Bachelor of Business Studies (Hons)
Course code: WD048

Course Description 

Thinking of working in business? The BBS (Honours) is the course for you. This four-year full-time degree course (comprising eight semesters) offers you a  broad range of business skills combined with a thorough knowledge of the financial and economic environment in which firms operate. On graduating you will have developed your personal and  professional skills to give you the confidence to start a successful business career.

Special Features

• The first two years of the programme introduces students to a range of business disciplines, allowing them to make a more informed decision before specialising in one of the elective streams.
• The first two years of this programme have been designed to ensure a balance of assessment methods in each semester. Modules are examined either by continuous assessment or final exam.
• Students can specialise in Years 3 and 4 in any one of the following streams:
  • Marketing
  • Accounting
  • Human Resource Management
  • Economics and Finance
  • Management
• A unique feature of this programme is the Flexible Semester.  This semester allows students to have different experiences, feel affinity with different peoples and expand their personal horizons.  This facilitates the development of skills in the areas of communication, customer service awareness, decision making, problem solving, teamwork, commercial awareness, creativity, confidence and reflection.  During Semester 6 (Year 3) students will be given an opportunity to participate in one of the following:
  • Study Abroad: Students spend the semester abroad studying in one of our partner colleges. Past students have spent the semester in European locations including, Nice, Montpellier, Prague, Huelva (Spain), Munich and Brussels and North America and Canada including, Boston, Toronto and Newfoundland.
  • Work Placement: Students spend the semester in appropriate work placement, representative of many business sectors. Past students have spent the semester working in organisations such as, VHI, Zurich, PricewaterhouseCoppers, ESB, Glanbia, State Street and City and County Councils and Credit Unions.  
  • New Venture Initiative: Students set up and run their own business during the semester. They are provided with professional mentoring from the experienced business community in the areas of business planning, marketing and selling, finance and IT. Examples of past initiatives include, novelty and clubs and societies T-shirts, online gaming, student discount brochures.  
  • College and Community Project: There are two strands to this option, Teaching and Community. Students taking the Teaching option spend two days a week in college taking classes related to the practice of teaching. The remaining three days are spent in a school setting (Primary or Secondary) teaching and assisting teachers and students. Students taking the Community option also spend two days a week in college taking relevant classes. They then spend the remaining three days working on a community project. Past students have worked on community projects for the following organisations, Waterford Area Partnership, Grouplink, Simon Community, Kilkenny Arts Festival, and various sporting organisations.
• Graduates with a Bachelor of Business (Honours) award are also entitled to exemptions from many of the leading professional accountancy and management bodies including: ACA (Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland); ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants); CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) & The Marketing Institute of Ireland.
  Students on this programme are entitled to apply for the John Hume Scholarship which is awarded by the combined Waterford Credit Unions to a student of the School of Business. It is awarded to a first year student on the basis of academic and community performance.
• A Certified Public Accountants prize is awarded for the best overall Financial Accounting result in the Accounting Stream.
• Aidan McAvinue Chartered Accountants sponsor an award for the best result in Income Tax in Year 4, Accounting Stream.
• The Granville Hotel, Waterford sponsor an award for the Marketing student of the year from amongst the final year Marketing Stream students. 
• High achieving students in Years 1, 2, and 3 are recognised at the annual Deans List Award ceremony.
• Students on the programme are encouraged to participate in the Junior Achievement Ireland programme, the organisation which runs personal and enterprise development programmes for primary and secondary schools.
• One of the advantages of coming to the School of Business in WIT is our approach to your development. We are engaged in your learning form the word go. Our teaching and learning methodologies will involve you in presentations, role play, business simulations, portfolios, debates and live case studies.

Career Opportunities

 

A graduate of this degree will be suitable to take up a position at a junior/middle management level in many types of business organisations ranging from small family businesses to multi-national corporations. The degree also prepares graduates for employment in other sectors including the public service and voluntary organisations.
Many graduates pursue further professional qualifications in accounting, finance, marketing and human resource management. Graduates of this course who complete a recognised Higher Diploma in Education may apply for positions as teachers in secondary schools.
As one of Ireland’s longest running BBS programmes, graduates have reached the top of many organisations. Jobs held by graduates include many Chief Executive Officers, Chief Financial Officers, Human Resource and Marketing Directors. Of course, many graduates run their own successful businesses.

Follow on Study

 

• Master of Business – Internationalisation
• Master of Business in Accounting
• Master of Business
  • Master of Business (Marketing)
  • Master of Business (Economics and Finance)
  • Master of Business (Human Resource Management)
  • Master of Business (Management)
• Master by research

Course outline

Year 1
Semester 1	Semester 2
Principles of Microeconomics Introduction to Statistics ICT Skills 1 Basic Financial Accounting Introduction to Management Professional Written Communication	Microeconomics Business & Financial Maths ICT for Business Financial Accounting Organisational Behaviour Professional Oral Communication
Year 2
Semester 3	Semester 4
Principles of Macroeconomics ICT Skills 2 Introduction to Marketing Human Resource Mgt 1 Cost Accounting Introduction to Business Law	Macroeconomics Marketing Mix Human Resource Mgt 2 Mgt Accounting Techniques Probability & Operations Management Choose one of the following: European Integration in the EU Enterprise Business Law Applied Critical Thinking
For year 3, students specialise in one of the following areas: Marketing, Human Resource Management, Economics and Finance, Management or Accounting.
Year 3
Semester 5	Semester 6
Mandatory Modules All Streams: Quantitative Techniques Business Finance/Financial Mgt Marketing: Consumer Behaviour Integrated Marketing Communications Marketing Research Theory Human Resource Management: Design & Deliver Training Principles of Employment Law Employment Resourcing Economics & Finance: CorporateInvestment Analysis International Trade Policy Managerial Economics Management: Principles of Organisation Design Quality Management Leadership in Organisations Accounting: Enterprise Software Skills Financial Reporting Company Law 1 Electives - choose one module Organisational Psychology Environmental Economics Entrepreneurship Development Economics European Policy & Processes Practical Public Relations Operations Management Brand Management The Professional Individual Auditing Theory Business Research Methods Business Project Maagement Labour Economics Sports Marketing	Work Placement Study Abroad New Venture Initiative College & Community
Year 4
Semester 7	Semster 8
Mandatory Modules all streams: MIS & eBusiness Business Strategy Marketing: Project - minor dissertation Services Marketing International Marketing Human Resource Management: Project - minor dissertation Employee Relations Employment & Equality Law Economics & Finance: Capital Markets Economic Policy Analysis Financial Economics Management: Project - minor dissertation Conflicts & Teams Processes of Organisational Design Accounting: Decision Making Applied Financial Reporting Income Tax General Stream: Process of Organisational Design Conflicts and Teams Services Marketing Electives - choose one module Economic Events and Change Supply Chain Management Sponsorship and Event Marketing Psychology for Marketing Inteternational Business Environment Social Psychology of Organisations Professional Ethics for Accountants Agricultural Economics Introductory Economics Ethical Reasoning for Managers Innovation Forensic Accounting & Fraud Accounting Financial Regulation International Political Economy Managerial Finance Advantage Skills Managing Diversity Behavioural Finance Company Law 2	All Streams Corporate Strategy Marketing: Project - minor dissertation Global Strategic Marketing Business Marketing Advertising Management Human Resource Management: Project - minor dissertation Employee Relations Skills Performance Management Strategic HRM Economics & Finance: Open Economy MacroeconomicsInvestments International Risk Management Investments Research Project (E/F) Finanial Data Analysis Management: Project - minor dissertation Team Building & Negotiation Developing Leadership Skills Organisations of the Future Accounting: Performance Measurement Advanced Financial Reporting Applied Finance Taxation General Stream: Team Building & Negotiation Employee Relations Skills Organisations of the Future Global Strategic Marketing Electives - choose one module Applied Econometrics Auditing Practice Business Ethics in a Gloal Society Business and Politics Competition Law Financial Information Analysis Governance & Control Industrial Economics Internataionl Management Marketing for Finance Professionals Marketing Research Practice Public Poicy Economcis Strategic Public Relations Regional Economics Reward Management Small Business Management Social Marketing International HRM

In your first year, we start “from the beginning” assuming that you have no previous knowledge of any business subject. Year one modules are intended to provide you with an introduction to core business subjects such as Economics, Accounting, Statistics and Mathematics, Information Technology and Management.  During your first year you will get an opportunity to work in groups, make presentations, write reports and develop important professional skills.

In your second year, you will expand your knowledge of Economics, Accounting and develop your mathematical skills. You will be introduced to Marketing, Human Resource Management and Business Law.  You will also have the opportunity to choose an elective module.

In your third year, you will be in college for the first semester. During this semester you will study two core modules plus three modules from your specialised stream plus an elective module. The second semester in Year 3 is where the Flexible Semester takes place, this is an exciting highlight of the degree programme which you will enjoy and benefit greatly from.

In your fourth year, you will address many of the more strategic issues facing business through the core modules of Business Strategy, Corporate Strategy and MIS and eBusiness. At this stage you will further develop your specialist knowledge through the seven stream modules. You will also study an elective module in each semester.

Course Facts

Course Title: Bachelor of Business (Honours)
Course Code: WD048
Course Level: 8
Duration: 4 years

Course Entry

Leaving Certificate:

• Total number of subjects at grade D or better: 6
• Number of subjects at higher level grade C or better: 2

Required Subjects:

• English/Irish: OD3/HD3
• Mathematics: OC3/HD3

For further information

Course Leader: Dermot Moore

Email: dmoore@wit.ie

Recent Entry Points

Year	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Minimum Points	305	305	305	305	305

See also

• WIT Admissions Office