Overview

Human Resources plays a key role in every organisation. From talent acquisition, employee training and development to reinforcing the values of the business, HR helps to drive employee engagement and maintain positive business culture.

The BSc (Hons) Global Business Management (Human Resources) programme will develop your knowledge and understanding of key areas of global business management, whilst exploring the theory and practice of human resources to prepare you for roles such as Human Resources Manager and Head of Operations.

Key facts

  • Learn about the best HR practices in an international context
  • Explores areas such as recruitment, retention, and career development in the context of social, economic and demographic changes
  • Boost your personal and career progression options with employability and academic-focused modules
  • Year One designed specifically for international students
  • Top up your existing qualification to a UK honours degree with direct entry onto Level 5 or 6
  • The Newcastle Business School is part of a select group of business schools worldwide, following accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) in business and accounting – the first in Europe to gain double accreditation

What will I study?

The BSc (Hons) Global Business Management (Human Resources) programme has been designed specifically to provide you with a broad foundation of business and management knowledge while developing your understanding, application and critical evaluation of human resources in a global context.

The programme makes use of appropriate technologies to support and enhance your learning experience. These technologies include an online learning platform that provides access and supporting learning materials, where appropriate lecture capture is used to support and review your learning. Additional materials include an online reading list and guidance and direction for your independent learning.

How will I be taught and assessed?

  • Teaching is delivered through a mix of lectures, interactive seminars, computer-based workshops, and self-directed and group activities, totalling 9 hours per week
  • You’re expected to engage in independent study, around 31 hours per week
  • Assessments take place through coursework only
  • Taught by experienced lecturers and academics who use their industry experience to demonstrate how theories translate into real-life situations
  • Technology-enhanced learning (TEL) is embedded throughout the course to guide your preparation for seminars and independent research
  • Benefit from weekly academic support sessions designed to build your ability and confidence as an academic learner
  • You will be assigned a guidance tutor at induction who you will meet regularly during your studies

Careers and further study

Upon graduating from this course, you will be able to pursue roles within business management and human resources, both in the UK and around the world, including:

  • Human Resources Manager
  • HR Advisor
  • People Consultant
  • Head of Operations
  • Employee Relations Specialist
  • Recruitment Manager
  • Head of Human Resources

This programme will boost your employability outcomes by providing you with a key set of sought-after skills. At Northumbria, you will develop critical reflection, self-learning, collaboration, curiosity, and the ability to apply your knowledge to solve problems in sustainable and ethical ways.

Graduates of this programme will also be ready to specialise further through postgraduate studies in Business and Management with Human Resources specialism related Master’s programmes in the UK or abroad.

Academic & English requirements

  Academic entry criteria English language requirements
International Year One (Level 4)* Good High School Grades or equivalent IELTS 5.5 with no element less than 5.5
Year Two (Level 5) Level 4 qualification with a pass grade in a business and management-related field. IELTS 6.0 with no element less than 5.5 (or approved equivalent)
Year Three (Level 6) BTEC HND/Foundation Degree or equivalent in a related subject. If you have taken a BTEC HND programme, we will usually expect you to have performed to an average of Merit standard. If you have taken a Foundation Degree, we will be looking for performance to Commendation level, or 60% average**

 

**Applicants holding a relevant business and management qualification in addition to one of the following will also be considered: DipHE, any Level 5 award such as Certificate, Diploma or NVQ.

Non-standard entry: please note that applicants without formal qualifications yet with appropriate work experience are also encouraged to apply. Non-standard qualifications/work experience will need to be considered on an individual basis.

International entry equivalencies

We accept a wide range of international qualifications. Please visit our entry requirements page for country-specific qualifications.

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  • Year One
  • Year Two
  • Year Three

International Year One (Level 4)

Students with good high school grades (or equivalent),  joining on Level 4 will study our International Year One.

Students joining on Level 4 will study our International Year One. Visit the International Year One course page for detailed modular content.

Year Two (Level 5)

Students holding a Level 4 qualification in a business and management-related field, can directly join the programme on the Year Two (Level 5).

This module will support your transition into UK higher education by developing your specific skills and attributes to both manage your studies and communicate your ideas effectively within the academic community.

In this module, you will learn how to effectively manage your studies; how to find appropriate information, develop your academic voice across different communication styles and grow your critical and ethical skills.

You will examine the process of recruitment and selection, and be supported in the production of CVs, cover letters and the use of psychometric tests to ensure that you make an impactful application to any employer.

Whether you progress to be a manager or into any role dealing with people, this module will provide both the theory and practice of HR functions. It will equip you with a practical overview of core HR areas, including recruitment and selection, performance management, total reward, managing absence and well-being.

Managers are likely to play a crucial part in several core HR processes, such as ensuring they have the right people on their teams who can perform effectively.

The internal business and management contexts are likely to be extremely relevant in any organisation you join.

This module will allow you to understand and explore key strategic decision-making aspects and their interface with cultural contexts, including:

  • International market entry and growth
  • Communicating across cultures
  • International business protocol
  • Ethics and responsible business
  • Managing the value chain in international business

This module allows you to learn about business decisions in the context of contemporary digital business examples. You will consider strategies, such as the subscription models used by Spotify, and online marketing tools used throughout the customer journey.

You will develop an appreciation of core metrics that allow businesses to assess their marketing success in real-time. You will also have the chance to explore how supply chain systems are designed to meet the challenges of today’s digital business.

This module introduces research methods and analysis, including topics such as study design, participant selection, data collection, data handling and storage and presentation of research findings.

You will learn how to apply quantitative and qualitative methods, covering key techniques including focus groups to collect data, supported by analysis methods including content analysis and thematic analysis. You will also learn to use a range of appropriate software tools, including Excel and SPSS.

This module offers you the chance to examine how HR practices can ensure a diverse and inclusive workforce.

You will explore how norms and stereotypes have developed and how they can be challenged, for example through monitoring workforce demographics, mentoring and zero tolerance of discrimination. You will also understand how to support inclusion and diversity, including values of openness, listening to diverse perspectives and inclusive participation in decision-making.

This module is for international students for whom English may not be their first language.

Year Three (Level 6)

Students with HND merit standard or Foundation Degree in a related field can join the programme directly on Level 6 and top-up their qualification to an honours degree in one year.

Please note continuing students and direct entry students will study a different set of modules.

Continuing students

You will study one of three optional modules plus common modules.

The module aims to provide you with an opportunity to integrate the knowledge acquired during the programme and apply this to a consultancy project for a real organisation. This consultancy project provides a vehicle for participants to develop and demonstrate key employability skills, relate theory to practice, and undertake a significant piece of assessed work commensurate with a capstone module.

You will work on behalf of an external organisation, which has identified a business problem or question, requiring a solution, working in a small group of typically 4 individuals (you will select their own team members), participating in group and individual activities. The host organisation will provide a project briefing and review; students will be supported by appropriate academic input and guidance from Newcastle Business School in the form of a mentor and via the Business Clinic.

The Dissertation takes an enquiry research-based approach, providing you with the opportunity to examine, in-depth, an HRM or Management-related problem or issue of direct interest and/or that faces you from with your working life or work placement.  Initial weekly lectures build from Level 5 ‘Management Research and Analysis’.  You then work guided by your supervisor to confirm your research area, generate empirical (primary) or secondary data, analyse this data and draw theoretically informed conclusions.  Supervisors are appointed in line with NBS policy, which recognises the requirements of professional bodies (CMI and CIPD) and AACSB accreditation.

The module aims to equip you with the necessary intellectual and practical skills for undertaking your individual learner-led, responsible, ethical investigation, while concurrently you will further develop key transferable, employability and enterprise skills including problem-solving and analysis, creative-thinking, time and project management, negotiation, communication (written, aural and verbal), persuasion and influence, discovery, initiative.

The Management Enquiry module is your chance to undertake your own independent investigation into an applied business problem or issue. It builds on the knowledge you’ve already developed in the HRM or Management programmes, with initial lectures introducing you to the underpinning knowledge and theories needed to get you started. Associated workshops then support you in putting this knowledge into practice, covering such topics as critically reviewing the literature, ethical research, and quantitative and qualitative research and analysis techniques.

Once you’ve submitted your enquiry proposal, you’ll work through one-to-one or small-group supervision with your allocated supervisor. They’ll provide you with ongoing formative feedback on your progress as you engage with the Management Enquiry process. Supervisors will be appointed in line with NBS policy which recognises the requirements of professional bodies (CMI and CIPD) and AACSB accreditation.

Direct entry students

Students directly joining on Level 6 will study the below modules plus common modules listed below.

This module equips you with the necessary knowledge and transferable skills to enhance your employability, future career development and academic studies for your final year of undergraduate study.

The module has been designed to develop your academic skills to support your current studies and ensure your transition into higher education. You will enhance your academic writing skills, develop your critical thinking ability, understand the role and value of research and understand how to effectively use academic journals, all within the context of business and management.

This module will also support your future employability and career development, exploring and reflecting upon your knowledge, skills, personality, values and interests to support you in making well-informed career choices.

This module will help you draw on your range of knowledge and skills developed during your studies to review research literature and evaluate business and management responses to a contemporary issue. You will undertake an individual investigation into an applied business problem related to your programme specialism.

Upon successful completion of the module, you will have an advanced understanding of a business topic of contemporary interest and a practical understanding of how to use research in evidence-based decision-making in a global business world. This module will make you aware of current issues and areas of importance within your chosen academic discipline, thus giving you an advantage in the employment market.

The focus on the contemporary knowledge base, supported by investigative study skills, will be useful for those students aspiring to higher-level studies such as Masters’ programme.

Common modules (all students) 

In this module, you will learn about the context of responsible strategic thinking and how to identify and explore sustainable business opportunities as a source of competitive advantage.

Working together with your academic tutor and your peers, you will engage in theoretical debates and challenge current business thinking and practices to further advance the application of responsible strategy within the complexities of the global business environment. You will gain an insight into responsible decision making and how it impacts internal and external stakeholders.

The module will make use of digital learning tools to support the students’ learning and skills development.

Successive crises and organisational failures demonstrate that the conventional management of organisations and their people is not wholly effective. Transforming Self and Organisations will support you to develop alternative approaches through a research-rich curriculum that will develop your understanding and application of critical management tools and perspectives. By exploring identity, aesthetics, power and culture, you’ll develop your capabilities for questioning the neoliberal status-quo and the politics of managerialism and performance-driven agendas.

You’ll interrogate and challenge typically taken-for-granted assumptions within organisations to recognise the inherent power and control that exists, and then propose change within these organisations to prioritise fairness, justice, equality, diversity and sustainability. Your learning will place you in good stead to bring about future organisational transformation. These critical perspectives on organisations may also cause you to challenge your own assumptions, values and beliefs.

Globalisation and huge advances in technology have created opportunities for organisations – but they’ve also exposed them to threats and challenges. Effective project management can be a key tool for ensuring that organisations adapt to a fast-changing environment. It also supports the delivery of improved products, services and processes, and allows for the successful execution of organisational strategy. What’s more, effective project managers are crucial to organisations seeking to successfully achieve their performance objectives.

This module seeks to develop you as a project management practitioner. You’ll acquire knowledge and skills to plan and manage various aspects of a project, such as its stakeholder relationships, scope, cost, schedule and risk, and in doing so will enhance your employability. Working as a team, you’ll have the opportunity to apply your knowledge and skills to a specific project and use advanced IT software to manage a project more effectively.

This research-rich module, Critical Human Resource Development will equip you with the necessary knowledge and skills to develop as a critically reflective/reflexive, and capable graduate HRD professional, or manager, who can effectively and ethically facilitate the learning of others.

You will develop an understanding of the contrasting perspectives on HRD to recognise the contribution that C-HRD might make to organisations.  By developing your understanding of such organisational issues as power, politics, ideology and status, you will advance your understanding of the tensions and complexities that characterise HRD, to challenge and question assumptions, traditions and what is often ‘taken for granted’.  Through this lens of power and control, you will appraise the role of societal structures such as age, gender, ethnicity, career-structure norms, influence experiences of HRD intervention, and through understanding the interplay of such societal structures with an individual agency you will evaluate the construct of identity as both a prerequisite and outcome of HRD.

All modules on this course are core and 20 credits unless otherwise stated.

Tuition fee 2023/24

  • UK/Home students: £9,250 per annum
  • International students: £19,000 per annum

Tuition fee 2024/25

  • UK/Home students: £9,250 per annum
  • International students: £19,750  per annum

This course is eligible for student finance through Student Finance England (for eligible home students). For more information, please visit our dates & fees page.

Please note that your tuition fees do not include the cost of course books that you may choose to purchase, stationery, printing and photocopying, accommodation, living expenses, travel or any other extracurricular activities. As a Northumbria University London Campus student, you will have full access to our online digital library with over 400,000 e-books and 50,000 electronic journals.

The modules you will study do not require you to purchase additional textbooks although we recommend you allow an additional £250 for the duration of your studies should you choose to purchase any additional reading materials.

Information for international students

Northumbria University is committed to providing the best possible experience to all our students. To ensure you secure your place with us, we require our international students to pay a deposit towards their fees. More information can be found here.

Your tuition fees cover far more than your time in class with our expert academics, it covers the cost of providing you with excellent services and student experience.

  • Contact time in class – typically in lectures, seminars and tutorials
  • Access to facilities, including computers, on-campus Wi-Fi, printers, vending machines, quiet study spaces
  • The support of our Careers & Employment Service who help you to become more employable, secure placements and run workshops
  • Academic support – our ACE Team run multiple sessions on academic writing, presenting, exam techniques throughout the semester, as well as 1-2-1 appointments and drop-in sessions
  • Student support services such as our Ask4Help Service. Find out more about the services available to you on our Student Support page
  • Access to online resources, including a 24/ 7 Library with over 400,000 e-books and 50,000 electronic journals

 

Scholarships and bursaries for international students

Depending on the country you are from, you may be eligible for a country bursary and/or scholarship when studying this undergraduate programme.

All of our scholarships and bursaries are automatically applied when we process your application and one of our team will be able to confirm your eligibility.

London Cost of Living Bursary

Eligible international students will receive an automatic bursary for £1,334, covering one month’s living costs in London*, applied at the Conditional Offer as a fee discount. This bursary is effective for intakes in May 2024, September 2024, January 2025 and May 2025. This offer excludes Pre-sessional English, standalone Graduate Certificate programmes and sponsored applicants.

If you receive this bursary, you may still be eligible for additional bursaries and scholarships, these will be confirmed at the Unconditional Offer stage. Full maintenance costs still need to be evidenced when applying for your visa.

This bursary is only available for international students from specific countries. Please visit our Scholarships page for more information.

*As defined by UKVI

Scholarships and bursaries

Payment plans for self-funded students

If you need support to spread the cost of your tuition, you may be eligible for our payment plan.

Payment plans

How to find out more

Enquire now to find more information about the course, studying with us, the application process, and to ask any other questions you may have.

Enquire now

How to apply

Once you’re ready to apply, if you are a UK or a Home student, you will need to apply via UCAS. If you are an international student, you can apply to us directly following the below instructions.

UCAS applications – UK/ Home students

To apply through UCAS, you will need to use the following codes:

Institute code: N77
Course  code: N1NG (level 6), N1NH (level 5)

Campus code: L

Find out more about applying through UCAS here

Direct applications – international students

We strongly recommend that you submit your application as early as possible to allow you to complete all of the preparations needed to study in the UK. After receiving an offer it can take time to arrange your finances and apply for your visa and it is important that you arrive in good time to enrol on your course. Please refer to the Dates and Fees page.

You can apply online to study the BSc (Hons) Global Business Management (Human Resources). This method allows you to upload your supporting documents at the time of application and automatically receive your student application number.

Apply for September 2024
Year One entry*

Year Three entry

*Please note: to join the first year of this programme you’ll need to apply to the International Year One in Business.

Supporting documents

For us to assess your application in a timely manner, it is important that you provide us with the following documents:

  • Fully completed application form
  • Personal email address must be included on the application form
  • Transcripts and/or certificates (including a certified translation if not English)
  • Passport – copy of personal details page
  • Proof of financial sponsorship if applicable
  • Reference
  • Confirmation of immigration history including copies of previous and current visas if applicable

You can check more information on how to apply here, including guidelines for the application forms.

Information For Disabled Applicants

At Northumbria University London we welcome applications from disabled students and are committed to ensuring an equal and accessible application journey. Your application will be considered on an equal basis to all other applications. Please contact us if you require any assistance. This website is continually optimised to adhere to accessibility best practice guidelines; tools to assist users with specific accessibility requirements have also been provided. More information is available in our accessibility statement.

 

Course Information

Level of study:

Undergraduate degrees

2024/25 Tuition fee:

UK/Home Fee: £9,250 per year
International Fee: £19,750 per year

Entry requirements:

Multiple entry points directly onto Year 1, 2 and 3 available

English language requirements:

From IELTS 5.5 with no single element below 5.5, or equivalent

Mode of study:

Full-time classroom

Duration:

1-2 years (depending on entry point)

Assessment methods:

Coursework

Scholarship or bursaries:

Available

Student finance:

Available

Payment plan:

Available

Starts:

January, September

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