BA (Hons) International Business with Spanish
Key information
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Typical offer:
Entry requirements -
Fees: See below
Full details -
UCAS code: N125
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Institute code: H36
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Study a language option
Find out more -
Study abroad option
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Work placement option
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Professional accreditations
Our BA International Business is EFMD Accredited by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD). EFMD Accredited is an internationally recognised badge of programme quality with its strong focus on internationalisation, ethics and sustainability. We’re one of ten UK business schools with an EFMD Accredited course and one of only 92 schools worldwide (October 2020).
Why choose this course?
- You’ll be supported in your studies and preparing for your future
- Study for an internationally recognised EFMD accredited degree
- Improve your employability with a language
If you want a career in international business and love to travel, this degree is ideal. The degree has 2 routes you can take, a three year route and a four year route and provides you with a number of study plans.
On the three year route, you will need to spend a minimum of one semester in year 2 at a partner institution in Europe, North America, Latin America, Australia, Africa, Middle East or Asia. Ideally you will spend all of year two abroad on this route to really immerse yourself into a different culture. UK nationals who spend the year abroad pay a reduced tuition fee.
On the four year route, you will have the opportunity to spend one or two years studying, and working, in Europe, North America, Latin America, Australia, Africa, Middle East or Asia. Most of our courses offer the opportunity to study abroad for a year, but if this isn’t enough for you, don’t worry. Everyone on this course will study abroad in Year 3 (with no tuition fees to pay). However, as bonus you can also choose to spend Year 2 abroad (with reduced tuition fees for UK nationals). There’ll be opportunities for work placements too with an option to do a 12 month placement on the four year route if you have studied abroad in year 2. We have partnerships with over 100 universities and business schools around the world, so there’s lots of choice.
This course reflects the growing need for managers of tomorrow to have the business and leadership skills, language competency and cultural awareness for success in today’s global business environment.
We’re one of eleven UK business schools with an EFMD Accredited course and one of only 96 schools worldwide (October 2021). The European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) is an internationally recognised badge of programme quality, with its strong focus on internationalisation, ethics and sustainability. You’ll also be joining a university that is recognised for a high standard of teaching and support.
We are part of the Transatlantic Business School Alliance (TABSA) and through this you will also have the opportunity to gain a dual degree with one of our TABSA partners by spending tow years at the partner institute.
You’ll also be able to study a language alongside. We offer five languages: French, German, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. You can start a new language or continue your study of a language. If you select to take a language through the whole of the degree, it will be reflected in your degree title.
Find out more about studying a language with this course.
What's the course about?
Study plan overview – Three-year programme
Year 1: University of Hertfordshire
Year 2: Study abroad in English (Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa, Asia or Australia). Minimum study abroad of one semester required and ideally you will be away for the whole year.
Year 3: University of Hertfordshire
Study plan overview - Four-year programme
Year 1: University of Hertfordshire
Year 2: University of Hertfordshire or Study abroad in English (Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, Australia) for one or two semesters.
Year 3: Study abroad with the option of a work placement (Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, Middle East, Africa, Australia) or a year-long placement if you have studied abroad in Year 2. The work placements can also be in the UK, in internationally facing roles and would need to be approved by the placements team.
Year 4: University of Hertfordshire
In your first year, you’ll start your studies at the University of Hertfordshire. Your core modules will be Marketing, Economics, Accounting and Human Resources. You’ll learn regional consumer patterns that influence how companies decide to advertise and digitally communicate to their audience. Explore how politics and levels of infrastructure, such as transport, can affect global economic development. If you decide to, you can pick up a language during this year.
In your second year, you can stay at the University of Hertfordshire or study at one of our partner universities in English taking similar subjects. In the four-year route you have a choice to study at a partner university, whilst in the three-year route you must study at a partner university for at least one semester. The programme team at Hertfordshire will support you in your choice of modules at the partner university. Alternatively, you may decide to pursue a dual degree and go to one of our TABSA partners in Spain, Germany, France or the USA for two years and complete with two degrees.
Here there’s a stronger international focus of the business disciplines. You’ll explore geographic influences on international relations in geopolitics and gain an international insight on global employment laws, performance and people management in HR and finance. You’ll also explore economics at an international level and get a better understanding of our own and the European market.
You’ll start taking your learning into your own hands. You can choose to continue with your language if you want and you have a choice of optional modules. You can dip into Exploring Business Ethics, learn about project management or learn about Cross Cultural Management.
Students on the four-year route will all be abroad in your third year. You can shape your learning through study or practice too. This means you can study for one semester at one of our partner universities, then do a placement. Or you can spend the entire year studying abroad. This can be at one university, or you can experience two. Wherever you go, they’ll teach you in English. However, you can challenge your language skills and study some of your modules in their native language. The great part about this year is that you don’t pay tuition fees to us or the university that you go to. You’ll be learning about different cultures. You’ll build your international networks and get the contacts you need, should you decide to start your career abroad. If you have studied abroad in your second year, you will be able to undertake a year-long placement in your third year.
On both the three-year and four-year programmes your final year will be at the University of Hertfordshire. Your core modules will be Contemporary Issues in Ethics, Business and Sustainability, International Strategic Leadership, Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Innovation. You’ll choose the other half of your programme from a wide variety of business modules offering a strong global focus, including in marketing, HR, finance, management systems and economics. You can also continue to study a language and can choose to do a dissertation You’re able to tailor your final year to match your own interests and career aspirations.
Please keep in mind, due to COVID-19 restrictions, we will need to consider government guidelines regarding travel at the time you reach your second and third year.
Study a language
At Hertfordshire Business School there are a lot of opportunities to study a modern language as part of your degree alongside another subject. Your chosen language will comprise 25% of your studies and will be listed on your degree certificate. This course will develop language and communication skills, and cultural insights into the countries of the language studied. The course will also develop many other transferrable skills to boost your employability prospects, such as time management and organisation; resilience; cultural understanding; working both independently and as part of a team.
Your main campus is de Havilland
You’ll share this campus with students from business, law, sport, education, and humanities subjects. The student housing is close to our Sports Village which includes a gym, swimming pool and climbing wall. You can get breakfast, lunch, or dinner in our on-campus restaurant or bar (in the newly built Enterprise Hub) on days you don’t feel like cooking. You can also use the common room to play pool, video games or just to hang out with friends. Our Learning Resources Centres are open 24/7, which means you can study whenever suits you best. Want to pop over to the other campus? You can take the free shuttle bus or walk there in just 15 minutes.
What will I study?
You'll normally study four 15 credit modules in each semester and your contact time varies between modules. Usually, you’ll have two sessions per week for each module, a one-hour lecture following by a one-hour seminar/tutorial. Typically, a new topic or theory will be introduced in each lecture and will be followed up with class discussion and feedback in the subsequent seminar. In addition, as part of your study time, you will be collaborating with your peers on tasks and group assignments. Module leaders also offer weekly drop-in and feedback sessions, usually 2 x 1 hours per module as well as revision sessions.
The University’s online learning environment means you can access all your course resources, literature and timetables from anywhere in the world.
Usually, assessment is split between coursework and examinations. The style of coursework can vary from presentations to business reports or essays depending on the taught topics.
Degree programmes are structured into levels, 4, 5 and 6. These correspond to your first, second and fourth which is your final year. In addition, you will have access to a zero-credit module in the first year, which focusses on developing your academic skills.
Check out our student blogs
Alumni Stories
Toby Newman
Meet Toby. Toby says his two years studying and working abroad greatly improved his confidence and communication skills.
Read more stories BA (Hons) International Business with Spanish| Current job role | Onboarding Manager for a tech scale-up |
|---|---|
| Year of graduation | 2021 |
| Course of study | BA (Hons) International Business with Spanish |
A flexible course
Toby says, ‘I chose Herts because of the flexibility of the BA (Hons) International Business course. You have a huge range of modules to choose from, and you can tailor your experience to your interests and career goals.’
The option to study Spanish as part of the course was also a big plus for him. He had learnt Spanish at GCSE level but when he was applying to universities, he found that other institutions either expected you to learn the language from scratch or have a Spanish A-level qualification. Toby says, ‘I joined a class that was right for me and my knowledge of Spanish, which definitely helped my development during the course.’
Toby spent two years studying in Mexico and working in Spain as part of his degree, which he says greatly improved his confidence and communication skills. Toby adds, ‘In my first year at Herts I was too shy even to ask a question in a lecture. Now I’m able to present and lead meetings with important stakeholders.’
Adapting to change
Toby is now an Onboarding Manager for a tech scale-up, where he works with local authorities in the UK to introduce technology that helps cities become smarter and more sustainable.
Toby doesn’t know what the future holds for him yet, but his experience at Herts has led him to consider taking on international projects or even moving abroad. He says, ‘Studying at Herts has ingrained in me adaptability and openness to change. I spent two years studying abroad, where I lived and worked in places I had never visited before. In the beginning, it was terrifying but it taught me how to adapt to new experiences.
‘The quality of teaching at Herts is brilliant. I could tell that the tutors cared for the subject, which made lectures and seminars much more engaging. If I had studied at a different university, I don’t think I’d be where I am now.’
Alumni Stories
Neelesh Prang
Meet Neelesh Prang, who graduated during the pandemic and is now based between London and Paris working as a Business Development and Account Manager for a French software company.
Read more stories BA (Hons) International Business with Spanish| Current job role | Business Development and Account Manager |
|---|---|
| Year of graduation | 2020 |
| Course of study | BA (Hons) International Business with Spanish |
A global university experience
Neelesh Prang had a global student experience, spending two years of his four-year course studying in both Singapore and Madrid.
He says, ‘My extended Study Abroad experience made this course truly unique. The incentive to pursue global opportunities gave me the chance to form a wide network of international friendships. I was able to study at leading universities in both Singapore (Asia) and Madrid (Spain).’
Life after Herts
Neelesh obtained a First Class degree and graduated as part of the Class of 2020 cohort. Neelesh says, ‘I can say with absolute confidence that the experiences I gained from the International Business course at Herts has prepared me extremely well for the world of work, which is becoming increasingly globalised. I highly recommend the course for anyone considering a global career.’
Career opportunities
Neelesh now works in the technology industry as a Business Development and Account Manager at a French software company, looking after the European Market. He says, ‘I am based between London and Paris. My degree course and university experience has significantly contributed to obtaining opportunities like my current role, as employers see the value of international exposure and cultural curiosity, combined with a foundation of excellent business acumen.’
He credits Herts as being ‘instrumental’ in both his personal and professional development and goes on to say, ‘I will always advocate for Herts as a brilliant place to study, especially on this course, as it has changed my life.’