MSc Business Management

Location

Royal Agricultural University Campus

Duration

1 year (full time) or 2+ years (part time)

Academic Year

Commences either 20 January 2025 or 29 September 2025

This degree allows you to focus solely on general business, or to select optional modules in farm management, international marketing, agriculture, or climate and natural resource management to contextualise your studies in a sector of your choice.

Course overview

The business world is complex, fast-moving and exciting, and demands high-calibre employees with strong management, marketing and financial skills. The ability to manage change, risk and people, and to develop sustainable business strategies is crucial. If you wish to develop your own enterprise then creative and entrepreneurial skills are needed too.

The MSc Business Management programme provides students with an academically rigorous and professionally relevant education that will serve your career needs. The degree combines essential management knowledge with relevant practical and professional skills to prepare you for the challenging business world.

In addition to gaining a solid business foundation, you have the option of focusing on pure business management modules or embedding your studies in a rural context by drawing on our portfolio of elective modules from agricultural, environment, agri-food, land-based disciplines. Students select three electives from a range available. To indicate the scope and scale of what is available, we provide the following examples:

  • Agriculture and Farm Business Management specialism using Agriculture with Farm Business Management modules
  • Small Scale Farming specialism using Small Scale Farming and Local Food Supply with Integrated Organic Systems modules
  • Climate & Natural Resource Management specialism using Climate Change and Sustainability Management modules

This course is run by academics and practitioners who understand global best practice within their specialism. You will gain real-world experience from guest speakers working in the industry, and from assessments based on real problems. 

UN Sustainable Development Goals: This programme has now been designed to foster greater knowledge and awareness of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. These goals are mapped to our modules to ensure that at each stage of the programme we are identifying how these goals can be developed as part of business strategy and managed within a business.

This is a dual qualification. Upon successful completion of the degree you will be awarded membership and a Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership from the Chartered Management Institute, further enhancing your CV.

Accreditations and partnerships

We are delighted to work with a wider range of businesses, partners and accreditation organisations, some of which are shown below:

Course content

The course is offered full-time over 12 months, or part-time over two, three or four years and comprises lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials and case studies. You can enter the programme in either September or January.

You will study nine modules in the autumn and spring terms; six core modules followed by three elective modules. The research project (dissertation) is then undertaken, to be submitted in August. 

Modules are assessed through continuous assessment and final examinations.

If you are interested in studying this subject but cannot commit to the full MSc programme it is also possible to study for a Certificate or Diploma in the subject.

What is a Postgraduate Certificate?

The PGCert - or Postgraduate Certificate - is the shortest of our Masters level offerings, which is completed by studying four modules (60 credits). It allows you to study a specific area of the course in depth but takes less time to complete than the MSc or PGDip.

The PGCert is a great way of fitting postgraduate study around a busy life. Full-time students can complete the course in as little as one year. Part-time students can choose to spread the course up to two years, giving you lots of time for thinking and writing between modules. It is ideal if you want to study a specific subject but would rather not commit to a full MSc with its attendant time and financial costs.

It can be a great way into a career in a new industry but if you desire to continue your studies, PGCert credits can be used to contribute towards a PGDip or even an MSc qualification later down the line. Completing studies using this route is often likened to building blocks – one step at a time – the first step being a PGCert.

What is a Postgraduate Diploma?

The PGDip - or Postgraduate Diploma – is a Masters level course that sits between the PGCert and the full MSc. It allows you to study a subject in depth but without undertaking the Dissertation element. Consequently, it takes substantially less time to complete than the MSc, while still covering the same taught elements. To complete this qualification, you will take eight modules (120 credits).

Full-time students can complete the course in as little as two semesters (one year). Part-time students can choose to spread the course over up to two years, giving you lots of time for thinking and writing between modules. It is ideal for students who want to study a specific subject but would rather not commit to a full MSc with its attendant time and financial costs.

The PGDip can be a great way to boost your career, or enter a new industry. We recognise that life can be unpredictable so the PGDip is built to be as flexible as possible. Should you desire to continue your studies, PGDip credits can be used to contribute towards an MSc qualification later down the line. Conversely, if you need to cut your studies short for any reason, it is also possible to convert the PGDip to a PGCert after the completion of four modules.

*Please note that this type of study participation is only available to registered UK based students due to UKVI visa restrictions.

The modules available for this course are shown below. They may change for your year of study as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Modules

  • 4086 Financial Management: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of economic fluctuations in inflation, finance and unemployment, and understand how these affect business
  • 4260 Marketing Strategy: Critically asses the context within which strategic marketing decisions are made
  • 4261 Leadership & Personal Development: Explore the thories of leadership and develop the skills and attributes of a leader
  • 4262 Sustainable Business Strategy: Investigate how businesses can embed sustainability into their core business models
  • 4263 Entrepreneurship and Business Planning: Understand and critically evaluate the linkages between entrepreneurship and venture creation, development and growth
  • 4413 Research Skills: Develop research competencies related to data collection and analysis
  • 4414 Research Dissertation: Undertake an independent research project with guidance from a supervisor

Plus THREE additional modules, selected from (all modules 15 credits each):

  • 3317 International Marketing: Explore the impact of the global environment on international marketing decisions
  • 4015 Farm Business and Enterprise Management: Critically examine the financial performance of farming businesses
  • 4023 Operations Management: Learn the fundamentals of operations and process management
  • 4038A Integrated Agricultural Systems: Explore complex systems including agroforestry, regenerative agriculture and vertical farming
  • 4203 Small Scale Farming and Local Food Supply: Examine how small scale farmers contribute to food systems on a national and global scale
  • 4744 Organic and Regenerative Systems: Understand the agroecological principles and practices of organic systems
  • 4722 Climate Change and Sustainability: Critically assess the causes and impacts of climate change

The availability of electives to individual students will be dependent on timetabling considerations and on sufficient students electing to take part.

Disclaimer information

The University has established various rules and regulations that you must agree to and follow if you accept an offer to study with us. View our full disclaimer notice.

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Careers and graduate destinations

This stimulating and diverse programme offers students with a range of interests and first degrees a route into a successful business career. We work to ensure you develop the confidence and communication skills to make an impact in the work place. At the end of the MSc graduates will be well equipped to take on a leadership role within a rural or urban business setting, advance their management career or start up their own successful enterprise in a sector they feel passionate about.

Recent graduates have followed careers in:

  • Wealth management
  • Finance
  • Marketing
  • Farm management
  • Equine business
  • Consultancy

Our employers include:

  • Old Mill
  • Unilever
  • ADM
  • Millar Cameron
  • Weatherbys 

"For me, the greatest thing about the Business Management course at the RAU is the strong and practical focus on entrepreneurship and the opportunities to
gain insights into how entrepreneurship can look like in rural settings, both in the UK and internationally."

Lloyd Buck, Student

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Entry requirements

An Undergraduate Honours Degree (2:2 or above) from a UK university or overseas equivalent, or a professional qualification and/or experience considered to be equivalent to the above. For information on international qualifications, please, see our country specific pages. For countries not listed please contact admissions@rau.ac.uk.

We welcome applications from applicants with non-standard qualifications who are able to demonstrate knowledge, experience (in management) and skills developed in the workplace or elsewhere and which are relevant to the programme of study. Applicants will need to use their personal statement to provide further details supported by a CV. All non-standard applications will be considered by the Programme Manager on a case-by-case basis and applicants can expect that an interview may be required as part of the admissions process.

If English is not your first language, you will need to reach the requirements outlined in our English language requirements for the level of study. For postgraduate taught programmes this is IELTS Academic min. overall 6.5 with no element below 5.5 (or equivalent). English language tests usually have a validity of 2 years from the date the test is taken.

Offers will typically be made in line with the academic requirements set out above. Offers can be conditional or unconditional. An unconditional offer will be made to applicants who have already met the conditions and provided evidence that conditions have been met. Where academic or language requirements have not yet been fulfilled, applicants will receive a conditional offer stating the requirements that must be met. 

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Fees

Tuition fees cover the cost of a student’s academic studies. This usually includes teaching costs, registration and examination fees (not repeat or trailing module fees, or dissertation extensions).

2024-25 Applicants

For the academic year 2024-25 the tuition fees for this course are:  

  UK Overseas/EU
Full-time £10,950 per year £18,050 per year
Part-time Fees are calculated on a pro-rata basis depending on the number of modules taken. Please refer to Tuition Fees webpage Fees are calculated on a pro-rata basis depending on the number of modules taken. Please refer to Tuition Fees webpage

Tuition fees may be subject to an inflationary increase each year as set out in our Access and Participation Plan 2019/20.

For full details, please visit the fees and funding webpage.

Please note: International students can study on a part-time basis only if they are in the UK with a different type of visa (other than Student Visa/Tier 4 General) that allows them to undertake part-time study and their visa does not expire prior to the end date of the proposed course of study.

Scholarships

The University offers a range of generous fee waivers and bursaries. To find out more about the scholarships, awards and bursaries available, please visit the scholarships webpage.

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