BA (Hons) Business And Finance (Top-up) (Full Time)

Advance your skills and knowledge to degree level on this intensive and challenging one year top-up course.

Course overview

The BA (Hons) Business and Finance one-year top-up course at Southampton Solent University is specifically designed to convert your existing qualifications to degree level (level 6). It will broaden and strengthen knowledge and experience gained from your earlier studies at HND or equivalent. 

You will have the opportunity to improve your general business subjects, develop your own study of management through a dissertation and turn your diploma (or equivalent) into a broad-based business degree.   

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Industrial focus

Many of the teaching staff have professional and industry experience in business and management and feed their knowledge and skills into the course, ensuring all the study units reflect current developments in the workplace.

Course content

Year 1

Five core units and one option:

• Business Project Skills OR Business Project Skills with English where English is not your first language
• Business Project Report
• Personnel Management
• Strategic Marketing Management
• Accounting for Decision Making (Business).

Options:

• Contemporary Business Issues
• International Financial Reporting and Analysis
• Personal Finance.

Why choose this course?

• This course gives you the opportunity to progress your current studies to degree level in just one year.
• Students will be given current issues to grapple with, to make decisions and provide recommendations.
• This course allows you to look at a number of business and finance issues which are relevant to many career opportunities. 

Assessment

The course is assessed by a mixture of coursework, projects and exams, with the emphasis being on coursework and projects. 

Key career skills

Presentation, project management, communication, evaluation, financial decision making and problem solving.

Projects/work experience

Coursework and projects will focus on applications towards real business issues and being able to apply this to current day issues.  

Graduate profile

Sarah Hodgett

HND alumnus and ex-BTEC Student of the Year, Sarah Hodgett, initially sought a career in horticulture before realising that there would be little financial advancement or career prospect for her in this field.

“I had done a business unit at college which I rather enjoyed so I thought that I should try business instead”, she explains. “After a first year reading Business and Management at Solent, I discovered that I was good at finance! It was my strongest subject and I knew that this clearly was the right path for me!”

Sarah had finally found her vocation and confidently enrolled on the HND in Business and Finance where she stood out from the crowd by being awarded the BTEC Student of the Year Award. After successfully completing her HND she moved onto this level 3 top-up degree.

“It’s quite a big jump from the HND to the top-up, but being familiar with my lecturers made it that little bit easier for me. They are very approachable and supportive anyway!

“The top-up degree is very interesting and offers various options such as business and marketing, business and finance or business and personnel, so that you can tailor it to suit your own specialism. I wanted to graduate with a BA (Hons) in Business and Finance as it opens up a wide variety of work opportunities in banking, finance or investment, for instance. I’m going into accountancy, that’s what I’m good at and I’ve enjoyed every module we’ve covered over the years, it’s been my favourite subject!

"It’s been challenging but the staff and lecturers offer so much support that there is always someone to turn to for help in times of need. I had no business experience before coming to university and I still managed to do the course and gradually build upon my knowledge.

“I’ve also had a lot of health problems over the last two years which have forced me to miss a lot of time at university; however my course leader was amazingly helpful and supportive, and I am very grateful for the help that I've received.”

Sarah enjoyed her time at Solent so much that after graduation she decided to stay a bit longer! She is currently finishing her twelve month internship at the University, and has started on her journey to qualify as an accountant by taking the ACCA professional courses here. "I always said that if I could stay at Solent another year, I would. And that's exactly what I've done!"

 

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