Start dates: September 2024 / January 2025 / September 2025

Full time: 1 year or 2 years in sandwich mode which includes one year's full-time paid supervised work experience (a work placement). Sandwich mode is only available for September entry.

Part time: 2 years

Location: Headington

Department(s): Oxford Brookes Business School

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Overview

The MSc International Business Management course will prepare you for a successful international career with either a commercial or not-for-profit organisation. On this accredited course you’ll gain practical experience and real industry insight, to help you make the links between theory and practice.

You can choose to follow a specialist pathway with optional modules offered in:

  • Corporate Finance
  • Data Analytics
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Sustainable Global Marketing Strategy.

You’ll also be supported to build your key skills for business management such as resilience and industry awareness.

You’ll develop your skills and knowledge to be able to:

  • identify, analyse and evaluate a range of business related issues
  • develop suitable responses to these problems
  • select the most appropriate course of action.

You will learn about the key functions and core principles of business and management that will prepare you to take on a managerial position in a range of diverse organisations. You’ll have the confidence and knowledge to enter the corporate world at management level.

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Why Oxford Brookes University?

  • Learn from experts

    professionally experienced tutors, and guest entrepreneurs and business innovation experts

  • Support

    you’ll receive academic support and guidance throughout the course

  • Employability skills

    Build your analytical and solution focussed skills through international case studies

  • Real world experience

    Through Business Challenge week you meet and work with corporate professionals

  • Accredited Course

    Association of MBAs and the Chartered Management Institute

  • Accreditation(s)

    Association of MBAs; Chartered Management Institute

    • Association of MBAs
    • Chartered Management Institute

Course details

Course structure

Through your learning you'll develop relevant skills for your future employment. The course will help you develop the analytical skills to solve complex international business problems. You'll also have the opportunity for independent study to help you progress your research skills.

You'll have the opportunity to be part of the business challenge week. This is where businesses present real business issues for student groups to work on and present a solution. In addition, you will also have the option to choose the second semester module, Group Consultancy Project, where you'll work in a group to provide a real consulting service to an organisation selected by the university.

Finally as part of your Final Research Project module you’ll be able to carry out valuable independent work with an external business client or you can carry out your own research project.

Student Conversing in Class

Learning and teaching

You'll learn through self study time as well as face-to-face taught sessions. Your modules have specified times for scheduled learning, self study and teaching activities.

Your tutors are academic researchers and/or from an industry background. They have in-depth practical experience of business and management issues. Your studies will include:

  • interactive workshops
  • business simulations
  • lectures
  • guest corporate speakers.
  • experiential learning.

The theory you learn on the course, will give you the working knowledge to put it into practice. You’ll also study international case studies which will inform your learning, and build your analytical skills.

The Association of MBAs and the Chartered Management Institute recognise the high quality of teaching and learning that you'll experience. You'll graduate equipped ready to enter the corporate world.

Assessment

Your assessment on the course will help you develop your skills and knowledge for your employability. You'll have the support to overcome academic challenges and progress your learning. Your assessment is through:

  • individual essays
  • business reports
  • group presentations
  • oral exams
  • online discussion forums
  • and a written exam.

Most of your assessments will be through individual contribution, but there is also some assessed group work.

Inclusivity and diversity is in all assessments throughout the course. Which gives you the opportunity to select the focus of your assignments where appropriate.

Field Trips

Your optional International Business in Practice Study Trip module will help you experience ideas and practices of global business. On the trip you'll interact with management executives and practices. You'll attend presentations from local management executives and experts. You'll also go on site visits to major corporations and agencies. The study trip is voluntary and you'll need to fund all associated costs for the trip. Recently there have been study trips to Boston and Budapest.

Start this course in January

You have the option to start this course in January. You will study a range of modules between January and May. During the summer months of June, July and August you will study further modules and begin work on your dissertation. Between September and December you will complete your final modules and focus on your dissertation.

Study modules

Taught modules

Compulsory modules

  • Research Methods

    This module helps to prepare you for completing high quality, systematic business and management research. You’ll also gain the skills and knowledge to be successful in your Final Research Project. 

    You’ll learn how to undertake effective research, and draw upon a range of secondary and primary data sources. You’ll be introduced to a range of research tools that will help you build a strong base for research including methodological issues, data collection techniques and study skills.
     

  • Developing Skills for Leadership and Employability

    You’ll develop self-awareness of your own strengths and weaknesses as an effective leader and team player. This module will help you develop and improve a range of definable skills which are pivotal to successful management practice and effective leadership. 

    You’ll progress essential skills such as the confidence and the ability to articulate your skills and attributes that are required for professional development, lifelong learning and employment. You’ll also have the opportunity to explore different leadership perspectives on:

    • ethics
    • Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
    • sustainability
    • technology 
    • and change.
       
  • The Practice of Business and Management

    This is a first semester module and will help you build and develop your knowledge in the area of international business and management. 

    You’ll learn about four of the business functions:

    • Operations
    • Finance
    • Marketing
    • Human Resources 
    • Managing information systems. 

    You’ll build a base of knowledge and understanding of how the business functions contribute to the success of an organisation and give a competitive advantage.
     

  • Strategic, Change and Innovation Management

    You will develop knowledge in the area of strategic management, change and innovation management. You’ll gain understanding of the organisation and the economic context of the business environment. 

    Through this module you build your insight into a series of relevant and current topics that represent key issues around innovation and change and the organisational context in modern general management; strategic management, including the critical evaluation of the business and economic environment.
     

Optional modules

Optional Modules for Semester 1

Corporate Finance Concepts

You will study how businesses manage their finances within a company in line with their corporate strategy. This includes understanding the different methods used for valuing a business. 

You will also understand how key business decisions are made from a financial perspective, such as the investment in major projects, managing working capital and evaluating risk.
 

Procurement and Supply Chain Management

In an increasingly globalised business environment, the ability of organisations to identify, and then to manage, supply networks and individual chains of supply has grown in its significance. 

In this module you will learn about the key elements and activities within procurement and supply chain management, how this function supports the wider organisation and its objectives, and how these activities can be managed to ensure the optimal outcome.

You will build your knowledge of upstream and downstream relationships with suppliers and customers are managed effectively to ensure value is added whilst controlling costs and ultimately satisfying the customer. 
 

The Practice of Data Analysis

You will learn how to examine data and use statistics to produce information to help businesses, to formulate strategies and make decisions. Statistics underlies business analytics and intelligence and becomes a powerful tool for decision-making. Essential concepts in business analytics and intelligence will be introduced, as well as statistical and econometrics concepts that underlie areas such as business analytics, data mining, data analytics, big data and artificial intelligence. Students are encouraged to work with diverse datasets, learn how to prepare these and test basic models of analytics.

Understanding Customer Behaviour

You will critically appraise the behaviours of customers and their interactions with marketing. Informed by behavioural science, you will analyse why customers behave as they do and how marketing activity influences their behaviours. This analysis informs your critical understanding and implementation of both strategic and responsible marketing practice. An innovative dimension of this course is the investigation of change agents that will significantly influence the behaviours of customers in the future, for example neuroscience, climate change and technology innovation. This is an analytical module that utilises research evidence to inform evaluation, behavioural and communications research.

Optional Modules for semester 2

Financial Markets and Institutions

You will study how businesses interact in an external financial context by understanding how funds are provided through markets and institutions. This module looks at how financial markets operate, including stock markets, markets for fixed income assets and derivative markets and focuses on issues of asset pricing and market efficiency. With regard to institutions we examine the transformation of the financial sector as a result of globalisation, technical innovation and regulatory change.

Business Intelligence

Business Intelligence (BI) refers to technologies, applications, and practices for the collection, integration, analysis, and presentation of business information. The purpose of business intelligence is to support better business decision making. This course provides an overview of the technology of BI and the application of BI to an organisation’s strategies and goals. This module equips students to apply data extensively using theory and knowledge to perform statistical and quantitative analysis to drive business decisions and actions. Students will learn the business intelligence techniques and skills to understand, evaluate and interpret business and performance metrics and tools, in order to improve individual and organisational performance, and use this to inform and update organisational policies and procedures.

Group Consultancy Project

The purpose of this intensive experiential learning module is to enable students to gain project experience working in cross-cultural teams. Students have the opportunity to work on a real problem within a client organisation, integrated with the workshop series.  A series of workshops are held on consultancy and projects, building on previous learning within the studies.

Within the module students will apply their understanding of management in relation to specific organisational problems.  By participating in this module, students will develop their practical problem solving skills as well as communication and ability to work in cross-cultural teams.  

Sustainable Global Marketing Strategy

You’ll embrace the UN Sustainable Development Goals and their relevance for responsible marketing practitioners. You’ll learn how to select and apply a range of theories, concepts and approaches in order to inform the decision-making processes involved in developing sustainable global marketing strategy. You’ll also build your understanding and appreciate the importance of ethical, social, cultural and environmental issues in the global marketplace and the profound impact these areas have on sustainable global marketing practices.

Optional Module Summer - International Business in Practice: Study Trip

This elective study trip will give you a hands-on, intensive experience with the ideas and practices of global business. You’ll meet with leaders of global firms, receive presentations from global academic experts, and tour company facilities. You’ll also have direct interaction with management executives and practices through site visits to major corporations and agencies. 

All costs associated with the trip will need to be funded by you. It is not linked to university assessments in any way. If you successfully complete this module you will have it recorded on your transcript. As the destination and therefore precise costs vary from year to year, the programme fee of the study trip will be communicated to students before the application deadline.
 

Final Research Project

Compulsory modules

  • Final Research Project

    Your final research project module runs over two semesters. You’ll have the opportunity to undertake a substantial independent research project by applying and extending the streams of study, knowledge and practical skills you’ve gained in other modules. 

    You’ll be able to demonstrate a range of skills such as:

    • researching
    • critical thinking
    • project planning
    • problem-solving
    • writing/oral skills. 

    You’ll be able to choose from different research project options, providing you with the opportunity to explore in detail an area of particular interest or relevance to you. 

    The options currently are Dissertation, Client Project, Integrated Business Research Project, and Business/Concept Development.
     

Placement

Optional modules

Placement

This supervised work experience module is part of the two-year sandwich mode for students who join the Programme in September. 

You’ll engage in paid supervised work experience (a placement) in a role relevant to your course. You’ll have the opportunity to understand first-hand how businesses work and be able to apply your learning from the taught element of your course within a real working environment.

You’ll be supported to find a placement - our placement team works with a database of opportunities and runs events where you can meet potential employers. 

Securing a placement takes effort and success is not guaranteed. You will need to cover your own living and travel costs for your placement. Fees will be charged for the placement year in Year 2 and are available on request from finance-fees@brookes.ac.uk in May of the year of study. 

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

Research

Business School academics explore core issues facing contemporary societies, ranging from refugee entrepreneurship and internationalisation to sustainable tourism, security and the changing world of work and organisations including the impact of artificial intelligence. We address questions such as:

  • What characterises the interconnections of trade, transportation and technologies?
  • How do we organise for security?
  • How can social media address well-being and social isolation?
  • How can individuals be happier and navigate the increasingly complex world of work?

We also have an expertise in Coaching and Mentoring as well as in Diversity (such as examining pay gaps and gender and spin-outs) and we are always keen to include students into our projects where possible.

Please visit our research pages to learn more about the three research centres @ /business/research/. Being a masters student at OBBS offers plenty of opportunities to be a part of our research culture.

Two researchers in a meeting

Careers

You will graduate with highly relevant knowledge as well as practical experiences on how to manage different functional units in organisations.

Many of our graduates find managerial positions at a wide range of organisations, including:

  • companies producing fast moving commercial goods
  • consultancy firms
  • financial institutions
  • retail giants
  • charities
  • SMEs

Examples of these employers include:

  • Amazon
  • IBM
  • Deutsche Telekom
  • Deloitte, KPMG, PwC, EY
  • Oxfam
  • BASF Group
  • Kautex Unipart
  • Raiffeisen Bank
  • Revolution Insurance
  • American Business Conferences
  • Consilio Global
  • Or return to their family business

Our Staff

Dr Gabor Lukacs

Gabor works as liaison manager with some of our esteemed international partners and professional and accrediting bodies, and teaches on several business and management modules.

Read more about Gabor

John Bancroft

John is currently a module leader across a number of undergraduate and postgraduate modules. He is also a subject coordinator for the postgraduate Business and Management MSc programmes.

Read more about John

Entry requirements

International qualifications and equivalences

How to apply

Application process

Tuition fees

Please see the fees note
Home (UK) full time
£11,400

Home (UK) part time
£5,700

Home (UK) sandwich (placement)
£2,000

International full time
£16,800

International sandwich (placement)
£2,000

Home (UK) full time
£11,950

Home (UK) part time
£5,975

Home (UK) sandwich (placement)
£2,100

International full time
£17,650

International sandwich (placement)
£2,100

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

Tuition fees

2023 / 24
Home (UK) full time
£11,400

Home (UK) part time
£5,700

Home (UK) sandwich (placement)
£2,000

International full time
£16,800

International sandwich (placement)
£2,000

2024 / 25
Home (UK) full time
£11,950

Home (UK) part time
£5,975

Home (UK) sandwich (placement)
£2,100

International full time
£17,650

International sandwich (placement)
£2,100

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

+44 (0)1865 534400

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

The full-time fees quoted are for the taught Year 1. Fees will be charged for the placement year in Year 2 and are available on request from finance-fees@brookes.ac.uk

The following factors will be taken into account by the University when it is setting the annual fees: inflationary measures such as the retail price indices, projected increases in University costs, changes in the level of funding received from Government sources, admissions statistics and access considerations including the availability of student support. 

How and when to pay

Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. Students are not liable for full fees for that semester if they leave before week 4. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.

  • For information on payment methods please see our Make a Payment page.
  • For information about refunds please visit our Refund policy page

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.

All financial support and scholarships

View all funding opportunities for this course

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.