Business Enterprise Development

Business enterprise development is a programme oriented towards entrepreneurship and the creation, growth and development of businesses and social enterprises. It addresses the full lifecycle of enterprise, from identifying opportunities and developing ideas through to launching, funding, scaling and sustaining commercial ventures. While many business degrees focus primarily on management within existing organisations, enterprise development programmes take the creation of new value, whether through starting a new business, growing an existing one or developing an entrepreneurial approach within a larger organisation, as their central concern.

Aston University's three-year full-time programme in business enterprise development is structured with a particularly rich set of professional and international experiences. It includes a sandwich year with embedded work placement opportunities and a year abroad, giving you both sustained professional experience in a business or enterprise context and the opportunity to study and engage with enterprise in an international setting. Aston's strong connections to Birmingham's business community and its tradition of professional, applied business education give the programme a practical character that employers value.

The typical entry tariff is around 120 UCAS points.

You will study entrepreneurship theory and practice, business planning, venture finance, innovation management, marketing for new and growing businesses, supply chain management, business law and the development of entrepreneurial thinking and personal effectiveness. Project and consultancy work with real businesses is likely to feature, giving you experience of applying enterprise frameworks to real commercial challenges. The year abroad and placement year add international and professional depth to the academic core.

Graduates of business enterprise development programmes start their own businesses, work in start-up and growth companies, take on innovation and entrepreneurship roles within established organisations, and work in enterprise support, incubation and venture capital. Aston's graduate outcomes are consistently strong, reflecting the applied and professional character of its business education. Many graduates also move into management consulting, commercial development, sales leadership and general management roles.

Postgraduate study in entrepreneurship, business administration or innovation management is a further option.