Skip navigation
Business Management at Royal Agricultural University - UCAS

Course options

2024 - 2025
Apply

There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

Course summary

This degree allows you to focus solely on general business, or to select modules in the international trade, farm management, equine management, agriculture, or climate and natural resource management to contextualise your studies in a sector of your choice. 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 the our portfolio of elective modules from agricultural, environment, agri-food, land-based disciplines. Students now have the option to select three electives from a range of different electives. 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
  • International Trade specialism using International Trade and Export with Operations 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. We also offer an optional three-month work-based project to expand your industry experience further. 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. 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

Modules

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, case studies and a group project, as well as visits to and from national and international companies. You will study eight 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 the following April. Modules are assessed through continuous assessment and final examinations. 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 (15 credits) 4260 Marketing Strategy (15 credits) 4261 Leadership & Personal Development (15 credits) 4262 Sustainable Business Strategy (15 credits) 4263 Entrepreneurship and Business Planning 4413 Research Skills (15 credits) 4414 Research Dissertation (45 credits) or 4416 Work Based Project (45 credits) Plus THREE additional modules, selected from (all modules 15 credits each): 3036 Advanced Equine Business Management 4002 Agriculture 4012 Farm Business Management 4023 Operations Management 4203 Small Scale Farming and Local Food Supply 4264 International Trade and Export 4278 Organic Systems 4722 Climate Change and Sustainability The availability of electives to individual students will be dependent on timetabling considerations and on sufficient students electing to take part.

Professional bodies

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

  • Chartered Management Institute

How to apply

International applicants

International applicants please visit the RAU website: https://www.rau.ac.uk/study/international-students

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 [email protected]. 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.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

England £10950 Whole course
Northern Ireland £10950 Whole course
Scotland £10950 Whole course
Wales £10950 Whole course
Channel Islands £10950 Whole course
Republic of Ireland £10950 Whole course
EU £18050 Whole course
International £18050 Whole course

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

No additional fees or cost information has been supplied for this course, please contact the provider directly.
Business Management at Royal Agricultural University - UCAS