Business & Finance
Award
BA (Hons)
Duration & study mode
4 years full-time, typically 6 years part-time
Additional information
Ucas code
N1N3
Course starting dates
-
Paisley: September
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We hold open days and information sessions throughout the year aimed at students considering an undergraduate, postgraduate or postgraduate research degree at UWS.
Find out more about Open Days, Campus Tours and more
An you can find full information on how to study at UWS in 2024 here.
Find your place at UWS in 2024
Get your career in business off to a flying start with UWS’s BA Business & Finance.
Developed in partnership with industry experts, employers and professional associations, this degree will help you develop the knowledge and skills needed to make a positive impact in business and financial professions.
And thanks to our connections with industry experts and professionals, this degree’s teaching and assessments are designed to equip you with the practical experience to tackle the challenges faced by businesses today.
Work placement opportunities available through the School of Business & Enterprise allow students to put theory into practice in real-world business environments.
Broaden your horizons, learn a new language and prepare for the best international opportunities available with study abroad at UWS.
UWS offers professionally focused Business courses, providing students with sought-after skillsets to succeed in commerce and industry.
We place a high value on promoting entrepreneurship, partnering with the Princes Trust to support our business students to become self-employed or to set up their own business.
Our recent graduates are now working with some of the biggest names in business including RBS, Shell, Ford and IBM.
HESA PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 2016-17
We welcome Scottish, UK and international students and consider all applicants on an individual basis.
Don’t worry if your qualifications are not listed here, we take a range of factors into account when assessing your application and are happy to consider other alternative combinations of qualifications and experience.
If you are applying with an EU or non-EU qualification, please check our Undergraduate Entry Requirements page which gives more information about country-specific entry requirements.
* for more information on standard and minimum entry requirements, see our Undergraduate Entry Requirements webpage
HND: Accounting; Financial & Business Management; Financial Services; Business with Accounting
For applicants whose first language is not English, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level. The qualifications below must have been gained within two years of the start of your course.
General English language requirements at UWS: International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic module (not General Training)
Exceptions to this level of IELTS scoring exist for some accredited or professionally-recognised courses (see section below for more details).
SOCIAL WORK DEGREES
For our BA (Hons) Social Work and MSc Social Work programmes, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
All stated English tests are acceptable for admission for both home/EU and international students for this programme:
For our research degrees (MRes, MPhil, PhD, DBA, DProf) applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
For Health, Nursing & Midwifery courses that lead to, or require professional registration with the Nursing & Midwifery Council, applicants are required to have an IELTS or Occupational English Test (OET)*.
For such courses, the IELTS score is as follows:
* Note that the Occupational English Test (OET) will now be accepted in addition to IELTS as proof of a Nurse's English Language Competence (Nursing & Midwifery Council, 2019).
For our BSc (Hons) Applied Biomedical Science, BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science and MSc Advanced Biomedical Science programmes, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
For our Certificate of Higher Education courses, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
TOEFL IBT*: 78; no sub-test less than:
* Please note that TOEFL is still acceptable for admission to this programme for both home/EU and international students.
For international students, the Home Office has confirmed that the University can choose to use TOEFL to make its own assessment of English language ability for visa applications to degree level courses. We therefore still accept TOEFL tests taken in the last two years for admission to this programme.
West African Senior School Certificate of Education (WASSCE) including acceptance of WAEC Scratchcard*
*UWS will accept a WAEC scratchcard confirming that an applicant has achieved C6 or above as evidence of meeting English language requirement from Nigeria if the student graduated within the last 5 years. After 5 years applicants would be required to provide the WAEC Certificate.
Applicants who do not meet the minimum English language requirements have the option to study one of our preparatory and pre-sessional English courses. The UWS courses available are:
The BA Business & Finance course provides a mix of specialist and generic transferable skills essential for your career, whether in business, management or finance. A variety of teaching and learning approaches are used including lectures, tutorials, practical workshops and are focused on the practical aspects of business and finance.
Our highly qualified and experienced team of teaching staff, supported by industry guest speakers, will deepen your understanding of business and finance. They will help you to understand the range of career options and professional accreditation that will be available to you upon completion.
In year 1 you will complete modules on financial and management accounting, marketing, human resource management, economics and management. Optional modules from the School of Business, and language options can also be selected.
In year 2 you will develop your financial and management accounting experience and introduces specialised areas such as financial management and business law. You can choose several modules from areas of business and management that interest you, or continue to learn a language.
In year 3 you will begin to develop in-depth knowledge and experience of financial management and accounting, alongside modules in taxation and banking, providing excellent practical and theoretical knowledge. A range of business options may be selected along with more advanced options.
In year 4 you will complete a research dissertation of your choice alongside your continued study of business and contemporary issues in finance. Modules include Enterprise Risk Management, Personal Finance, and a number of advanced business modules.
This course also gives you the option of taking a language module, which can count towards your degree. These modules cover multiple languages and range from absolute beginner to near-native speaker level.
You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials and workshops.
You will also have the opportunity to take part in group work and independent learning to develop your transferable skills such as research, presentation, communication and working as part of a team.
Our Business degree is assessed using a variety of assessment methods including:
This is a new course and the course structure is not yet available online, please contact us for more information.
With the BA Business & Finance at UWS you can tailor your degree to focus on areas that are related to your future career aspirations, such as enterprise and entrepreneurship, marketing or human resources. UWS graduates are well prepared for a successful career in business, management and finance.
Some graduates choose further study, leading to a Master of Business Administration (MBA) or a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA).
All UK and EU applicants for undergraduate study, not applying through an agent or partner, should apply through UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service)
The on-time application deadline for 2024/25 entry is 31 January 2024, 18:00 (UK time). For some courses it may still be possible to apply beyond this period, subject to suitable vacancies remaining. The final deadline for late applications via UCAS is 30 June 2024. Beyond this deadline, you may be able to apply via ‘UCAS Clearing’ if the course you are interested in has remaining places.
Please refer to our Undergraduate Application Guide for domestic & EU/EEA to find more information on when and how to apply to study at UWS.
Students from non-EU/non-EEA countries can apply directly to UWS via our dedicated online application system. The latest we can process your application is 6 weeks before the course start date to allow for visa processing times. For more information on when and how to apply to study at UWS please refer to our International Undergraduate Application Guide.
For part-time & online study, you should apply directly to the University through our online application system, not through UCAS. Please select the part-time mode of study when submitting your application. Before you begin your application, it is important to read the part-time application step-by-step guide for a smooth process.
To come to UWS as a visiting student on a study abroad or exchange programme, you must apply entirely through our online system.
An ATAS certificate is not required for overseas students applying for this course.
Do you have a question about applying for this course? Get in touch. We are here to help!
We will always try to make sure that we publish accurate course information but we do not accept responsibility for any mistakes or omissions. We will also try to make sure that we deliver our courses in line with our published information. However, we may not always be able to do so and you can find further information about this in our enrolment terms and conditions.