variety of learning sources, including guided learning, team work, and independent study.

4. Be able to synthesise their personal understanding of the practice of business, marketing and marketing communications while considering the meta-influences of a wider international and ethical perspective.

5. Consistently demonstrate a command and appreciative application of theoretical knowledge and practical skills in marketing strategy and planning and in their essential concepts and processes the organisational offering, messages, advertising, public relations, sales and sales promotion, direct and online marketing, media, publics, measurement.

6. Show their understanding of business, marketing theory through critical application of researched information, its processing and through a creative task-orientated presentation in professional formats.

7. Demonstrate high levels of written and oral competence in a wide variety of tasks and contexts consistent with the essential informative and persuasive nature of truly integrated marketing methods to produce creative solutions to realistic business and marketing problems.

8. Successfully develop a personalised sense of their career related brand based on a set of self managed, learner owned self-development planning which is stimulated by employability focused course content and learning strategies.

9. Exhibit developed a sense of attitudinal and behavioural commitment to her / himself, fellow students and lecturer facilitators as the basis of a well developed transferable skill set equipping them to enter either the professional world or a post graduate programme.

External Benchmarking

Chartered Institute of Marketing, QAA Business and Management, Institute of Direct Marketing, Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, Chartered Institute of Public Relations, Institute of Sales Promotion.

Educational Aims

• To develop student's intellect and to stimulate their imagination


• To increase their powers of understanding and judgement


• To build skills of problem-solving, analysis and to promote their transferability


• To encourage independence in judgement and an awareness of the students own abilities and development needs


• To help in developing a creative and enquiring approach to life and work


• To provide an in-depth understanding of the theory and practice of marketing within a business and general marketing context


• To develop the skills and confidence to operate successfully within the marketing industry


• To develop expertise in the range of marketing disciplines


• To cultivate the ability to draw together and integrate diverse marketing elements into a coherent and effective campaign


• To provide a specialist marketing education


• To enable students to inter-relate marketing activities with other business disciplines


• To develop a critical awareness of current marketing practices


• To prepare students for life-long and life-wide learning

Student support

Customised Induction by the International Office Erasmus Team and Level 3 Induction within the Business School.

A dedicated 2+1 Marketing Field course manager / personal tutor.

Access and encouragement to access all university support facilities.

Team working

Team working is fundamental to a career in Marketing and hence the course seeks to develop excellent team working skills. You will work and produce a diversity of output extensively in teams.

Successful team working will be essential to your personal development and your performance on the programme. You will have the opportunity for team work in most units and are able to develop skills in self and peer assessment.

Teams will encounter difficulties at times and in the later years of the course and you are encouraged to resolve difficulties yourselves with minimal staff intervention as this is part of the learning experience. In higher level units students will be expected to reflect on their group working and critically evaluate their teams performance.

Career Management Skills

Career related skills and the relevance of activities and knowledge will be stressed in each unit. In the specialist marketing units you will be required to assume client and agency side roles in the creative planning process. Additionally, there will be input from sector press e.g. Marketing Week, Campaign, PR Week on jobs, agencies, campaigns. In Marketing Practice and Employability you will work to professional standards on real client briefs and present these to demanding clientele, building a sector-specific bank of skills.

You will also be required to produce a portfolio of best practice work and to draft customized CVs.

You will be made aware of the Universitys services regarding employment and career development and of online advice.

Career/Further study opportunities

Opportunities exist in sales, brand management, business development, market research, communications and customer liaison.

Career:

• Specialist and general marketing roles
• Specialist agency or in-house functions e.g. advertising, marketing and sales promotion
• Client-side brand management

Further study:

• Specialist areas of marketing or marketing communications e.g. corporate communications, media planning

Entry

Additional:

• Diploma of Hamburger Akademie to be accepted for direct entry to Level 6 (final year honours)


• Diploma of Werbe & Medien-Akademie Marqardt (WAM) to be accepted for direct entry to Level 6 (final year honours)

UK students Undergraduate entry requirements

Standard entry requirements for Foundation degrees (FD/FdSc)

A foundation degree will be of particular interest if you have completed a Modern Apprenticeship, vocational A levels, BTEC National or equivalent.

Foundation degrees are also particularly suitable if you want to qualify while working.

• As a guideline, a typical offer would require you to obtain a UCAS tariff score of between 80-120 points, based on your level 3 studies.
• Students who require a Tier 4 Student Visa cannot apply for our foundation courses. For these courses the University of Bedfordshire is not able to sponsor Tier 4 Student Visa applications.

Many students studying for foundation degrees come to us through work-based routes so you can apply for a foundation degree even if you don’t have traditional academic qualifications.

We welcome applicants with relevant work experience.

Standard entry requirements for Undergraduate degrees (BA/BSc)

We will consider you as an individual and take into account all elements of your application, not just your qualifications. We are looking for both breadth and depth in your current studies as well as enthusiasm for the subject you wish to study.

The general requirement is one of the following:

• UCAS Tariff Score greater than 200, which should include either two A level passes or an AVCE Double Award
• An Access qualification
• Equivalent qualifications such as Irish Leaving Certificate, Scottish Highers, International Baccalaureate or BTEC National Diploma

Postgraduate taught courses

Postgraduate applications (MA/MSc) should be made direct to the University using the  standard University application form. There are some exceptions, please see individual course descriptions for details.

• UK/EU students application form
• International (non-EU) students application form
  

Students from the European Union

Entry requirements

As a general guide, to apply for a place on an undergraduate course (BA/BSc) at the University you need to have completed your high school education and have the required English qualification.

We have students from all the European Union member countries so we are quick to make decisions on most qualifications.

How to apply

International students

• Undergraduate applications (BA/BSc) can be made direct to the University or via our representatives in your home country. If you intend to apply to more than one university in the UK you should apply via UCAS. If you want to apply to the University of Bedfordshire only you should apply directly using our international application form (link below) or via our representatives in your home country
• Postgraduate applications should be made directly to the University using our international application form (link below) or via our representatives in your home country
• Healthcare, nursing and midwifery students Many of these courses are not available to overseas students due to UK immigration law in regard to bursary funding. Please contact international admissions to find out if you are eligible to apply
• BA Nursing Studies Level 3 (with or without Overseas Nursing Programme) is available to overseas students - please contact International Admissions by email at international-admissions@beds.ac.uk for further information

(Please note that applicants on a full student visa are not eligible for part-time study)

Course application form for international students

We recommend that you apply directly to the University where possible, as this allows us to offer the quickest turnaround time for your application.

• Course application form for direct applications [PDF]

How to complete your course application

Please read the Direct application instructions before completing the course application form.

Application forms for accommodation in the student halls at Bedford campus and Luton campus are available in the Student life section

Accreditation of prior certificated learning (APL)

APL is available for international students applying for undergraduate (Bachelor degree) study. Please do not use this APL form to apply for postgraduate courses.

Use the APL form to tell us about any non-standard qualifications and/or work experience you have that you think should be taken into consideration with your application. `

The APL form should be submitted at the same time as the course application form.

We regret we are unable to process APL forms from students who have not submitted a formal course application form.

• APL application form for International students [100Kb] updated 041007

What next?

Return your completed application to:

University of Bedfordshire
International Admissions
Park Square
Luton
Bedfordshire
LU1 3JU
United Kingdom

Contact International Admissions

T: +44 (0)1582 489326 (non-EU Students)
F: +44 (0)1582 743469
E: international-admissions@beds.ac.uk

Awarding institution

University of Bedfordshire

Teaching Strategy

The course is delivered by a mixture of lectures, practical seminars and workshops. Each unit is designed to contain a rich mix of teaching and learning methods to provide a rich and varied learning environment. Problem based and experiential learning is also a key approach to the delivery of the programme. Students are also encouraged to discuss issues with lecturers on an individual basis. Throughout the programme, students are also expected to undertake independent reading to supplement and consolidate what is being taught / learnt and to broaden their individual knowledge and understanding of the subject. Each unit involves the discussion and debate of the key issues and concepts both orally and in writing and formative and summative assessment based upon the knowledge and understanding of such issues and concepts.

Group work is an important element of assessment, which accurately reflects the way in which industry works. Students are required to work in groups in order to gain a practical insight into the practical difficulties and rewards of collaboration. Several units include assessment that involves group work. As part of this assessment, students will both practice and analyse what is involved in group work: all aspects of management of group work, preparation, decision making and critical review.

As students assume a greater autonomy and responsibility in their own learning so too they approach their academic studies and practical work with increasing rigour.

Equipped to further develop their interests in academic study or professional training, graduates will have a range of sophisticated skills for analysing communication and providing original and convincing solutions to communication problems. They will be able to give voice to personal ideas and opinions as well as representing other peoples points of view with clarity and conviction.

Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Body Accreditation

Chartered Institute of Marketing

Students with disabilities

No course elements for the 2+1 programme require special consideration in respect of disabled students.

Skills Development

Communication:

To help with the development of this you will:

• Write a variety of reports in an appropriate business format


• Write analyses of case studies


• Write essays in an appropriate academic style with referencing


• Participate in group presentations of your work


• Work in groups, learning to listen effectively and to influence and persuade a small group of colleagues

Information Literacy:

To help with the development of this you will:

• Use market research reports


• Use a database of newspaper articles


• Use academic journals


• Learn to identify appropriate sources of information for a particular business or academic task


• Use information from a number of sources as a base for making decisions on business tasks set in relation to real businesses


• Use a range of information sources to write an essay on a given topic

Research and Evaluation:

To help with the development of this you will:

• Learn to select appropriate information to use for a particular task


• Carry out quantitative analysis of data provided and draw conclusions about the nature of the problem presented


• Apply theoretical models to given case studies and draw conclusions


• Learn to develop an argument through the selection and logical presentation of information and ideas in an essay


• Learn to develop your own point of view about a business problem or academic question based on evidence

Creativity and Critical Thinking:

To help with the development of this you will:

• Practise techniques of lateral thinking and brainstorming in given exercises


• Use brainstorming to generate options as solutions for given business tasks


• Use critical thinking in case studies, exercises, business projects and academic essays

Improving learning and performance

You will be exposed to many formative assessments, receive feedback and be required to demonstrate reflection on feedback. Several elements of the programme have reflective assessments. Throughout the three years you will be expected to take co-responsibility for skills development and knowledge acquisition. Study skills will be introduced at the outset of the programme and will be re-iterated in the context of each unit and each units activities and assessments.

Progress files

N/A

Professional standards

The BA (Hons) Marketing course aims to provide a basis for career entry and development in a highly competitive sector which makes great demands on employees. In the real world there are standards of behaviour, attitude and performance for which the degree is the training. Consequently, relevant professional standards will be made explicit, re-iterated and applied at all times. Staff and students will abide by the Code of Conduct as stated in the Universitys Student Regulations. On the lecturer side such standards would concern for example support in the form of structure, relevance and current practice within the curriculum and through guidance, stimuli and feedback.

For the student professional standards imply that study is a priority and that this is measurable in attendance, punctuality, preparation, positive classroom contribution, honesty in academic work and a sense of responsibility towards and understanding of fellow students.

These standards are generic and apply in all units and in all three years of the programme. In particular:

• Staff and students should ensure contact details are current staff should ensure that their availability is publicised and appropriate communication channels are agreed


• Students are expected to attend all classes where there are mitigating circumstances staff must be informed promptly


• Staff and students must arrive on time for classes


• In all situations students and staff should dress and act appropriately


• Staff and students should work to sustain a culture of mutual respect


• All assessed work should be a students own and correctly referenced where material is taken from other sources


• Staff and students must prepare appropriately for all sessions


• Full and active participation in classes is expected from all parties


• Electronic devices must not be used during classes without express permission and mobile telephones must be switched off


• Student concerns should be raised promptly, through the appropriate channels

Strategy for developing and embedding the professional standards

2+1 students are mature individuals with substantial work experience who have a professional attitude to work and study.