Business and Management with Placement Year

Business and management is the study of how organisations are created, run, and developed effectively. It draws on economics, psychology, sociology, and quantitative analysis to understand how strategy is formed, how people are led and motivated, how operations are organised, how markets are served, and how organisations adapt to change. At degree level, business and management provides both the conceptual frameworks for understanding organisations in theory and the practical knowledge needed to work effectively within them, making it one of the most versatile qualifications available to graduates.

At the University of Reading, this four-year full-time programme includes a placement year, giving you the opportunity to work in a relevant organisation as part of your degree. The placement year is a defining feature of the programme, providing professional experience that deepens your understanding of how business works in practice and significantly enhances your employability on graduation. Reading's business school combines research excellence with strong industry connections, and the placement year is designed to connect you with high-quality employers across a range of sectors.

You will study the full spectrum of management subjects including strategy, marketing, finance, operations, human resources, and organisational behaviour, developing a rounded understanding of business alongside the specific knowledge you develop through your placement. The typical entry tariff of 120 points reflects the programme's academic expectations.

Business and management graduates go on to work across virtually every sector of the economy. Management training schemes, graduate programmes in consulting, banking, retail, manufacturing, and the public sector, and a wide range of commercial and operational roles are all common destinations. The placement year gives Reading graduates a practical advantage, and many students receive graduate job offers from their placement employers.

Postgraduate study in business, management, finance, or specialist fields such as marketing, logistics, or human resources is available for those who want to develop more focused expertise or pursue more senior roles.