International Year One in Business

Entry requirements

Good high school grades or equivalent

Course details

The International Year One (IY1) programme has been specially created for you and other like-minded international students who are looking for a tailored route of study to join Year Two of undergraduate study that provides more support and guidance.

The International Year One allows you to gradually familiarise yourself with UK learning in a supportive and encouraging environment, allowing you to develop and grow as a new academic learner.

Key features of studying the International Year One at the Pathway College include:

Become a full student of the South Wales Business School where you will be invited to guest speaker events, conferences and staff-student committees
Have full access to all the facilities, software and materials to prepare for Year Two
Join our student community and widen your academic and social friendship groups to develop long-lasting relationships within the University

It is the combination of integration with the Business School alongside studying in smaller groups, led by tutors who have significant experience of working with international students transitioning to University study, which makes this programme highly suitable for those looking for a more supported experience.

What will I study?

The modules you will study mirror those that are delivered on the equivalent Year One at the Business School. You will be provided with a strong foundation in:

Business management
Marketing
Entrepreneurship
Operations management
Organisational behaviour

You will also develop your academic and business English language enabling you to both talk and write about the knowledge and skills that you have learnt with confidence.

A key module that supports you throughout your journey is the Business Academic Skills module. This begins with an extended introduction in academic English, business language and everyday social English, to build your confidence and get ready for learning new business knowledge. Within all the modules you will apply academic theories to real-life situations, enabling you to develop critical thinking skills.

Embedded into all undergraduate degrees at South Wales is the development of skills ready to join your intended career at the end of university study. During the International Year One, you will develop resilience, presentation, communication and analytical skills.

At the end of the International Year One, you will have identified the skills you have by developing a CV, LinkedIn profile and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) portfolio.

How will I learn?

You will be taught in small groups providing a creative and secure environment in which to learn new knowledge and skills.

Each module has embedded tutorials that provide you with time to meet your tutor on a 1-2-1 basis to explore, investigate and solve problems in preparation for your assessments and support you through your learning journey.

You will be empowered to use technology to expand and develop your skills, for example, you will become part of discussion groups and interactive exercises such as online quizzes, film and audio clips will help support your learning.

Contact hours

16-20 hours per week of seminars and workshops.

Self-study hours

15-20 hours of self-study per week.

Assessment

Coursework, presentations, unseen exams and online tests
Assessments are spread out over the modules, meaning you will be assessed via a variety of methods and later than usual in the module to give you more time to settle in your new surroundings
The perfect preparation for your future undergraduate assessments

Modules

All modules are core and are worth 20 credits unless specified.

Business in a Global Context

The module helps you to investigate the internal and external environment and understand how factors affect the current decision making and future direction of the business.

Looking at the importance of economic and legal factors, you will assess the impact of these key external pressures, building scenarios of how this can force change in business. In addition, the internal organisational environment will be considered to understand the capabilities of companies to deal with change and where possible competitive advantages could be achieved.

Principles of Marketing

Marketing is the management process used to identify, anticipate, and satisfy the requirements of customers both efficiently, and profitably.

At the heart of marketing is the idea that your customer is your best asset.

This module teaches you how to understand the market and your customer. These are fundamental skills that enable you to work in the diverse and fast-paced marketing industry.

Supply Chain and Operation Management

This module assesses the importance of recognising and managing the holistic supply chain as being increasingly seen as a key constituent of any organisation’s ability to deliver value to its customers and stakeholders.

Organisational Behaviour

This module has a diverse remit, covering a wide range of issues but with one underlying theme. All aspects of the module focus on the links between people’s experiences of work and the impact that it has on them as individuals and the wider society.

You will be introduced to various issues and controversies relating to the study of work, organisation and management. In addition, you will study the sociology of work and workplace organisation in the contemporary economy, covering themes from rationalisation and the organisation of time, to emotional labour, unemployment, globalisation, and the fourth industrial revolution and new patterns of employment.

Business Academic Skills (0 credits)

This module wraps around the other subject modules of the programme in order to build your learning and assessment preparation and provides an opportunity to enhance your acculturation to the UK university environment. The module provides the study skills and personal academic tutoring to support your transition from college/school to UK university education.

You will develop your communication skills and build strong support networks within the university to support your learning for the rest of your studies at South Wales.

Professional Enquiry

This module aims to provide you with an understanding of the role, relevance and importance of business enquiry in an academic and professional context. From the beginning of the module, you will begin to develop your critical thinking skills enabling you to identify, analyse and evaluate sources of business information.

During this module you will personally develop, supporting your transition to Higher Education learning. These skills, along with personal, digital, numeric and informational, will lead to effective learning and academic achievement, as well as your contribution to society at large.

Business Entrepreneurship

During this module, you will begin to evaluate the key traits and skills required to manage a new enterprise and will self-reflect on your own entrepreneurial competencies. This self-reflection will enable you to identify skills required for employment/self-employment and recognise further training and skill development that you might need to enhance your employment/employability potential.

The module content will also draw upon the theories and models presented in the other International Year One modules e.g. marketing, HR, management to enable you to understand the interdisciplinary nature and collaborative working of studying a business degree.

The course information displayed on this page is correct for the academic year 2024/25. We aim to run the course as advertised however, changes may be necessary due to updates to the curriculum (due to academic or industry developments), student demand or UK compliance reasons.

Entry requirements

Applicants should have the following:

Academic requirements

Good high school graduation grades or equivalent
IGCSE 5 Passes at grade B or above

For country-specific entry requirements, please contact our team, who will be happy to assist.

English language requirements

IELTS 5.5 (with no band below 5.5)

Please note that if your qualifications are not in English, we might need certified translations in order to proceed with your application.

Minimum age requirements

Please note, you must be over 17 and turn 18 within the first 3 months of your pathway programme.

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