Digital marketing student working on laptop

Business & Digital Marketing BSc(Hons)

Prepare yourself for the fast-paced world of business and digital marketing.

Key details
Location
Penryn Campus
Course duration
3 years / 4 years
Attendance
Full-time / Placement year
UCAS code
3B6H / PY14

Course overview

On this future-focused Business & Digital Marketing degree you’ll work collaboratively on real projects to explore innovative, sustainable and ethical business and marketing practice in the digital realm. From developing project management skills and leadership strategies to navigating consumer psychology, you’ll learn to harness creativity, cultural awareness and business acumen to deliver impactful marketing strategies across a range of digital platforms.

You will:

  • Gain an in-depth understanding of the ideas central to successful digital marketing, exploring the theory behind the practical, real-world issues you address
  • Develop your planning, pitching and presentation skills for effective communication
  • Be guided by an industry-connected team and work on live briefs to build your industry network
  • Collaborate with digital innovators and companies
  • Study on a course accredited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing

While studying this course, you will be eligible to receive the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) Level 5 Certificate in Management and Leadership if you complete specific modules (Market Intelligence, Financial Insights, DataLab, Social Action Project, Creative & Ethical Leadership or Crafting Your Future: Professional Practice and Research).

For the duration of your course you’ll also be an Affiliate Member of the CMI. This opens access to a host of member benefits to help you progress on your professional journey.

Business & Digital Marketing BSc(Hons) is also accredited by the leading professional marketing body for marketers, The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM). This means students who successfully complete the full undergraduate degree are part-accredited for qualifications CIM offers professional marketing practitioners.

CIM and CMI logos

The placement year pathway for this course is new for entry year 2023 and is subject to validation.

Course details

On this Business & Digital Marketing degree, you'll have the opportunity to gain a BSc(Hons) degree over three years or study Business & Digital Marketing BSc(Hons) with a placement year option.

In order to give you a fully balanced learning experience, you'll take on one module from our three categories each term. 'External' modules focus on market research, customers and industry partners. 'Internal' modules explore the way businesses manage themselves, from finances to operations, to people. 'You' modules are all about your own personal development, focusing on creativity, self-reflection and specialist knowledge.

BSc(Hons) Business & Digital Marketing course video

During the first year of your digital marketing degree, you'll explore the key industry elements, the challenges in the current landscape, and upcoming trends. By looking into data, information and intelligence, you'll get to grips with finance and marketing, and develop an ability to understand and influence people. And by presenting and pitching ideas as a team, you'll improve your decision-making and relationship-building skills.

Modules

Market Intelligence

In this module, you’ll develop a working knowledge of market research methods, learning how to interpret examples of market research from the real world. You’ll be introduced to primary and secondary modes of market research and gain an understanding of how to segment markets and analyse trends using different analytic methods. 

You’ll also get a crash course in Big Data, learn how to present information to different audiences and explore how market intelligence is essential in market sensing, back-casting and futurecasting. 

Present and Future of Marketing Communications

Here, you’ll explore the key concepts of marketing communications, focusing primarily on the practical and creative components of marketing. Through a series of lectures, seminars and tutorials, you’ll develop an understanding of strategy, operations and economic sectors and business models.  

You'll also be introduced to the principles of web and app design, looking at user experience, information and content architecture, alongside visual aesthetics. Through the exploration of contemporary theories, you’ll also learn how marketing drives value in business. 

The Art of Strategy

In this module, you’ll learn how to think strategically about business objectives by engaging with a variety of case studies spanning different sectors. You’ll also explore different perspectives and theories on strategy, critically considering source and cultural context.  

Decision Making and Consumer Behaviour

You’ll explore how factors such as psychology, sociology and culture have the power to influence and shape consumer behaviour, familiarising yourself with aspects of decision-making relevant to product development, branding and sales. You’ll also explore customer experience using wide-ranging theory and data from real-world scenarios, drawing insights from a number of schools of thought to understand why consumers behave as they do. 

Design Thinking

In this module, you’ll explore design thinking methodology as a problem-solving framework used across multiple sectors from business to international relations. Looking at contemporary issues such as – but not limited to – poverty, gender inequality, healthcare and cybersecurity, you’ll work in groups to collaborate on a design-centric problem-solving process.  

Navigating Uncertainty

You’ll learn to operate in always-uncertain contexts, where traditional modes of practice (predictability, commitment, linear planning) are replaced with skills of agility, resilience and systems thinking. You’ll also look at uncertainty as opportunity, where change often indicates the emergence of new questions and consumer needs, as well as providing new tools for addressing these. 

Expanding on your specialist skills and knowledge, you'll better understand the core ideas behind successful digital marketing. You'll also study project management and explore team learning and performance. As your expertise grows, you'll implement your business plan and pitch your marketing skills to your target market.

Modules

Complex Problem-Solving

In this module, you’ll practice multiple methods of complex problem-solving and explore outcomes through simulation. You’ll be introduced to systems thinking, a necessity for contemporary business leaders who will be working in environments of densely layered interdependencies and networks. Systems thinking and systems approaches to problem-solving will provide a framework for understanding and managing complex situations in business. 

B2B and the Marketing Ecosystem

During this module, you’ll gain a working knowledge of B2B (Business-to-Business) contracts and standard arrangements. You’ll engage in industry-level and sector-level networking activities that is an introduction to building a client base and could help you find your own clients and partners. You’ll also analyse readings in business networking theory and apply these ideas.  

Intelligent Brand Building

You’ll gain an understanding of the key elements of branding and brand identity, exploring product identity and sub-brands in relation to company and corporate branding. Your learning will be underpinned and driven by theory and research in branding psychology and the importance of emotion and you’ll learn multiple ways you can use consumer data to make branding decisions and enhance a brand’s evolution over time.

Demonstrating Sustainability

In this module, you’ll explore the sustainability opportunities and practices within experience activities, as well as the devastating effects of unsustainable practice. You’ll select a particular sustainability-related issue that you are passionate about and discuss this within a blog format. You’ll also utilise examples of best practice to inform and justify proposals designed to address the issue that you have identified. 

Financial Insights

Here, you’ll explore the basic principles of finance across a range of business sectors and build integrated knowledge of how finance impacts business operations. You’ll acquire an understanding of financial terminology, to the level whereby you can confidently debate the financial health of a business or sector. 

Collaborative Project: Marketing in Digital Environments

In this module, you’ll be responding to a marketing brief in a real or realistic context. Briefs are likely to vary widely in nature and industry sectors. In all cases, you’ll deliver outcomes through informed, strategic project management and high-quality digital campaign outputs. This will require you to carry out research and develop an informed strategy for design and delivery. You’ll also pitch your strategy, clearly outlining tactics and justification.

You can choose to take an optional placement year after your second year on a three-year programme. 

You’ll be responsible for finding your own placement, with support from the RealWORKS employability team. 

Choosing this option will enhance your industry experience and skills while studying. 

How you’ll study during your placement year 

You’ll spend time working in a professional context, as part of a business or organisation. This can be in one role, or up to three, and must be for a minimum of 24 weeks. 

You’ll develop in-demand workplace skills, deepen your insight into industry and grow your network of contacts, all of which could help you get ahead in your career after graduation. 

Throughout this year, you’ll develop a portfolio of work that includes critical self-reflection on what has been learned from the experience. You’ll be required to evidence your experiences, the skills you’ve learned and your professional growth. 

As you develop your marketing solutions portfolio, you'll take on a piece of academic work – either an applied project, a work placement or a dissertation. This will be reinforced by subjects like applied advertising and branding, creative leadership, and sustaining and growing businesses.

Modules

Creative & Ethical Leadership

Here, you’ll further develop your industry experience through the completion of a micro-placement opportunity, where you’ll participate in a 360-degree appraisal. You’ll also increase your understanding of creative and ethical leadership and build a portfolio to showcase the range of experiences and attributes that you have developed throughout your degree.

DataLab: Generation, Analysis, Iteration

In this module, you’ll build skills in analysing data in the pursuit of business goals. You’ll examine the effects of data on business models, product development and customer engagement and consider this from the perspective of managers, marketers and entrepreneurs. You’ll look at data in relation to project parameters and you’ll explore how data can help us effectively futurecast in many scenarios. 

Consumer Psychology and Emotion by Design

Building on what you learned in Decision-Making and Consumer Behaviour, you’ll explore the effects of human interaction on individual and group behaviour, including dynamics of groups, family, culture and social class. You’ll also explore the topic through the lens of psychological theory, and you’ll apply recent research findings to your studies.  

Finally, you’ll build a systematic knowledge of the application and limitations of various research paradigms and techniques in relation to consumer behaviour. 

Crafting Your Future: Professional Practice and Research

In this module, you’ll put together a professional portfolio with the aim of showcasing your best work, skills and core interests. Your portfolio will be made up of three components: a digital showcase of professional practice, a personal development plan and an industry analysis essay focusing on the sector you wish to enter. Your portfolio will enable you to reflect on everything learnt during your degree and help you establish yourself as a professional within your preferred sector. You’ll be supported by weekly lectures, seminars and one-to-one supervision. 

Social Action Project

In this module, you’ll be tasked with developing a social enterprise concept in response to a ‘wicked problem’ posed at the start of the module. You’ll work in groups to co-develop your concept and you’ll consider the challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and a range of societal challenges. You’ll be expected to produce and share research on relevant audiences and markets and you’ll be assessed based on a critical journal and presentation.  

The modules above are those being studied by our students, or proposed new ones. Programme structures and modules can change as part of our curriculum enhancement and review processes. If a certain module is important to you, please discuss it with the Course Leader.

From module information to course aims and assessment criteria, discover the full course details for the 3 year course. If you began your studies during or before 2021 on the 2 year course pathway you can find your course details here.

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How you'll learn

Through this hands-on business and digital marketing degree, you won't just develop core skills and knowledge; you'll also get real-world experience. As part of our student-led agency, Gallos, you'll pitch strategies, implement projects, create and deliver client campaigns, and evaluate their success using data and analytical techniques.

Each module will typically include a one-hour lecture and a two-hour seminar, during which you'll apply your knowledge to your own live projects with the support of the faculty team. You'll also take on challenges from industry professionals, and fit online lectures into your schedule.

At Falmouth, we use a 'digitally enhanced learning & teaching' approach. Your experience will always be predominantly in-person, including seminars, tutorials and studio teaching, with some, more targeted elements, being online either live (synchronous) or pre-recorded (asynchronous). You can read more here.

Staff

From Rolls Royce to Star Wars, our staff come with a wealth of business experience - providing the academic theories behind the real business world. And through constant collaboration, you’ll learn from the University’s sector-specific mentors.

Some members of staff only teach on specific modules, and your course might not feature every staff member who teaches on the course.

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Dr Jeremy Richards

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Lecturer

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David Potter

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Lecturer

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Dr Kathy Zhang

Lecturer

Kathy Zhang is a Lecturer, researcher and entrepreneur who currently teaches Innovation and Marketin...

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Facilities

  • IT suites and software packages.
  • Specialist media facilities for producing promotional material and audio-visual content.
  • Libraries containing 140,000 books, 17,000 DVD and video titles, and electronic and journal resources.

Careers

As a graduate you could become:

  • A digital account manager
  • A brand manager
  • A digital communications consultant
  • A content marketing associate
  • An e-commerce manager

How to apply

Apply via UCAS

Ready to join us? You can apply through UCAS. You'll need to reference the course and University code (F33).

Apply now

Applying as an international student? 

International students can apply for a course through UCAS, via an agent or directly with the university. For more information about how to apply as an international student, visit our international applications page.

International applications

Course route UCAS code
Business & Digital Marketing BSc(Hons) three year degree 3B6H
Business & Digital Marketing BSc(Hons) with placement year PY14

All applications are considered on their individual merit and we welcome applications from all subject backgrounds including science, technology, engineering, mathematics, the arts or humanities.

Course route Entry requirements
BA/BSc(Hons) three year degree 104 – 120 UCAS Tariff points
BA/BSc(Hons) with placement year 104 – 120 UCAS Tariff points
   

Check the title of your course to see if it's a BA or BSc award. UCAS Tariff points will primarily be from Level 3 qualifications such as but not limited to A-levels, T Levels, a BTEC/UAL Extended Diploma or a Foundation Diploma.

Check how many points your qualifications are worth

For applicants whose first language is English we require you to have or be working towards GCSE English Language Grade 4 (C), or equivalent. 

If English is not your first language you will need to meet the same standard which is equivalent to the IELTS Academic 6.0 overall score, with at least 5.5 in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. We accept a range of in country equivalencies and approved tests.  

If you need a student visa to study in the UK, you may need to take a recognised language test. You can read our English Language Requirements for more information.

For starting your studies in 2023

UK applications: 25 January 2023 (for equal consideration)

Applications after the 25 January will be considered on a first-come, first-served as long as there are places available. Apply for this course now.

International fee payers

International fee payers can apply throughout the year. But we recommend applying as early as possible, to make time for visa and travel arrangements.

What we're looking for

We want someone who:

  • Has business knowledge, experience, and an enquiring attitude.
  • Shows self-motivation, a good work ethic, resilience, and perseverance.
  • Wants to learn, is open-minded, and takes on uncertainty and challenging situations.
  • Values others’ opinions and backgrounds, and accepts feedback to improve their reputation and performance.
  • Can take responsibility for their actions and behaviours.

Fees, costs & funding

Tuition fees

Annual tuition fee Student
£9,250 per year Full-time UK
£17,460 per year Full-time EU/international
Annual tuition fee Student
£9,250 per year Full-time UK
£17,460 per year Full-time EU/international
£1,850 per placement year Full-Time UK and EU/international

Tuition fees are set annually and are subject to review each year. The University may therefore raise tuition fees in the second or subsequent years of a course, in line with inflation and/or the maximum permitted by law or Government policy. Students will be notified of any changes as soon as possible. 

The figures above don't include accommodation and living costs

Typical course costs

  • Personal laptop (if not already owned)
  • Suggested reading. Approx £35 (also available to read for free in the library)

If you need to bring equipment or materials with you, these will be outlined in your Welcome Letter.

Ask a student

What better way to find out about life at Falmouth University than by asking our current students?

From course details and academic support, to the social scene and settling in, our students are ready and available to answer any questions you might have. Simply set up your account, send them a question and they'll get back to you within 24 hours.

 

 

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