BSc (Hons) Marketing (with Foundation Year option)

During your studies on BSc (Hons) Marketing degree, you will have the opportunity to achieve CIM professional qualifications. You can achieve the Foundation Certificate in Marketing in the first year of your degree* and the CIM Diploma in Professional Marketing after graduating. 

Exemptions

• You will be exempt from the Applied Marketing and the Marketing Campaigns modules and need to complete one elective module. Please note additional costs and work involved.
• You will need to achieve a 2:2 or above degree classification and successfully pass the specified (non-exempt) modules at the chosen level of study to be awarded the CIM Diploma in Professional Marketing. You will be exempt from the Marketing and Digital Strategy module and need to complete one mandatory module and one elective module, currently from a choice of two electives. Please note additional costs and work involved.
• If pursuing CIM qualification after graduating: you will need to start non-exempt modules within three years of graduation and complete within five years for exemptions to be valid. 

Benefits for you:

Opportunity to graduate with two highly recognised qualifications, the CIM Foundation Certificate in Marketing and the IPA Foundation Certificate, alongside your academic degree Improved placement and employability prospects, due to achievement of academic and professional qualifications whilst in higher education Membership of CIM and associated benefits.

Benefits for employers:

Graduates and placement students with proven practitioner and academic skills.

• BU will provide all assessment guidance at no additional cost. 
• We will ask you to pay the CIM Affiliate Studying Membership fee of £65 directly to the CIM on registering for the CIM programme. This covers the cost of CIM annual membership.
• If studying on a Level 4 CIM Certificate, you will need to pay the CIM assessment fee for the one unit at a cost of £150. Again, you will need to pay this fee directly to the CIM. If studying on a CIM Diploma, you will need to pay the CIM assessment fee for two units (at a cost of £190 per unit, £380 in total).

Core units:

• Fundamentals of Business & Management: This unit aims to develop your understanding of the business context across industry and sectors globally. You will cover the key issues and challenges facing businesses going forward and the essential role of people in dynamic, resilient and complex organisations. You will explore key functional business areas including marketing, finance, accounting, economics, people management, and organisational behaviour.  
• Academic & Professional Practice: You will build your confidence in both academic and professional skills. This unit will cover the academic skills which will be required at degree level study and you’ll practice them throughout the unit with support from key university services including the library and study skills team. There will also be the opportunity for you to reflect on and develop your own professional skills through interactions with employers, careers services and online resources. 
• Fusion Business Project: You will undertake a business project based on a real issue or problem. The Fundamentals of Business & Management unit will support you in understanding key issues and challenges which could form the basis for your project. Projects will be undertaken in workplaces, community settings or part of research processes related to your chosen field of study. You will be allocated an academic mentor who will support you in developing and undertaking the project.  

Core units

• Global Business Environment: An introduction to the fundamentals of the external global business context, enabling you to understand business-related political, economic, social and technological news stories and developments.
• Developing Management Competencies: You'll be exposed to real-life business and management challenges, enabling you to develop interpersonal, organisational, transferable, creative and reflective learning skills, as well as a learning culture founded on mutual support, empathy and respect.
• Principles of Marketing: This introductory unit covers the fundamental elements of marketing; specifically, the marketing planning process encompassing analysis, planning, implementation and control. 
• Digital Essentials: The unit will enable you to understand the impact of emerging digital technologies and review, utilise and explore the role of digital communications within marketing communications. You will use research and industry specific tools used for measuring digital communications.
• Integrated Marketing Communications: You will gain a critical understanding of how to plan, create, execute and evaluate integrated marketing communication campaigns. Upon completion of the unit, you will have an appreciation of the complexities of the integrated marketing communication campaigns process.
• Consumer & Stakeholder Principles: You will explore and analyse the importance of understanding stakeholder management and consumer behaviour for effective development and implementation of various aspects/practices involved in marketing communications. 

Core units

• Research Principles & Practice: You'll be exposed to research in a variety of ways, by focusing squarely on research principles and practice. Initially you will learn about the value and importance of research, in relation to a student’s chosen degree, and the place of research ethics.
• Recruiting, Selecting & Retaining Talent: You will be encouraged to develop an understanding of the recruitment and selection process, and contemporary recruitment and selection techniques, whilst developing an understanding of their position in relation to the wider talent pool. 
• Business Accounting: Equipping you with the knowledge and skills needed to progress to further study of financial reporting and/or financial analysis, this unit provides a solid foundation in the fundamentals of financial and management accounting.
• Brands & Branding: You will be introduced to the building blocks of brands, the theoretical principles of branding, and will also be exposed to theoretical applications in diverse situations and contexts. This unit will also explore the role of branding as a strategic managerial tool and its implications on businesses, consumers, and markets.   

Option units (choose two)

• Globally Responsible Business Practice: Gain the ability to critically evaluate the complex role of business practice in global systems and their understanding of management processes.
• Digital Media Practice: You will have the opportunity to work on various digital platforms and perform multiple tasks utilising the digital skills ascertained during the unit. You will be given formative feedback on your work and encouraged to work as an independent-learner. You will also develop your team-work, presentation skills and the use of industry-specific digital tools (such as social media, blogs/vlogs, apps, AR/VR, websites, etc.). 
• Customer Experience: The aim of this unit is to enable you to apply the key concepts and analytical frameworks of customer experience to develop innovative and effective ways of delivering and enhancing customer experience within a marketing communications perspective. 
• Global Operations Management: This unit will cover the impact global operations management has on the business as a whole and the close relationship of operations management with other business function.

Please note that option units require minimum numbers in order to run and may only be available on a semester by semester basis. They may also change from year to year.

You'll complete a 30-week minimum placement which can be carried out anywhere in the world. The placement year offers you a chance to gain experience and make contacts for the future.

Core units

• Live Marketing Consultancy Project: Aiding you to become an independent marketing consaultant, this unit provides skills in researching a marketing problem, identifying solutions and making proposals that most satisfy a corporate client’s needs and circumstances. 
• Developing Strategy for Global Markets: The aim of this unit is to develop, assess and implement marketing strategies at the corporate and operational marketing levels in a global organisational context.
• Dissertation: The dissertation offers you the opportunity to become an expert on a topic of particular interest, and to develop a study that connects your learning with real-world observations.

Option units (choose two)

• Financial Management: Studying the area of financial management, you'll develop an appreciation of how financial decisions are made in organisations, within the context of corporate strategy.
• International Management: Drawing on elements of international HRM and cross-cultural management, this unit is designed to develop a critical awareness of the challenges of working and managing in a dynamic, global context.   
• Fashion Business: This unit is particularly for students with a strong interest in embarking on a career that involved some element of fashion, equipping you with a broad awareness and appreciation of how the fashion industry is evident within all areas of the business.
• Entrepreneurship & Business Venture: Learn how individuals and teams build on opportunities to create new businesses or transform existing ones by undertaking entrepreneurial activities.  
• Brand Meaning: You will create your interpretation of brand meaning for a brand of your choice, producing meaning appropriate for a 21st century brand.
• Relationship Marketing: You will gain an understanding and conceptually analyse relationship marketing which is becoming increasingly important given the challenge of attracting, developing and retaining customers within a competitive environment (both for-profit and non-profit organisations).
• Consumer Insights: You will gain a critical appreciation of state-of-the-art thinking within consumer culture studies.
• Influencer Marketing: The unit aims to develop your knowledge and skills on marketing to influencers and becoming an influencer yourself in the marketing communications field.

Please note that option units require minimum numbers in order to run and may only be available on a semester by semester basis. They may also change from year to year.

The emphasis of this course is in guided independent learning, which helps you develop into a self-motivated learner. When not attending lectures and seminars, you will be expected to read around the subject.

Your typical week’s activities will include reading books and journal articles, working on group projects, preparing presentations, conducting library research and writing your assignments. The hours below give an indication of how you can expect to spend your time during each year of this course.

Year 1 – 18% of your time will be spent in timetabled learning & teaching activities

• Learning and teaching: 196 hours
• Independent learning: 1004 hours

Year 2 – 18% of your time will be spent in timetabled learning & teaching activities

• Learning and teaching: 206 hours
• Independent learning: 994 hours

Year 3 (placement year)

Year 4 - 13% of your time will be spent in timetabled learning & teaching activities

• Learning and teaching: 264 hours (estimated)
• Independent learning: 936 hours (estimated) 

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry.

If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

A placement should be a highly rewarding experience for you and the employing company and we do our best to ensure that everyone involved feels that they have got the most that they can from the experience.

Placements provide a great opportunity to make your first career steps and enhance your employability while you’re completing your studies. You’ll get the opportunity to:

• Put the theory learnt throughout the course into professional practice
• Enhance your study and help you decide on subject options (where appropriate)
• Learn a wide range of skills such as time management, problem solving and team work (all of these are important to succeed in any career)
• Make contacts, as it is not uncommon for our students to be offered permanent positions to return to after graduating
• Gain a real insight into how the industry operates in roles that would be almost impossible to achieve for an outsider
• Many of our students, during their placement, are given responsibilities normally associated with graduate trainees.

A (minimum) 30-week supervised work placement in the UK or overseas which gives you the opportunity to turn theory into practice in a business environment. 

Although it is ultimately your responsibility to find a placement, we give you all the support you could need. Our dedicated Placement Officers circulate job opportunities and offer extensive CV, covering letter and interview coaching to ensure you have the best chance to compete for some of the top placement positions in industry.

They’ll help you plan your placement so make sure you get the right experience for you. That includes offering help and support if you need to move to another part of the UK – and even another country – to get the most out of your time.

We’ve also built close industry links over the years – so our network of employers that are keen to work with placement students is always growing. Or if you’d prefer to arrange your placement independently, we can offer advice on how to do that too.

• L'Oreal
• Mitsubishi
• Tui Group
• Coty
• Nike
• Kia
• Apple
• IBM
• JP Morgan
• Warner Bros
• Xerox.

AccessBU: AccessBU provides you with the opportunity to tell us about your circumstances that are not always evident in your UCAS application. This widening access initiative also considers relevant criteria such as being in care or if you live in an area with a low participation rate in Higher Education - if you are eligible, your offer could be up to 16 UCAS tariff points below the published tariff.

Apprenticeships: We recognise the transferable knowledge and skills gained through apprenticeships and welcome applications from students with a Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship recognised by the Institute for Apprenticeships. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Deferred entry: We are happy to consider eligible applicants for deferred entry. If you have already submitted your application, please submit your deferral request through our website. 

Direct entry: We welcome applications from students who have previously studied at degree level at other institutions and wish to transfer onto a BU course. Our Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) procedure enables credit awarded from one institution to contribute to a BU award, subject to an application process. Please visit our RPL webpage for more information.

Mature applicants: We recognise that mature applicants may have a wealth of experience rather than formal qualifications, so we’ll consider your application on these merits if included in your application. You’ll need to apply to BU in the usual way through UCAS and you may be invited to an interview to discuss your suitability for the course based on the experience you tell us about in your application.

We select candidates for this course by looking at your application; there are usually no interviews or selection activities needed. For that reason, make sure your application really stands out from the crowd, and leave us in no doubt as to why you should be joining BU. You can find some handy hints about filling in your UCAS form on our how to apply web pages.

We look at individual applications and make a tailored offer based on your potential to succeed on the course considering a range of factors, including your academic achievements, work and other experience, reference and personal statement, and in some cases, your performance at an interview or a portfolio review. Typically, we make an offer at the bottom of the tariff range.

AccessBU gives you the chance to tell us more about you and your life experiences if you haven’t had the same educational opportunities as other applicants. If you are eligible for AccessBU, your offer could be up to 16 UCAS Tariff Points below the published tariff.

Our offer-making will typically be based on your most recent qualifications, including any required subjects where applicable. We'll consider all qualifications when assessing your application, although these may not be part of our offer.

If you do not meet the criteria of your original offer, we may still offer you a place. We will review your whole application and consider all academic qualifications (including those not in the offer) to see if you have the academic potential to succeed on the course. If we feel the answer is yes, we will confirm your place.

This course has been awarded Graduate Gateway status by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), which will allow you to enter the CIM qualification system at professional postgraduate diploma level once you graduate. Having CIM accreditation will also make you stand out to potential employers.

Once you have completed an undergraduate Honours degree, you can further develop your education by studying for a postgraduate degree. Please visit our postgraduate section for further details about our range of Master's degrees.

Research degrees 

If you are a BU graduate you are eligible for a 20% ‘loyalty’ discount on the published fees for further programmes with us!  

Depending on your qualifications and experiences, you can choose to undertake a MRes or PhD level research degree. Bournemouth University has a strong marketing research foundation within our Department of Marketing, Strategy & Innovation through a number of research centres, which explores theory, education and professional practice. 

Visit our postgraduate research courses for further details about research degree options with the Bournemouth University Business School and the funding options available. 

What’s included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course, including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

• Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and fieldwork, and non-financial support whilst on placement if this is part of your course of study
• A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service
• The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces
• Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, integrated social media and advanced video features
• IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow
• Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) scheme
• Disability and additional learning support, according to individual circumstances
• The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills
• 24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team

Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

• Laptops, tablets and mobile devices and any software used on personal devices. Access to a personal computer is strongly recommended for your study. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, visit our website for information regarding hardship funds.
• Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of textbooks and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shops stock a wide range of stationery supplies on both campuses
• Accommodation and living costs. Please visit our website for more information.
• Travel costs for optional field trips, outdoor wear and footwear for mandatory and optional field trips (if applicable).
• Travel costs to and from the University campus. An annual bus pass can be purchased alongside your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation or may be purchased separately
• Travel costs to and from your placement (both in the UK and overseas) if this is part of your course of study. Information about funding your placement year can be found on our website.
• Clothing or equipment costs required for your placement if this is part of your course of study
• SportBU membership.

While all aspects of the programme, including required field trips, are included in the fee, additional, optional or extra curricula activities may be available for which a student contribution is required.

If you need to repeat one or more units during your studies (with or without attendance) the pricing will be pro-rata of the full-time fee.

Dr Ediz Akçay is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Marketing and the Programme Leader for the BSc (Hons) Marketing degree at the Business School. He has an MSc in International Business Management from Bournemouth University and BA in Economics from Bogazici University, Turkey. He recently finished his PhD research about brand alliances and value co-creation at Bournemouth University.

Dr Ediz Akçay has more than 10 years of professional experience working in marketing-related roles in Turkey and the UK, and received several international awards for the projects he contributed.

He is currently teaching the following units: Digital Marketing Fundamentals (UG), Digital Marketing and Communications (UG), Digital Marketing (UG).

He welcomes prospective PhD applicants interested in conducting research in the areas related to digital marketing.

Samreen is a Principal Academic in Marketing in the Department of Marketing, Strategy & Innovation and has an MBA with a specialisation in marketing and financial services. She is working on her PhD focusing on ‘consumer multiple identities and their bank choice’.

Samreen teaches at postgraduate and undergraduate level and have supervised a number of research projects at both these levels too. Samreen was on a guest editorial panel for Journal of Financial Services Marketing and a guest speaker at ‘Institute of Directors’. She is also a fellow of Higher Education Academy and has published her research work in peer reviewed journals.