BA (Hons) Business and Management Studies

 

The Business and Management Studies specialty is accredited by the Bulgarian National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency in the “Economics” academic stream. It is offered in Dobrich and Varna.

Furthermore, the IUC Business and Management specialty is recognized and accredited by Cardiff Metropolitan University UK, which provides students with the opportunity to receive two Bachelor Degrees upon successful completion of their studies in one of the following academic pathways:

 

Bachelor in Business and Management, pathway: International Business Management

Bachelor in Business and Management, pathway: Marketing

Bachelor in Business and Management, pathway: Law

Bachelor in Business and Management, pathway: Information Systems Management

Bachelor in Business and Management, pathway: HR Management  

Bachelor in Business and Management, pathway: Strategy and Enterprise

Bachelor in Business and Management, pathway: Finance

Bachelor in Business and Management, pathway: Sustainability

 

During the first two years of their education, students who have chosen the Business and Management programme will have core modules such as: Marketing, Management, Economics, Finance, etc. In their last year students will have elective modules, which will allow them to specialize in one of the abovementioned academic fields.

 

Programme Specification

Language of instruction: English

Duration of studies: 3 years (6 semesters) Cost per year ( Fall and Spring) $ 5,600

Diploma: Bulgarian Bachelor Degree from International University College and British BA (Hons) from Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK.   

 

The role of the Business and Management Studies is the establishment of specialists who possess both theoretical and practical skills which can contribute to the development of modern business environment. The chief aim of this programme is to prepare students to be employed as middle and top managers in different business organizations.

The substantial objectives of the Business and Management studies specialty are the preparation of highly qualified specialists with entrepreneurial business thinking and provision of knowledge and professional demeanor which are typical for the contemporary manager.

The chief advantage of this specialty is the broad preparation in the field of economics and the ability to choose a particular academic pathway of specialization.

 

Selective specializations after the second year:

-          Retail Management

-          Marketing

-          Finance

-          Economics

-          Human Resource Management

-          Strategy and Enterprise

-          Law

 

Educational purposes of the specialty:

The major focus of this programme is put on the preparation of professionals, who possess a blend of theoretical and practical skills, which can increase their contribution to the contemporary business. The main objective of the specialty is to prepare students to become middle and top managers in various types of business organizations.

 

Those students who have already graduated from International University College already work for Multinational companies in the private and public sectors. The Business and Management programme is designed in such a way that it provides students with the opportunity to specialize in one of the abovementioned pathways thus making it very useful for career orientation and capitalization on personal strengths. In fact, in the last year of their education students will be able to enhance their own capabilities in the field of studies that is of particular interest to them.

   

Marketing Pathway:

This pathway is suitable for those students who are interested in the studies related to investigation and research of various international markets; clients and their motivation and buying behavior. In addition, this pathway emphasizes on the successful marketing strategies and the contemporary market practices. During this course students acquire major understanding and skills required for specific aspects of marketing management. Those students who successfully complete this course will be competent and knowledgeable enough to occupy positions in the field of: marketing; advertising; market research; sales; product portfolio management, Public Relations and Business & Management.

    

Human Resource Management Pathway:

An international company plans to outsource its business to another country. What are the procedures concerning this relocation? What type of personnel does the company need? What qualities are necessary for completing tasks? The Human Resource Management Pathway teaches students how to cope with these issues in an effective way. The specialists in the field of Human Resources play an increasingly important role in the management of organizations of different nature. In fact, every manager regardless of their department is responsible for their subordinates and generally for the people who work in the organization and the quality of work they display. The Human Resources pathway prepares students for managerial positions in various industries and government organizations on international level. Those who graduate this course will have knowledge both in the field of economics/trade and legal procedures.  

 

Strategy/Enterprise pathway:

Enterprising and strategic management is a pathway with rich traditions in the preparation of students for their professional success in the field of business planning and the market entry strategies for a particular market. This pathway offers students excellent preparation in corporate strategies and marketing management in an international context. Last, but not least during their education in the framework of this course students learn how to identify, analyze and implement marketing approaches in accordance to major characteristics of the host country’s micro and macro environment.

 

Finance pathway:

Finance is one of the fundamental functions of every company and every economy. In Bulgaria, for example, financial services represent a bigger portion of GDP compared to manufacturing. This tendency results in significant interest in the field of finance as a chief part of undergraduate education. The prestige financial positions offer brings even bigger interest to this pathway. The majority of students who follow this pathway receive a lot of new knowledge during their internships in various financial institutions and financial departments in national and international companies.

 

Law pathway:

In this pathway students emphasize on international judicial cases in the contemporary context of Bulgaria as a host country of increasing amount of foreign direct investment. In addition, the course includes introduction to the activities of the European Court of Justice, UN, European Commission, the Hague Tribunal and many other European and World institutions. Students also focus on prevention of international conflicts, arbitrage, public crime responsibility and others.

The major skills and capabilities which help students be competitive on the labor market following one of the abovementioned pathways are:

-          Good knowledge of languages,

-          Teamwork ability, 

-          Good communication skills,

-          Capability of analyzing information

-          Good oral and verbal expression/ eloquence,

-          Ability to learn new concept and apply them,

-          Planning and organizing capabilities,

-          Persistence, obstinacy, self-education, analytical and critical thinking,

-          Decision making capabilities,

-          Flexibility and entrepreneurship

 

The needs of the labor market for students who have studied in multi-disciplinary business and management academic conditions are increasing swiftly. Given the fact that many organizations require teamwork in teams of various nationalities, the IUC students are very well prepared to meet this challenge. In addition, the career growth opportunities are excellent in national and international aspect of business.

 

The successfully graduated students from this specialty possess a serious background in the field of management and good understanding of the principles, methods and mechanisms of managing and decision making on a top management level. Graduates possess a clear vision of strategic managerial approaches, which can help them reach top management positions in various national and international corporations. Furthermore, graduates have solid knowledge of different business communication methods; market segmenting methods and ways of product and brand positioning.

 

The choice of one of the specializations combines practical and theoretical experience for establishment of professional skills in one of the fields depending on the plans for career growth of every student.

All students in this specialty have two obligatory internships during their education. These internships last between 6 and 11 weeks and take place in International Business organizations.

Internships are professionally oriented and intend to develop business skills and provide financial support to students taking part in them.