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International Business and Intercultural Communication

MA or PGDip or PGCert

Key facts
Overview
How to apply
Tuition fees
Learning and assessment
Research
After you graduate

Key facts

Start dates

September 2023

Location

Headington

Course length

Full time: MA: 12 months, PGDip: 9 months

Part time: Option to be discussed

Department

School of English and Modern Languages

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Overview

Build the specialist skills in international business and communication - and take your career to the next level.

This course will help you advance your career in the international arena. You’ll develop highly refined intercultural communication skills - prized by transnational employers. You’ll learn to communicate with people from all different backgrounds, in any professional culture. And you’ll be able to influence change, drive decision-making and nurture innovation in the global workplace. 

You’ll also build strong business acumen. You’ll understand how global multinationals and NGOs operate. And you’ll know how to work effectively within them. 

You’ll graduate with meaningful professional experience at a UK or international business. And you’ll have the skills, knowledge and experience to advance your career.

 

 

Male and female student sitting on a bench talking

How to apply

Entry requirements

Specific entry requirements

A good first degree

Applicants for the MA may be asked to include a recent piece of academic work (approx. 1000 words in English).

A final decision about a candidate's suitability is normally based on interview, or by alternative arrangement.

Applicants are welcomed from a variety of academic disciplines, as well as those in work and seeking continuing professional development. Admission is normally open to those with a good undergraduate honours degree (or equivalent) or other professional qualification relevant to one of the key areas of study, or an appropriate linguistic background.

Applications will also be considered from those who seek to formalise their prior experiential learning or qualifications and who have appropriate language competence.

Applications should be received no later than 1 August, though it is advisable to apply much earlier than this, in particular if you are intending to apply for a scholarship award, or are an international student.

Please also see the University's general entry requirements.

English language requirements

Students with a first language other than English are required to give evidence of a good degree as well as minimum IELTS score 6.5, with 6.0 in reading and writing and 5.5 in listening and speaking, or equivalent.

Please also see the University's standard English language requirements.

International qualifications and equivalences

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English requirements for visas

If you need a student visa to enter the UK you will need to meet the UK Visas and Immigration minimum language requirements as well as the University's requirements. Find out more about English language requirements.

International applications

International students who are offered a place on the MA course will be asked to provide a deposit of £3,000 to secure their place. Full terms and conditions will be provided to applicants with their offer letter.

Pathways courses for international and EU students

We offer a range of courses to help you meet the entry requirements for your postgraduate course and also familiarise you with university life in the UK.

Take a Pre-Master's course to develop your subject knowledge, study skills and academic language level in preparation for your master's course.

If you need to improve your English language, we offer pre-sessional English language courses to help you meet the English language requirements of your chosen master’s course.

Terms and Conditions of Enrolment

When you accept our offer, you agree to the Terms and Conditions of Enrolment. You should therefore read those conditions before accepting the offer.

Application process

Apply now

Tuition fees

Please see the fees note
2022 / 23

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

Tuition fees

2022 / 23

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

+44 (0)1865 483088

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

Fees quoted are for the first year only. If you are studying a course that lasts longer than one year your fees will increase each year.

Additional costs

Please be aware that some courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. Specific additional costs for this course are detailed below.

Funding your studies

Financial support and scholarships

Featured funding opportunities available for this course.

Postgraduate Master's Loan - England

There are International Student Scholarships available for 2022 and other scholarships and funding options for postgraduate international students.

All financial support and scholarships

View all funding opportunities for this course

The published course and module descriptions were accurate when first published and remain the basis of the course, but the University has had to modify some course and module content in response to government restrictions and social distancing requirements

Learning and assessment

You’ll spend your first semester learning on-campus at Oxford Brookes. You’ll join a fully international student cohort. 

On-campus, you’ll examine the fundamentals of international business and management. You’ll begin honing your intercultural communication skills. And you can examine the global contexts for NGOs and political institutions.

You’ll spend your second semester carrying out a work placement in an international business. You can do your placement here in the UK - or anywhere in the world. You’ll work for a minimum of three months, gaining meaningful professional experience for your CV. You’ll find your placement yourself - but we’ll support you to do this.

You’ll gain experience in a dynamic professional environment. And past students have carried out placements at employers like:

  • Oxfam
  • Oxford University Press
  • Nissan
  • The UN
  • WaterAid

In your second semester, you’ll also take one study module, which you can choose to do completely online.

 

Female student studying on a laptop

Study modules

The modules listed below are for the master's award. For the PGDip and PGCert awards your module choices may be different. Please contact us for more details.

Semester 1 (on campus)

Compulsory modules

Intercultural Communication

If you want to use your language skills to forge a career in business, you need an excellent understanding of the complexities of intercultural communication. In this module, you’ll find out how the diversity and complexity of culture affects communication between different cultures. You’ll explore the relationship between national and corporate cultures. You’ll also become familiar with theories of intercultural communication. Topics include:

  • specific cultures
  • models of communication
  • verbal and non-verbal language
  • barriers to communication
  • multicultural teams
  • negotiating.

Principles of International Business

You’ll have an introduction to the principles and concepts of business and management, including the interrelatedness of the functional areas of organisations. You’ll examine strategic decision-making processes – for example, how individual firms reach decisions about market entry and direct investment. Throughout the module you’ll discuss and analyse case studies, developing your understanding of key business issues.

International Management

You’ll learn about the central business concepts and relationships that are fundamental to all modern managerial thinking. You’ll discover the core analytical tools of microeconomics, finance and business strategy, equipping you with vital knowledge and skills for a managerial career. Throughout the module you’ll make use of case studies so that concepts can be related to real business scenarios. You’ll also engage in practical activities such as:

  • simulations of industrial practice
  • using tools to make sense of an initially confusing situation
  • writing a persuasive report for senior management.

Optional modules

EU Institutions and Policies

You’ll examine the context in which businesses operate in present-day Europe. You’ll study the structure of the European Union – its objectives, policies and constraints. You’ll build your knowledge of national issues relating to the European political and business environment, and you’ll explore the economic environment in Europe and its impact on member states.

Globalisation in the 21st Century

You’ll explore the various forces currently driving globalisation, including global, international, regional and national actors and ideologies. We’ll encourage you to conduct independent research relating to one of the topics covered and analyse it, adopting the form of an academic research essay. You’ll also give a presentation on your research outcomes.

Semester 2 (by distance learning while completing your work placement and/or research)

Compulsory modules

The Content of Business Research

You’ll examine the nature of business research, drawing on a wide range of theoretical and conceptual ideas. You’ll examine quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, with the opportunity to practise a range of techniques. You’ll develop your practical abilities in business research, working on:

  • literature and search skills, from planning and undertaking a literature search to writing up your results in the form of a literature review
  • methods for data collection, including primary and secondary data
  • developing your project/dissertation proposal.

This module gives you excellent preparation for undertaking either your dissertation or your work placement and work-based project. For the longer term, you’ll learn to become a critical user of research findings as well as a competent researcher in your own right.

 

Optional modules

Work placement and business research project

This is a fantastic opportunity to gain first-hand experience and apply the knowledge that you’ve learned in the first part of the course. You’ll take part in a 12-week placement with an internationally orientated business, where you’ll carry out an empirical in-company investigation and present your findings in a report. The placement and project give you experience of working and learning independently, carrying out research, collecting data and writing a logically argued report of 10–12,000 words. You’ll have the opportunity to use your target language during the placement.

If you already have international business experience, this module will allow you to enhance your knowledge and understanding of multinational environments.

 

Dissertation

For your dissertation, you’ll carry out an extended study (15,000 words) of a topic related to business studies, European issues or cultural understanding. Your dissertation allows you to showcase your skills and knowledge through your independent work. Specifically, you’ll demonstrate that you can:

  • synthesise knowledge from more than one part of the taught programme
  • understand and apply appropriate research methods
  • process data in accordance with accepted statistical methods (where appropriate)
  • evaluate evidence, argue your case effectively, and draw appropriate conclusions.

Please note: As our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the modules you can choose from may vary from that shown here. The structure of the course may also mean some modules are not available to you.

Learning and teaching

You’ll be studying in Oxford - a historic British city and an internationally renowned seat of learning. Oxford is also a centre for business innovation - home to employers like BMW and Oxfam. And you’ll be within easy reach of employers in London, by bus or train.

You’ll learn via:

  • lectures 
  • workshops
  • seminars 
  • practical and project work
  • directed reading

You’ll study for about 200 hours per module. And every module is delivered over a period of about 12 weeks.

You can also register for one undergraduate module credit as part of your tuition fees - if you want. 

 

Assessment

Assessment methods used on this course

You'll be assessed through the following methods:

  • essays
  • seminar papers
  • formal written examinations
  • case study reports
  • individual or group presentations.

Modules are assessed on the quality of a combination of written and oral presentation work.

Research

Research areas and clusters

  • european integration
  • european politics
  • globalisation
  • consultancy projects
  • ethics and fair trade
  • business strategy.
Student studying on a laptop

After you graduate

Career prospects

You’ll graduate ready to launch or progress your career in the international arena. You’ll have the highly developed intercultural communication skills that today’s employers prize. And you’ll be able to influence, negotiate and collaborate across different cultures and organisations. You’ll also have meaningful professional experience in an international business on your CV.

You might be surprised where the course takes you. You could progress into a new sector, or take up a completely new career path. Our graduates progress into fields like: 

  • media
  • publishing  
  • PR 
  • marketing
  • NGOs. 

And they work in multinationals from TikTok to bChannels.

 

 

Programme Changes:

On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been published on the website.

For more information, please visit our Changes to programmes page.