BA Business Management (Graduate Apprenticeship) BA



Enhance your management & leadership skills and deliver organisational success with our professionally aligned, CMI accredited course

Overview

The BA (Hons) Business Management Graduate Apprenticeship allows you to enhance your skills and improve career prospects while developing your business mindset. You'll explore the internal structures and strategies which businesses adopt in response to key external drivers for change that impact upon them. A Business Management Graduate Apprenticeship will help you become a professional manager or leader – taking responsibility for projects, people, and services to deliver long-term success for your employing organisation.

You will develop your effective business and management skills by balancing theory with your day-to-day work in your organisation.  In this degree you will put learning into practice and will solve problems on real projects in your workplace, applying your learning to the world of work. The practical knowledge and wide range of skills you will acquire through studying the programme will enable you to improve your productivity within your employer and pursue a broad range of career opportunities upon graduation.

Chartered Management Institute Higher Education Partner

Our Business Management Graduate Apprenticeship is mapped to provide dual accreditation with

Chartered Management Institute (CMI). This means graduates can also receive a professional

Level 5 Diploma in Management & Leadership, with no additional work needed. CMI accreditation is internationally recognised and carries many benefits, including additional management training resources, a competitive edge in the job market, more applied skills, and a pathway to becoming a Chartered Manager.

Hospitality and Tourism Track. We are the only university in Scotland to offer a specialist Hospitality & Tourism track on this programme, which directly addresses significant skills and labour shortages in the industry. Apprentices who work in these sectors will complement their studies with industry-specific tutorials in relevant modules. These tutorials are delivered by our acclaimed hospitality and tourism department, ranked as a top 10 Modern UK University for Hospitality, Leisure, Recreation and Tourism (The WUR, 2023).

AACSB Accredited

Edinburgh Napier University’s Business School is accredited by AACSB International, the longest-serving global accrediting body for business schools. This places us in the top 6% of global institutions that offer business degrees and recognises The Business School for its excellence in teaching, research, curriculum development, and student learning.

 
Photo of Edinburgh Napier University students chatting whilst working in the library

Mode of Study:

Day Release, Full-time

Duration:

4 years

Course details

As a Graduate Apprentice you will study for your degree alongside your job, spending approximately 80% of your time in work and 20% in university. This unique combination offers an integrated experience, where practical skills and knowledge gained during the university days can be embedded in your working practices. Skills learned directly in the workplace are aligned with and can be applied to coursework and assessment. This allows you to attain an honours degree in 4 years, the same time as traditional full-time students.

In your first two years you'll build a foundation in the essentials of effective business management. This foundation allows you to engage with applied learning within your job role, while also developing broader employability skills including professional presentation, team working, leadership, communication and problem solving.

In years 3-4, you will build on this knowledge and understanding and develop critical, analytical, creative, and reflective approaches to business and its environment, further enhancing your employability and leadership skills. The international perspective developed through the materials will provide you with the background to better understand and succeed in the increasingly global environment faced by all organisations.

 
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    How you’ll be taught

    This Graduate Apprenticeship is taught over 4 years at our esteemed Business School, based in our Craiglockhart Campus in Edinburgh. It is delivered across three trimesters over a full calendar year on a day release basis. In trimesters 1-2 (Sep-May) you attend classes in person one day per week, studying 2 modules per day. Professional Practice modules are work based and delivered during Trimester 3. There is no in-person learning required for work-based learning modules, offering greater flexibility to work at your own pace during the summer trimesters.

    Your work-based learning will be overseen by a workplace mentor and university coach. You will be offered tripartite progress review meetings each trimester to support you in your work and studies.

     
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    Assessments

    A mixture of practical assessments, reports, academic essays and exams. You are also
    assessed on your learning in the workplace, primarily in the summer trimesters. As you progress through the course, more of your job role is used to gain credit towards their final award through Professional Practice and your final-year dissertation.

    The assessments will allow you to demonstrate your application of the knowledge and skills you are gaining both though your studies and through your work experience.

     
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    Work placement

    As a Graduate Apprentice, you will be a full-time employee as well as a student for the duration of the programme so there are no separate placements.
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    Facilities

    Graduate apprentices can enjoy the same full access to our campus facilities as a full-time student. All learning takes place at our Craiglockhart Campus.

    Home to the Business School, Craiglockhart campus blends the old and the new. Set within attractive grounds overlooking Edinburgh, facilities include 200- and 400-seat lecture theatres and language and multimedia labs. It's also home to our innovation and enterprise centre. The iconic Lindsay Stewart lecture theatre sits comfortably alongside the original building with Wester Craiglockhart Hill as a backdrop.

    Other facilities include an extensive library with silent and collaborative study spaces, access to more than 100 computers, and a light and airy double height atrium with coffee shop.

     

Popular modules

Year 1

  • Behavioural Studies
  • Academic Skills for Business Management
  • Principles of Economics
  • Marketing 1
  • Accounting for Business
  • Professional Practice 1

Year 2

  • Introduction to HRM
  • Creativity, Innovation and Enterprise
  • Managerial Finance
  • Market Research and Communication
  • Professional Practice 2 

Year 3

  • Strategic Management in a Global Context
  • International Business
  • International Marketing 
  • Operations Management
  • Professional Practice 3 

Year 4

  • Leadership in Organisations
  • Digital Business and Innovation
  • Business Strategy and Sustainability
  • Global Logistics and Supply Chain
  • Professional Practice Project

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Disclaimer

Study modules mentioned above are indicative only. Some changes may occur between now and the time that you study.

Full information is available in our disclaimer.

Entry requirements

This programme is available to new and existing employees who work and reside in Scotland. Entry requirements cater to professionals and can account for both academic and work-based experience. You must be employed in the same field as your chosen subject area.

All applicants must:

  • Be 16 or older (some employers may require 18+)
  • Have the right to live and work permanently in the UK
  • Have ordinary residence in Scotland
  • Meet programme entry requirements

Advanced Entry

Advanced entry into Year 2 or 3 is possible for students with suitable qualifications. If applying for advanced entry, you will need to provide sufficient evidence of qualifications and experience through our process of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). Applications are considered on an individual basis.

Work Experience and Professional Qualifications

We encourage applications from individuals whose work experience or professional qualifications provide them with a comparable foundation for starting the course. You will be asked to provide evidence of at least 1 year’s relevant work experience through a detailed CV or application form, including an employer reference. Advanced entry may also be granted if you have sufficient industry-related experience and qualifications.

Usually, unrelated work experience is not considered sufficient for entry without meeting the minimum academic entry requirements.

Foundation and Modern Apprenticeships

We offer enhanced recognition for Foundation and Modern Apprenticeships if you are applying to a Graduate Apprenticeship in a similar subject area. Please refer to our typical entry requirements for more information on each course.

Already have a degree or similar qualification?

You could apply for funding for a Graduate Apprenticeship in a similar subject area if your existing qualification is at a lower level. You may also be eligible for funding if you have completed a degree in a different subject area. For example, if you recently completed a Biology Honours degree, you can still apply for an Engineering Graduate Apprenticeship.

You are not eligible to apply for a Graduate Apprenticeship if you have completed a similar degree within the past 5 years.

To meet our Standard Entry Requirements you must have EITHER:

  • Four SQA Highers at Grade BBBB. National 5 grade C in Maths/Lifeskills Maths/Applications of Maths and English are required if not taken at Higher
  • A Foundation Apprenticeship in a relevant subject at SCQF Level 6 plus two SQA Highers
  • A Modern Apprenticeship at SCQF Level 6-7 in a related discipline
  • HNC with C in the graded unit in a related discipline
  • Sufficient recognition of prior learning (RPL) through industry-related experience, qualifications, and informal learning. RPL applications are considered on an individual basis

Our Minimum Offer Entry Requirement: BCCC. National 5 grade C in Maths/Lifeskills Maths/Applications of Maths and English.

You may be given an adjusted offer of entry if you meet our specified minimum entry requirements within our widening participation criteria, and outlined in our Contextual Admissions Policy. Click here for further information about our entry requirements and admissions policies.

To meet our year 2 entry requirements you must have EITHER:

  • Pass HNC in Administration and IT, Business, Business & Finance, Human Resource Management, Management (not Retail), Marketing or Marketing Communication with grade C at SCQF level 7 in the graded unit.
  • SQA Advanced Highers at Grade BBC (or equivalent)
  • Sufficient recognition of prior learning (RPL) through industry-related experience, qualifications, and informal learning

To enter this programme at the start of Year 3 you must have 240 SCQF credits (or equivalent) of which a minimum of 120 credits are at SCQF 8 (or equivalent) and/or significant recognition of prior learning (RPL) through industry-related experience, qualifications, and informal learning.

SCQF Level 8 qualifications can include:

  • HND at minimum Grade B in a related discipline
  • Diploma for Higher Education in a relevant subject area

English language requirements

 As all learning, teaching and assessment activities are conducted in English, if your first language is not English you must have a minimum International English Language Testing System score of 6.0 with all four elements having a score of at least 5.5.
We welcome applications from students studying a wide range of international qualifications.
Entry requirements by country

Please note that international students are unable to enrol onto the following courses:
  • BM Midwifery/MM Midwifery
  • All Graduate Apprenticeship courses.

See who can apply for more information on Graduate Apprenticeship courses.

We’re committed to admitting students who have the potential to succeed and benefit from our programmes of study. 

Our admissions policies will help you understand our admissions procedures, and how we use the information you provide us in your application to inform the decisions we make.

Undergraduate admissions policies
Postgraduate admissions policies

Fees & Funding

Graduate Apprenticeships are fully funded through Scottish Funding Council and Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS), and supported by Skills Development Scotland. Once you have been offered a Graduate Apprenticeship place, you should apply to SAAS for funding, who will pay your tuition fees directly to the university. There are no associated learning costs to the Graduate Apprenticeship employer.

All Graduate Apprenticeship applicants must meet SAAS eligibility and residence conditions to apply. Visit the SAAS website for more information.

Fees & funding



Careers

Edinburgh Napier Student smiling at the camera outside West Lothian College

With a Business Management Graduate Apprenticeship from Edinburgh Napier University, you will have developed a professional attitude and business mindset, allowing you to develop the practical skills to plan and analyse business strategies and come up with solutions to business problems. You will be able to communicate effectively and be a team player, with sound decision making skills.

The combination of having your Business Management degree and Management & Leadership diploma from CMI will equip you with an excellent platform to progress your career in a variety of business areas including:

  • Operations management
  • Project Management
  • Business Analysis
  • Marketing and sales
  • Human Resource management
 
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