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International Business Economics MSc
Study level: Postgraduate
Equip yourself with the practical experience, skills and knowledge necessary to apply advanced economics principles and quantitative methods to support decision making within government, private enterprise or the third sector.
Year of entry
2024-25
Location
Coventry University (Coventry)
Study mode
Full-time
Part-time
Sandwich
Duration
1 year full-time
2 years part-time
Up to 2 years full-time (with professional experience)
Course code
FBLT044
Start date
September 2024
Course overview
This course will provide you with the chance to examine in depth critical issues in international business economics, together with the complexities and challenges of contemporary global markets.
You’ll have opportunities to:
- Focus on practical economic analysis, policy formulation and market efficiency in a real-world context.
- Get up-to-speed on the challenges modern businesses face through a range of learning environments.
- Develop quantitative skills to evaluate outcomes of economic policies and interventions and make evidence-based decisions.
Joint Top Modern University for Career Prospects
Guardian University Guide 2021 and 2022
5 QS Stars for Teaching and Facilities
QS Stars University Ratings
Top 5 UK Student City in England (Coventry)
QS Best Student Cities Index 2024Why you should study this course
- In-demand skills: This course will give you the opportunity to understand and apply advanced economics theories and quantitative skills to global, national, and firm-level decision-making. These skills are highly in demand in various industries, including consulting, banking, multinational corporations and in government.
- Career Opportunities: Completing this course opens you up to a range of opportunities. You could work as an economist, financial analyst, consultant, or manager in global firms, international organisations, and government agencies. In addition, you can apply for a ‘professional experience’ opportunity2, designed to develop your skills and knowledge further to maximise your employability prospects (see modules for more information).
- Global Perspective: The course prepares you for a global perspective in an international business environment. You will study how economic, political, and cultural variables affect international trade and investment. You also learn cross-cultural communication skills for working with people from different backgrounds.
- Specialisations: This course offers international trade, development economics, and global finance. You will face real-life scenarios that reflect modern economic changes, learn how to apply managerial economics techniques to solve real economic problems and investigate the linkages between economic theory, management practice, international business, and finance. These specialisations enable you to tailor your courses to your interests and job aspirations, making you more employable.
- Accreditation: The Chartered Management Institute accredits1 this course, which includes a module that allows you to earn a Level 7 Certificate in Strategic Leadership and Management.
Accreditation and professional recognition
This course is accredited1 and recognised by the following bodies:
Chartered Management Institute (CMI)
You will undertake a professional development module as part of this course, which is currently accredited by the Chartered Management Institute for the 2024-25 intake. Upon successful completion of this module, you will gain the CMI Level 7 Certificate in Strategic Management and Leadership Practice at no additional cost.
Coventry University’s accreditation with CMI is currently ongoing for the relevant modules and is frequently reviewed and monitored by the CMI through their quality systems.
Chartered Insurance Institute (CII)
You will undertake an Economics Module that has a close syllabus match to CII’s (530) Economics and business unit and the assessment is of an equivalent standard. Upon successful completion of this module, you will gain the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) Recognition of Prior Learning.
Coventry University’s accreditation with CII is currently valid until the date of 31 August 2025 and is frequently reviewed and monitored by the CII through their quality systems.
Memberships
European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD)
Coventry Business School is currently an active member of the European Foundation for Management Development, a global membership organisation dedicated to management development, covering over 900 members across 91 countries.
Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS)
Coventry Business School is currently an active member of the Chartered Association of Business Schools, which has a membership of over 120 business schools and higher education providers, and supports its members in maintaining world-class standards of teaching and research.
What you'll study
Professional experience
The professional experience opportunity2 enables you the opportunity to apply for optional professional experience in semester 1, which, upon successfully securing an opportunity, will extend the duration of your master’s to either 16, 20 or 24 months. The professional experience provides an opportunity for you to develop expertise and experience in your chosen field with the aim of enhancing your employability.
Please note that the optional professional experience modules incur an additional tuition fee, for which 1 semester of professional experience is £1,333.33, for 2 semesters of professional experience is £2666.67, and for 3 semesters of professional experience is £4,000.
Professional experience5 may also be subject to additional costs, visa requirements being met, subject to availability and/or competitive application. Professional experience opportunities are not guaranteed but you will benefit from the support of our Talent Team in trying to find and secure an opportunity. Find out more about the professional experience option.
Whilst we would like to give you all the information about our placement/study abroad offering here, it is often tailored for each course every year and depending on the length of placement or study abroad opportunities that are secured. Therefore, the placement and study abroad arrangements vary per course and per student. Request further information about going on a placement or study abroad year.
We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.
How you'll learn
The MSc International Business Economics investigates real-world applications and is set within a truly global context due to the international nature of economic events, case studies, examples and research that illustrate emerging issues facing a range of firms, investors, financial markets and economies.
The course teaching and learning strategy seeks to adopt an active learning and inclusive framework. It promotes a variety of teaching methods to help ensure every student has the opportunity to participate in learning experiences that align with their strengths, but also stretch and challenge them in safe learning spaces.
A few examples of active learning strategies employed across the course include:
- Interactive lectures
- Case-based seminars
- Study groups and workshops
- Simulations
Additionally, more traditional learning strategies are purposefully employed to complement the above approaches, which include peer learning, peer review, inquiry-led activities, group discussions, presentations, debate and research tasks, with opportunities provided for students to receive further feedback on your written assignments.
The MSc International Business course embodies transformative learning through the following:
- Research Inspired Teaching: Most of the course team are research active staff and are always keen to integrate research findings and active inquiries in both content and delivery, through pertinent journal articles, reviews, cases and modern methodologies and investigative techniques.
- Embedded Employability: The course modules enable students to develop transferable skills which are directly relevant to the workplace. Skills of communication, leadership, and consultancy are learned during group interactions and teamwork, as well as the various formats in which students are assessed on the course.
- Creativity and Enterprise: Students are expected to demonstrate originality and self-direction in their application of relevant knowledge to unfamiliar and complex situations in their assignment tasks. Creativity can be further enhanced if students engage in individual research projects in the Project module as this is designed to facilitate enquiry-based learning, whilst the internship option within the Project module provides students with the ability to work directly on employer projects and develop skills as entrepreneurs.
- Intercultural and International Engagement: This is embedded throughout the course as the content itself is of an inherently global nature. The economic landscape is inevitably driven by international, cultural and political shifts and these are reflected within the case-studies, controversial economic and financial events, authentic scenarios and scholarly research to name a few.
- Innovation and Digital Literacy: This is infused throughout the course as students have exposure to specialist software such as Bloomberg, Datastream and FAME as part of their learning experiences. Students are taught econometric software including Microsoft Excel and Gretl, but are also encouraged to use numerous online resources for additional reading and research purposes.
- Community Contribution and Responsibility: This is captured through links with professional bodies which introduce students to elements of professional standards and conduct. Corporate governance is a central and critical theme within contemporary economics and finance with implications for a range of stakeholders, which is studied in-depth in the Accountability, Governance and Ethics module. The role of ethical decision-making and its interaction with wider society is integrated into wider aspects of the course.
This course can be offered on a part-time basis. Whilst we would like to give you all the information about our part-time offering here, it is tailored for each course each year depending on the number of part-time applicants. Therefore, the part-time teaching arrangements vary. Request further information about part-time study.
Teaching contact hours
The number of contact hours may vary from semester to semester, however, on average, it is likely to be around 14 contact hours per week in the taught semesters. Additionally, you will be expected to undertake at least 12 hours of self-directed study, depending on the demands of individual modules.
The contact hours may be made up of a combination of face-to-face teaching, individual and group tutorials, and online classes and tutorials.
As an innovative and enterprising institution, the University may seek to utilise emerging technologies within the student experience. For all courses (whether on-campus, blended, or distance learning), the University may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via online technologies and methods.
Since COVID-19, we have delivered our courses in a variety of forms, in line with public authority guidance, decisions, or orders and we will continue to adapt our delivery as appropriate. Whether on campus or online, our key priority is staff and student safety.
Assessment
Assessment methods include:
- Formal examinations
- Phase tests
- Essays
- Group work
- Presentations
- Reports
- Projects
- Coursework
- Exams
- Individual Assignments
The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.
International experience opportunities
Coventry University provide the global opportunities students need to become truly global graduates, enhancing students’ employability on a global scale.
These global opportunities are often through international field trip, studying or working abroad, collaborative online international learning, global summer and winter school programmes and a choice of language classes from our world languages unit.
You may have the opportunity to study with international students which can provide an opportunity for cross-cultural interactions which supports the development of intercultural awareness.
The project module on this course provides a consultancy option, and the course also provides a professional experience option, and both can be completed oversees.
Entry requirements
Typical offer for 2024/25 entry.
Fees and funding
2024/25 tuition fees.
| Student | Full-time | Part-time |
|---|---|---|
| UK, Ireland*, Channel Islands or Isle of Man | £15,400 | £19,400 (with prof. experience) | Request fee information |
| EU | £15,400 | £19,400 (with prof. experience) per year with EU Support Bursary** £20,050 | £24,050 (with prof. experience) per year without EU Support Bursary** |
Not available |
| International | £20,050 | £24,050 (with prof. experience) | Not available |
For advice and guidance on tuition fees3 and student loans visit our Postgraduate Finance page and see the university's Tuition Fee and Refund Terms and Conditions.
We offer a range of International scholarships to students all over the world. For more information, visit our International Scholarships page.
Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessments, facilities and support services. There may be additional costs not covered by this fee such as accommodation and living costs, recommended reading books, stationery, printing and re-assessments should you need them.
The following are additional costs not included in the tuition fees:
- Any optional overseas field trips or visits: £400+ per trip.
- Any costs associated with securing, attending or completing a placement (whether in the UK or abroad).
*Irish student fees
The rights of Irish residents to study in the UK are preserved under the Common Travel Area arrangement. If you are an Irish student and meet the residency criteria, you can study in England, pay the same level of tuition fees as English students and utilise the Tuition Fee Loan.
**EU Support Bursary
Following the UK's exit from the European Union, we are offering financial support to all eligible EU students who wish to study an undergraduate or a postgraduate degree with us full-time. This bursary will be used to offset the cost of your tuition fees to bring them in line with that of UK students. Students studying a degree with a foundation year with us are not eligible for the bursary.
How do you know if you need to pay UK or international tuition fees?
Facilities
We have a range of facilities4 available to support you in putting the theories you are taught, into practice such as:
The Trading Floor
The Trading Floor is an invaluable facility that allows you to get hands-on with industry-standard software. Featuring contemporary dual-screen Bloomberg terminals, the facility can add a dynamic practical element to your course.
Talent Team
Employability is at the forefront of all our economics courses. You will have access to our dedicated employability service, the Talent Team, from the first day of your course, to graduation and beyond.
sigma Centre
The sigma Centre is housed in our Lanchester Library, and offers maths and statistics support through drop-in sessions and bookable appointments, the ideal place to help you navigate any issues you might have while studying an accounting and finance degree.
Careers and opportunities
On successful completion of this course:
You will have knowledge of:
- The concepts and theories in economics and international trade, and their application to real-world situations.
- Financing arrangements, strategies and governance structures of business, voluntary and governmental organisations.
- Mathematical and econometric techniques for economic analysis.
- The complex operation and function of markets in different regulatory settings.
- The contemporary and controversial issues in economics and business in emerging markets.
You should be able to:
- Use diagnostic and decision-making skills in dealing with economic and international business problems.
- Select and apply modelling and quantitative techniques in economic policy and international business contexts.
- Search for relevant data and information sources, manage gathered data and use it to systematically and creatively comprehend, analyse and synthesise complex issues.
- Demonstrate self-direction and originality in approaching, tackling and finding solutions to economic and analytical problems, and identifying relevant data and information patterns.
- Critically assess and evaluate the conceptual and theoretical frameworks in economics and international business, as well as challenge their assumptions.
- Exercise judgement in the selection of different theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches to analyse issues and problems in real-world economic contexts.
- Find, extract, manipulate, analyse and interpret economic data from various sources and develop reasoned conclusions.
- Critically assess, compare and contrast the economic environment and policy outcomes in national and international contexts.
This course aims to produce highly employable graduates: through the specialist knowledge, technical, analytical and transferrable skills you should have been able to develop during the course, coupled with the opportunity to align your final semester project to match specific career aspirations, you should be well informed to face the challenges of managers working in international financial and business markets, in the 21st century.
Completion of this course opens you up to the possibility of working as an economist, analyst or consultant for non-governmental organisations (NGOs), such as the World Bank or International Monetary Fund (IMF), private companies or public sector organisations. Typical roles include becoming a financial analyst, bond trader, policy analyst, bank examiner, research analyst, actuary or market research consultant.
Alternatively, if you wish to pursue research at PhD level, it can provide an excellent stepping stone into a research career.
Coventry University is committed to preparing you for your future career and giving you a competitive edge in the graduate job market. The University's Talent Team provide a wide range of support services to help you plan and prepare for your career.
Where our graduates work
Previous graduates of this course have gone on to work at the Bank of Botswana, the Bank of China, and the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs of Bangladesh.
Graduate Immigration Route visa
Based on current information from the UK Government, international students whose study extends beyond summer 2021 may be eligible for a visa under the UK Government’s Graduate Immigration Route, which will enable students to stay and work, or look for work, in the UK at any skill level for up to two (2) years. Check the most up to date guidance available to check your eligibility and any updates from the UK Government before making an application or enrolment decision.
How to apply
UK students
To apply to study for a postgraduate course at Coventry University, you can apply online.
For further support or more information about your course get in touch with us today.
Chat with our admissions team
Complete our contact form.
International students
Full-time international students should apply directly to the university. Read our application pages to find out your next steps to apply.
How to applyFor further support for international applicants applying for postgraduate degree view our International hub.
You can also download our International guide which contains lots of useful information about our courses, accommodation and tips for travel.
Get in touch with us today for further advice and guidance.
Chat with our admissions team.
Complete our contact form.
Disclaimers
