International Business and Languages
| Award | Attendance | Study | Duration | Start | Domestic fees | International fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BA (Hons) | On-Campus | Full-time, Sandwich | 3 - 4 years | September | find out | find out |
About International Business and Languages, BA (Hons) - at University of Portsmouth
Overview
In today’s global world, businesses are looking for people who can do more than understand numbers. They need graduates who can think internationally, speak different languages and move confidently between cultures. Our BA (Hons) International Business and Languages degree seeks to give you the knowledge and skills to stand out in this competitive, connected world.
You’ll build a strong foundation in business while developing fluency in your chosen language and the cultural awareness to navigate the international business landscape. Along the way, you’ll sharpen essential skills such as communication, adaptability and problem-solving, all of which employers value highly. By combining these strengths, you’ll graduate prepared for careers that take you across borders and into international companies.
Your degree is designed to connect learning with the real world, so you’ll have the chance to gain hands-on experience through an optional professional placement with leading employers. Our students have worked with brands like L’Oréal, Bentley and Bosch, as well as many other well known industry names. You'll also immerse yourself fully in another culture by studying abroad in a country where your language is spoken, from Spain or Germany to destinations further afield such as Latin America.
Whichever path you take, you’ll leave university ready for a career where languages open doors and cultural understanding sets you apart. Whether you’re helping a business expand overseas, collaborating with international teams or simply confident in working across cultures, you’ll graduate with the tools to shape your future in the global business world.
Careers and opportunities
This degree will open doors to a wide variety of careers in the business world. Being able to talk about your international experience and global business learning will give you an advantage when applying to multinational companies in particular.
If you study this course as a dual degree, you'll graduate with two degrees as well as your university study and placement experiences to showcase your in depth knowledge of international business and your soft skills such as working with people.
Graduates of this course could get jobs as:
- Business development manager
- Product manager
- Customer accounts manager
- Market analyst
- Multilingual project coordinator
- Bilingual consultant
- Translator/interpreter
Graduates of our International Business course have gone on to work for companies such as:
- Virgin Media
- IBM
- NATS (air traffic control)
- Asia Pacific Inspection
- BAE Systems
- Liquid Hub (drinks marketing)
- Morgan Stanley
- Kitchen Cut (software)
- Prospect Capital (finance)
- GSMA (worldwide mobile)
- Microsoft
Business Consultancy Project
Work for a client on a real brief in this optional Business Consultancy module.
Students work in teams of 3-4 to bid for a business project from local organisations, before working directly with the organisation to execute the project.
Clients range from small to medium sized organisations who could be from the private, public or third sector (such as charities, not-for-profits and community organisations).
Each project is different, but the tasks you compete could include:
- Using marketing theory to develop social media strategies
- Conducting competitor analysis
- Drafting sustainable business plans based on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals
- Conducting staff interviews
- Evaluating customer feedback
You’ll give your client regular updates on the project, and get feedback from them, other students and staff as you progress.
Past students have worked with Santander, local facilities management firm Inovolt, the Instant Kitchen Company startup, Solent Recovery College, and local radio station Express FM.
At the end of your project, you'll be invited to a celebratory event where you can network with representatives from the client organisations.
Work placement year
You can boost your employability even more by taking an optional paid placement year in the UK or overseas. You could take your placement straight after your year abroad (in Year 3) or after your third year of study, right before your graduate. The average salary for a 12-month paid placement is £19,800 for students in the Faculty of Business and Law, but your salary could be more or less than this amount depending on your placement. You'll only pay a very small percentage of your tuition fee for this year.
Previous students have had placements in organisations such as:
- UBS Wealth Management
- Prysmian Group
- L'Oreal
- IBM
Many of our students are offered a graduate job by their placement employer.
Entry requirements for this course
Contact University of Portsmouth to find course entry requirements.
View all courses at University of Portsmouth