BA (Hons) Business Administration

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    Typical offer:

    Entry requirements
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    Fees: See below

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  • UCAS icon

    UCAS code: N252 - BA (Hons) Business Administration
    N251 - BA (Hons) Business Administration

  • Uni of Herts icon

    Institute code: H36

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    Study abroad option

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    Work placement option

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Why choose this course?

  • 83% Student Satisfaction (NSS 2022)
  • Benchmarked against quality frameworks for business educators
  • Flexible and varied business course

If you have a passion for business and a talent for organisation, you will thrive on this course.

Level up your communication, problem solving, and management skills as you learn to productively manage an organisations people, time and resources.

Prepare yourself for success in the global business environment as you learn management, digital, marketing and financial expertise.

With flexible pathways, focus on your specific interest areas, a key to the popularity of this course.

Benefit from assessments modelled on what you’ll face in the real-world, including business reports, presentations, speed pitches, online tests and case studies. These suit different learning styles and provide valuable experience.

Access a strong support network including our centre for academic skills enhancement (CASE) and personal tutors. This is useful for those adjusting to a new way of learning, particularly from abroad.

HBS maintains strong relationships with professional bodies and business connections. Meet entrepreneurs–in–residence, business ambassadors and industry leaders at networking events or in guest lectures through our Business Academy.

If you have an entrepreneurial spirit, enter the Flare annual competition with a chance to win support, training and funding to help make your ideas a reality.

This course allows entry at level 5 for students with a foundation degree or diploma. Entry is available at L5 or L6 for international students with a comparable qualification. A part-time option is also available over 6 years.

What's the course about?

Good business administration is a balancing act that requires a range of skills and knowledge.

Develop a strong core of in-demand business skills such as administration, marketing and finance alongside other professional skills, including time management, presentations and communication.

Choose niche areas to tailor the degree to your interests, such as technology, marketing, the global business environment, problem solving and ethics.

We actively support you to go out on an industry placement, study abroad or do an internship (including the latest online bite-sized digital experiences) to help you find your direction and to boost your CV to secure your first graduate role.

Above all, you are mentored and supported, to aim high to achieve future personal and professional success. Many students on this programme go on to post graduate study.

International students who join the University at Levels 5 and 6 are supported with additional language sessions, designed in conjunction with key core modules.

Where you'll study

Your teaching is on our modern de Havilland campus, with our 24/7 Learning Resources Centre, featuring open and private study spaces. You also get online self-study materials to further support you.

There are dining options, a bar, and a recreational space on campus (n shoot some pool or play video games). It also houses Hertfordshire Sports Village, which features a gym, swimming pool, coffee shop, and climbing wall.

Discover the Enterprise Hub , a vibrant destination where local firms and students work and learn in comfort.

The student union bar and additional facilities are only a 20-minute walk (or short bus ride) away at our second campus. Student housing is available at both campuses.

What will I study?

A varied and practical course, you’ll start with principles in business administration before tailoring the course to your own interests.

Your first year covers the essential foundations for any business professional, including marketing, economics, accounting and people.

In your second year develop your analytical, organisational and professional skills, to enhance your ability to contribute the productivity of any organisation.

In your final year of study, choose from a large variety of choices to expand your knowledge and explore specialist areas. These include modules in business strategy, leadership, global business, creative problem-solving, cross-cultural trends, digital economy, project planning and business ethics.

There are also opportunities to further enrich your personal development through our GoHerts program, placements, internships, study-abroad and Future Success team events.

My time at L’Oréal was amazing - I learnt so many new skills I never thought I could gain! I understood the value of teamwork and the ability to take responsibility by leading my own projects. My role included tracking the Hair and Colour Market by working closely with the Marketing and Commercial Teams. We would collate a Monthly Dashboard of the two markets, to share with the wider business. This placement has to be the best career decision I have ever made, I can’t wait to see what the future holds!

Tasnim Hafsa Chowdhury

BA(Hons) Business Administration student

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Student Blogs

Sarah - Business

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Alumni Stories

Claire Rimington

Meet Claire Rimington who utilised the skills she gained during her MBA to move up the career ladder. She currently works as a Principle Commercial Manager for MBDA Missile Systems.

Read more stories Find out more about this course
Current job rolePrincipal Commercial Manager
Year of graduation2017
Course of studyMasters of Business Administration

Claire Rimington, who currently works as a Principle Commercial Manager for MBDA Missile Systems, explains how studying an MBA at the University of Hertfordshire has helped her into her current role. Claire is responsible for the contract management of some of the MBDA’s contracts with customers and says, ‘Although I am a small cog in a big organisation where I am now, the MBA helped me into this role from a smaller organisation.’

University experience

Although the MBA requires a lot of time and dedication, Claire describes how it helped her to take a break from  work life and do something she enjoyed. She says, ‘I was extremely busy at work. The MBA weekends provided a respite! There was always something going on at work, but the MBA gave me the chance to step away from it and focus on learning and developing new skills and myself.’

However, Claire encourages other students who are considering doing an MBA to give themselves a break. She explains, ‘In the first semester, I was disappointed when I didn’t get distinctions! I would now tell myself to have a break as I made life very difficult for myself. Be consistent in your level of work. If you are consistent from the start, then it is easier to maintain that level throughout and be realistic.’ She urges prospective students to, ‘Ask for support from other students and staff because it is there.’

Aside from the workload, Claire says that studying an MBA with such a diverse range of individuals was extremely beneficial. She notes, ‘I loved the learning and it was easy to become hooked on learning and different ways of thinking. It was a diverse group and as everyone’s experiences and backgrounds are different, you learn as much from the students as the lecturers. We shared experiences and having the opportunity to work with different people who do not work the same way, have the same work ethic and different pressures but have the same goal was itself a learning experience.’

Studying the MBA at the University of Hertfordshire provided Claire with the qualifications to back up her existing experience. Yet  the most valuable thing that she has taken away from the MBA has been ‘the ability to think differently about things and to think strategically.’. She says, ‘It has enabled me to see the big picture but maintain the narrower focus needed on my own role.’ In addition to the skills she has learnt, Claire reveals that she has met some great people along the way. She says, ‘I learnt so much from each and every one of them, and have made good friends, one of whom is now also a colleague.’

The future

Looking ahead, Claire says she is seriously considering doing a DBA. She explains, ‘I want to continue to study and learn, and I am interested in finding out about a DBA. Really interested in this as my next step.’

‘I loved the learning and it was easy to become hooked on learning and different ways of thinking. It was a diverse group and as everyone’s experiences and backgrounds are different, you learn as much from the students as the lecturers. We shared experiences and having the opportunity to work with different people who do not work the same way, have the same work ethic and different pressures but have the same goal was itself a learning experience.’

Alumni headshot

Alumni Stories

George Kruis

Current job roleProfessional rugby player
Course of studyBA (Hons) Business Administration, 2014
George Kruis

Career Success

George has had considerable success in both his club and international rugby careers. In 2020 he moved to Japanese side Saitama Wild Knights.

George started his career at Saracens in 2009 and played a significant part in the club becoming the dominant force in English and European rugby. During his time at the club, they won the Premiership title four times (2015,2016, 2018, 2020) and the European Champions Cup three times (2016, 2017, 2019).

His success at club level inevitably led to international recognition and George has won 45 caps for England, played in two World Cups, and was selected for the British & Irish Lions on their 2017 tour of New Zealand.

Talking about his career achievements, George says, ‘There are clear achievements such as trophies and playing for your country, but by far the biggest achievement I have had from my career is the journey itself. In danger of sounding too soppy, for me, it’s been the opportunity to have spent the last 13 years playing with a group of friends and how that has moulded me as a person.’

‘My rugby club, Saracens, installed an amazing off-field learning programme early on in my career which in turn encouraged me down the path of going to the University of Hertfordshire. At Herts I studied a varied business management course. This part of my journey gave me a genuine passion for business and in 2018 another rugby player and myself set up a wellness brand called FourFive which is a huge part of my life now. The company is picking up some good pace stocking in big retailers such as Boots, Next, and Lloyds, so when I finish my career I will be going into this full time. As a professional athlete, this period of transition can be one that is pretty tough so I am in a lucky position that I will be dragged out of rugby earlier into another profession.’

Life at Herts

‘For me, the best bit about Herts was the varied group of people I met. Although there are improvements being made, in rugby there can be a lack of diversity. Working in groups and studying alongside people with different cultures and backgrounds gives people key skills to understand different perspectives. This I think is something that Herts did very well. Also, the fish and chips on a Friday were spot on!

For me, the best bit about Herts was the varied group of people I met. I have since used many of the skills I learnt at Herts whilst setting up my own business and am very grateful for the effort they put in to upskilling me off the field away from Rugby.