International Marketing BA (Hons) top-up

Study level: Undergraduate
Top-up courses
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This final year top-up course is aimed at students from outside the UK with a business and marketing background.

Year of entry

Location

Coventry University (Coventry)

Study mode

Full-time

Duration

1 year full-time

Course code

N550

Start date

September 2025

The information on this page is for 2024-25 entry and should be used as guidance for 2025-26 entry. Please keep checking back on this course page to see our latest updates.


Course overview

The course aims to enable you to top-up your existing qualification to a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree upon successful completion.

  • Studied full-time over one year, the course focuses on marketing from a strategic perspective and in an international context. Incorporating language modules, it aims to improve your critical thinking, problem solving and language skills, while giving you the chance to deepen your understanding of marketing and its integration into corporate strategy and structure.
  • Using real-life case studies and practical exercises, we will reflect on marketing thought and practice across the globe, analysing and discussing key managerial decisions on formulating and executing global marketing activities.
  • You will have the opportunity to apply this marketing knowledge to international business situations, considering areas such as international trade and export, intercultural business communications and global diversity in business practice, ethics and culture.
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Joint Top Modern University for Career Prospects

Guardian University Guide 2021 and 2022

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5 QS Stars for Teaching and Facilities

QS Stars University Ratings

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Top 5 UK Student City (Coventry)

QS Best Student Cities Index 2023

Why you should study this course

  • Preparing you for a variety of career options in marketing or general business management, this top-up course aims to boost your career prospects by achieving a globally recognised bachelor’s degree upon successful completion. 
  • Our teaching emphasises the holistic nature of marketing. We reinforce the core principles and functional elements of business, marketing and advertising, moving you towards more strategic practice in relation to analysis and evaluation, problem solving and creative solutions.
  • You should also develop your proficiency in English, as you will have the opportunity to study specific English for Business modules and upon successful completion this will help to set you apart from other graduates.
  • As experienced practitioners, many of our staff have spent time in industry prior to joining academia, in roles such as marketing executives, managers and directors of private and public sector organisations. Many are recognised both nationally and internationally in their respective fields of specialism, publishing their research in the highest quality academic journals, including Journal of Marketing Management, Journal of Business Research, Psychology and Marketing and Journal of Consumer Behaviour to name but a few (please note staff are subject to change).
  • To monitor emerging sector trends and challenges, there is a high degree of practitioner input. We aim to invite guest speakers from industry (subject to availability) to give talks about their experiences, which in recent years, has included speakers from McCann Erickson, ITV Studios, Millward Brown, Marstons and the Mixed Reality Studio among others.

What you'll study

By studying this course, you will have the opportunity to develop your knowledge of marketing, strategy and business English. By offering comprehensive modules, the course allows you to shape your marketing and business specialisms based on your areas of interest.

Modules

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

Many aspects of marketing and advertising involve creativity and innovation, so we encourage you to develop and utilise your creative skills. For example, you could have the opportunity to work with advertising briefs adapted from the D&AD Awards which require you to produce creative solutions to real situations faced by actual organisations. During simulation games, we replicate markets so that you can plan and strategise in a dynamic and competitive environment.

Teaching contact hours

We understand that everyone learns differently, so each of our courses will consist of structured teaching sessions, which may include:

  • On campus lectures, seminars and workshops
  • Group work
  • Self-directed learning
  • Work placement opportunities2.

If you would like more information, you can request information about teaching hours.

The number of full-time contact hours may vary from semester to semester, however, on average, it is likely to be around 12 contact hours per week.

Additionally, you will be expected to undertake significant 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.

Part of university life is undertaking self-directed learning. During a typical week, you will have time that allows you to work independently to apply the skills and knowledge you have learned in taught or facilitated sessions to your projects or assignment briefs. This self-directed learning allows you to use your research skills, consolidate your knowledge or undertake collaborative group work.

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

This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending upon the module.

Assessment methods include:

  • Formal examinations
  • Phase tests
  • Essays
  • Group work
  • Presentations
  • Reports
  • Projects
  • Coursework
  • Exams
  • Individual Assignments
  • Laboratories

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

Combining theory and practice, this course benefits from a focus on global marketing strategy. You will have the chance to study two core modules, Corporate Marketing Strategy and Global Marketing, to give you this international focus.

We currently have long-running collaborations with KH Leuven in Belgium, School for Higher and Professional Education (SHAPE) in Hong Kong and PSB Academy in Singapore. We aim to run several Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) projects on the course2, which can enable you to work with students across the world on a live project, tackling a specific marketing challenge in global virtual and multicultural teams. In the past, students have worked with peers in the USA, South America, India and many European countries undertaking business challenges as part of the international X-Culture competition.


Entry requirements

Typical offer for 2024/25 entry.

To apply for this course, you must have successfully completed Years 1 and 2 of an equivalent course.

Select your region to find detailed information about entry requirements:


You can view our full list of country specific entry requirements on our Entry requirements page.

Alternatively, visit our International hub for further advice and guidance on finding in-country agents and representatives, joining our in-country events and how to apply.

English language requirements

  • IELTS: 6.0 overall (with no component lower than 5.5)

If you don't meet the English language requirements, you can achieve the level you need by successfully completing a pre-sessional English programme before you start your course.

For more information on our approved English language tests visit our English language requirements page.

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Fees and funding

Student Full-time Part-time
International 2025/26 fees TBC
2024/25 fees - £16,800 per year
Not available

For advice and guidance on tuition fees and student loans visit our Undergraduate Finance page and see the university’s Tuition Fee and Refund Terms and Conditions.

The university will charge the tuition fees that are stated in the above table for the first Academic Year of study. The university will review tuition fees each year. For UK (home) students, if Parliament permits an increase in tuition fees, the university may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with inflation.

For international students, we may increase fees each year, but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation. If you defer your course start date or have to extend your studies beyond the normal duration of the course (e.g. to repeat a year or resit examinations) the university reserves the right to charge you fees at a higher rate and/or in accordance with any legislative changes during the additional period of study.

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. Find out what's included in your tuition costs.

*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.


Facilities

At Coventry Business School, our facilities and technology 4 are close to what you would expect in real-world business environments, so that when you enter the world of work you will be familiar with many of the processes and software used in leading companies.

DigiComm Lab Seating Area

DigiComm Lab

Designed to build creative minds, the DigiComm Lab is equipped with the latest industry-standard marketing and advertising software and devices to support your creative development.

 

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Business Simulation Suite

Coventry Business School's Business Simulation Suite utilises the latest business simulation software to give students the opportunity to improve their business skills.

 

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Trading Floor

Students have opportunities to practice simulated trading and other finance-related activities using the various types of demo software available in the Trading Floor.


Careers and opportunities

Upon successful completion of this course, you should be equipped with the required knowledge and skills necessary to pursue career options in marketing, advertising, and digital marketing, as well as more general roles in business analysis, project management or sales management.

  • Critically apply the principles of marketing in an international context.
  • Demonstrate knowledge and a critical understanding of how international organisations develop marketing strategies in response to challenging international business and ethically demanding environments.
  • Identify and apply appropriate marketing information and research techniques to support marketing decision-making.
  • Work effectively using critical thinking to solve complex international marketing problems.
  • Show a professional level of transferable practical and digital skills to resolve a range of international business and marketing challenges.
  • Act as independent learners, and communicate to an audience effectively in a variety of different electronic formats to demonstrate effective interpersonal skills to work in a team.

Where our graduates work

Our previous marketing graduates have gone on to a range of careers in marketing, advertising, PR, brand management, marketing research, digital marketing, sales and general management with a wide range of large and small organisations such as IBM, Hewlett Packard, Rolls Royce, Procter and Gamble, Jaguar Land Rover, Silverstone, McCann Erickson, Volkswagen, South African Airlines, Millward Brown and Chime Communications.

Further study

After successfully completing the course, you will be well prepared for postgraduate study in marketing, such as our Advertising and Marketing MA or professional qualifications, such as the CIM Diploma.

We also offer alternative postgraduate degrees if you decide to take a slightly different route.

You may be entitled to an alumni discount on your fees if you decide to extend your time with us by progressing from undergraduate to postgraduate study.

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