Business and Management Studies

Business and management studies is a broad and practical degree that prepares you to understand and operate effectively in the complex, global environments in which modern organisations exist. It covers the core disciplines of business, including strategy, operations, finance, marketing, organisational behaviour, and leadership, while developing the analytical, quantitative and interpersonal skills that employers consistently identify as the most important attributes in graduates. The discipline is outward-looking by nature, connecting academic frameworks to the real decisions that organisations make every day.

At Sussex you will study this programme with the option of a foundation year for those who benefit from additional academic preparation before the main degree begins. The full programme includes a sandwich year, a year abroad, and a work placement, giving you a combination of professional and international experience that is among the strongest available in a UK business degree. The year abroad reflects the programme's international outlook, preparing you to navigate global markets and communicate across cultures.

The sandwich year and work placement mean you will spend substantial time in professional environments, testing your classroom learning against real organisational challenges and building the professional network and confidence that employers value.

Business and management graduates enter an exceptionally wide range of careers. Graduate management schemes in major corporations, roles in consultancy, financial services, marketing, human resources, operations and supply chain management, the civil service, and entrepreneurship are all common pathways. The breadth of the degree means you are not locked into a single sector, and many graduates find that the combination of analytical capability and professional experience from the sandwich year opens multiple doors simultaneously.

Postgraduate study in business administration, a specialist management discipline, or a related field is a further option for those who wish to deepen their expertise before entering the workforce.