MSc International Business and Development
University of Sussex Business School
Key Information
Campus location
Brighton, United Kingdom
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
1 year
Pace
Full time
Tuition fees
GBP 22,500 / per year **
Application deadline
Request info *
Earliest start date
Request info
* international: 1 August 2023 | UK: 1 September 2023
** full-time international students | £13,135/year for full-time home/Channel Islands and Isle of Man students
Join us in on campus for our Masters Open Day on Saturday 2 March
Meet our Business School faculty and discover the right course for you.
Introduction
International businesses need to respond rapidly to concerns on social and environmental impacts. Multinationals are increasingly participating in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Pivotal to this is the need for firms to achieve financial returns for shareholders.
In this MSc, you’ll study the link between the micro-foundation, economic behaviours and policies of international business, and their impacts on sustainability and development. Through a lens of the SDGs framework and policies, you’ll look at the principles of international business and strategic management.
This course is for you if you’re:
- working in an international business, development agency or international NGO, and would like to develop your knowledge to move into a leadership role;
- a business or environmental studies graduate who wants to improve their professional skills to gain employment on the management or policy side of international business.
During your studies, you’ll explore the impact that institutional environments in home countries have upon a strategy and how those strategies impact on – and interact with – host countries. You’ll work on a real-life consultancy project focusing on a business problem. This allows you to use your knowledge, as well as practical and interpersonal skills, to design, initiate and carry out an approach to address the issue. You’ll become a confident, knowledgeable and responsible manager with the practical skills needed for global challenges.
You’ll be based at the University of Sussex Business School. We’re a member of the United Nations Global Compact network, committed to creating a sustainable and inclusive global economy. We follow the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME). This means we incorporate global social responsibility and sustainability values into our teaching and research. The course is jointly delivered by the University of Sussex Business School and the School of Global Studies. You’ll benefit from our interdisciplinary teaching and research culture:
- the University of Sussex Business School is one of the top centres of expertise on international business development in the UK, as well as SPRU – Science Policy Research Unit.
- the School of Global Studies offers a wealth of expertise in globalisation, corporate social responsibility, international finance and labour.
Accreditation
You’ll join the EQUIS and AMBA-accredited University of Sussex Business School.
Curriculum
We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2023/24. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to COVID-19, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let our applicants know of material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.
We’ll do our best to provide as much optional choice as we can, but timetabling constraints mean it may not be possible to take some module combinations. The structure of a small number of courses means that the order of modules or the streams you choose may determine whether modules are core or optional. This means that your core modules or options may differ from what’s shown below.
Core modules
Core modules are taken by all students on the course. They give you a solid grounding in your chosen subject and prepare you to explore the topics that interest you most.
Autumn teaching
- Business and Sustainable Development
- Concepts of Social Development
- International Business
Spring teaching
- Industrial and Innovation Policy
- Political Economy of Business and Development
- Research Methods
Summer teaching
- International Business and Development in Practice
Options
Alongside your core modules, you can choose options to broaden your horizons and tailor your course to your interests. This list gives you a flavour of our options, which are kept under review and may change, for example in response to student feedback or the latest research.
While it’s our aim for students to take their preferred combinations of options, this can’t be guaranteed and will be subject to timetabling. Options may be grouped and if so, students will be able to choose a set number of options from the selection available in any particular group.
Spring teaching
- Energy and Development
- Fair Trade, Ethical Business and New Moral Economies
- Managing Economic Instability
- Managing Intellectual Property
- The Business Context in Emerging Economies
Career Opportunities
When you graduate, you’ll have the skills and confidence to become a senior and strategic, responsible manager within an international business. Through your consultancy project, you’ll have gained hands-on practical experience in engaging with and influencing an existing business.
You’ll be well prepared for roles in:
- multinational enterprises
- small- and medium-sized enterprises with a sustainable orientation
- international social enterprises
- international development agencies
- international NGOs
- consultancy companies with a particular focus on the SDGs framework and policies
- government organisations monitoring the SDGs framework and policies.
You’ll benefit from our extensive career support and business connections, including mentoring by employers, networking, guest lectures and the development of your workplace skills.
Admissions
Rankings
- 1st in the world for Development Studies (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022)
- 1st in the UK for annual research income in 2020/21 (Chartered Association of Business Schools)
- 13th in the UK for Business and Economics (The Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject 2022)
Program Tuition Fee
Scholarships and Funding
We are pleased to announce that all international applicants, who study a full-time master's course at the University of Sussex Business School, will receive a £2,000 Award towards their overseas tuition fee.
We want to do our best to make sure that all international students have the opportunity to study at our EQUIS and AMBA-accredited schools.