BBA (Hons) Bachelor of Business Administration

The course

UCAS code
N101
Duration
4 years
Location
Edinburgh
Delivery type
Full-time

Contact

Got questions about this programme?

Contact our enquiries team.

Overview

The Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree aims to develop students’ understanding of the area of Business Administration and Management and develop practical skills appropriate for careers in this area. Theory and practice are given equal emphasis to give a holistic understanding of the role of Business Administration as well as knowledge of and skills associated with business start-up, growth and innovation.

Global College pathway for this degree

If you do not meet the entry requirements for this degree, have a look at Heriot-Watt Global College, where you can follow an accelerated pathway which will get you onto the second year of this degree.

Course content

Year 1

Semester 1 

  • Management in a Global Context
  • Introduction to Accounting and Finance
  • Introduction to Marketing
  • Academic Skills

Semester 2 

  • The Economy 
  • Becoming a Professional
  • Discovering Business
  • Elective 

Year 2

Semester 1

  • Option 
  • Option
  • Option
  • Option or Elective

Semester 2

  • Operations Management
  • Business Skills for the Second Machine Age 
  • Option
  • Option or Elective

Optional courses available: 

  • Consumer Behaviour 
  • Fundamentals of Marketing
  • Human Resource Management
  • Organisational Behaviour
  • Managing the Service Experience 
  • Enterprise: Concepts and Issues
  • Financial Markets Theory
  • Corporate Financial Theory
  • Management Accounting in Organisations
  • Personal Finance and Investment Ethics
  • Social and Environmental Accounting
  • Intercultural Issues in Business and Management
  • Quantitative Methods 1

Year 3

Semester 1

  • Option
  • Option
  • Option
  • Option or Elective

Semester 2

  • Strategic Management
  • Business Research Methods 
  • Option
  • Option or Elective

Optional courses available: 

  • Business Analysis and Consultancy
  • Business Venturing
  • Introduction to Commercial Law 
  • Business Law and the Law of Corporate Governance
  • Employment Law
  • Innovation Management
  • Marketing and Consumer Law 
  • Leading in Organisations 
  • Logistics and Supply Chain Management
  • Integrated Marketing Communications
  • Project Management
  • Resourcing and Talent Management
  • Auditing and Assurance
  • Managing Corporate Value
  • Mergers and Acquisitions
  • Management Accounting Techniques and Decisions
  • International Bond and Currency Markets
  • Financial Derivatives

Year 4

Semester 1

  • Management Dissertation 1
  • Global Business Analysis 1: International Markets and Strategy
  • Option
  • Option

Semester 2

  • Management Dissertation 2 
  • Global Business Analysis 2: Global Trends and Risks
  • Option
  • Option or Elective

Optional courses available: 

  • The Contemporary Workforce
  • Diversity Management
  • Digital Marketing
  • International Entrepreneurship
  • Leisure Marketing
  • Changing Trends in Employment
  • Managing Business Performance
  • Marketing Sustainability
  • Retail Marketing
  • Marketing and Management of SMEs
  • Team Performance Dynamics
  • Agency Theory and Corporate Governance
  • International Accounting
  • Managerial Accounting: Decision Making
  • Equity Markets and Fund Management

Discover Uni course data

Discover Uni provides data on each university's degree courses across a range of measures including student satisfaction, graduate jobs and salaries.

Employability

Work and study

This is what our BBA (Hons) Bachelor of Business Administration students are doing 15 months after graduating:

  • 78% are working
  • 1% are studying
  • 9% are working and studying.

Salary

  • The average salary of students 15 months after graduating: £25000
  • The average UK salary of students 15 months after graduating from a similar course: £25000

Potential career paths

  • Business and public service associate professionals
  • Managers, directors and senior officials

Entry requirements

Year 1

Standard entry requirements

  • Highers AABB (over two sittings)
  • A-Levels BBC - ABB
  • Int. Baccalaureate 29 points
  • BTEC DDM (Business preferred)
  • HNC B in graded unit (Business preferred)
  • HND BB 

Minimum entry requirements*

  • Highers BBBC
  • A-Levels BBC - ABB

* Minimum: under our Fair Access Policy, we will relax our standard entry requirements for Scottish students depending on their circumstances. Our minimum requirements will apply if you:

  • live in an area within the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation lowest 20% (SIMD20), or
  • are care experienced.

We can also make exceptions for some Scottish students with grades above minimum but below standard. Read more about our Minimum and standard entry requirements

Year 2

  • Advanced Highers BB including one of Accounting, Business, Economics or Maths, plus AAAB at Higher
  • A-Levels ABB including one of Accountancy, Business, Economics or Maths
  • Int. Baccalaureate 34 points (with Higher Level Business at 5)
  • HNC A in graded unit (Business)
  • HND BB in graded units (Business)
  • BTEC DDD (Business-related subjects preferred)
  • Global College Successful completion of our Business with Accelerator Programme

Year 3

  • HND AA in graded units (Business)

Additional information

English language requirements

  • If English is not your first language, you have to demonstrate that your English language ability is strong enough to succeed on your course. Please refer to our English language requirements.

Fees

Tuition fees for 2024 entry
Status* Scotland England / Wales / N Ireland / Rep of Ireland International**
Fee Paid by SAAS £9,250 £18,704

* Your residency 'status' is usually defined as the country where you have been ordinarily resident for the three years before the start of your course. Find out more about tuition fees.

** 'International' includes applicants from European Union countries who do not hold Pre-Settled or Settled status in UK. (This does not include students from the Republic of Ireland - see above). Read more about the application process for EU nationals.

Additional costs

You may incur additional costs in the course of your studies at Heriot-Watt over and above tuition fees in an academic year. Depending on your programme of study, these may include: protective equipment, field trips, professional memberships, studio fees, required course texts or other study resources.

Scholarships and bursaries

Featured scholarships

Bursaries for students from England, Northern Ireland or Wales

In addition to government loans and grants towards the costs of fees and living costs, we are offering generous financial support to attract and support eligible undergraduate students from England, Northern Ireland or Wales:

  • Heriot-Watt University Bursary (up to £3,100 per year)
View details about the Heriot-Watt University Bursary

View our full range of undergraduate scholarships.