Business Studies BA(Hons): What our students say

"I did Business Studies at A-level and really enjoyed it. I felt it would be a vocational degree subject that would provide good job prospects. I wanted to come to Kingston because its Business courses have a really good reputation. I also liked that it offered a four-year sandwich course so, when you start looking for a job, you have some experience to offer as well as a degree.

"Also, Kingston Business School has a nice leafy, green campus and the town itself is great for shopping and nightlife. It's by the river and you can get into London easily.

"At University I found living away from home really exciting. I also found there was a different approach to that of my sixth form. At school you are spoon-fed. At university you have assistance, but are expected to do a lot more independent thinking and working for yourself.

"One of the things I liked about the course was that it provided the opportunity to focus on languages. This meant I could continue with the French I did at A-level, going on to study it at degree level.

"The lecturers are very friendly. In my second year I failed one of my maths modules. My course administrator was really reassuring and my maths tutor arranged some extra revision sessions. They both really helped me overcome the problem.

"There are lots of different modules, which is good because it means the course is very varied. In the fourth year you are able to choose four modules. I had grown interested in marketing and was able to specialise in this and go on to do a Marketing MA.

"I did my 12-month work placement as a marketing assistant at an information management company called Microgen. It was interesting to see how the things we had learnt in theory are applied in the real world.

"The placement definitely helped my degree. There are some things you can only learn on the job so I came back to University with a lot more knowledge and I had developed better people skills. In the fourth year there is a lot of teamwork. I think we all came back from our placements a bit more mature and that really helped us work together as a team."

"I chose Business Studies because Business was my strongest A-level and I really enjoyed it. I like that it's very varied with lots of options for specialising in different areas.

"I was attracted to Kingston for several reasons. It's an hour away from my home, which I thought was the perfect distance – far enough away without being too far. Also, I wanted to be close to London, but didn't fancy being right in the middle of the city. When I visited the University, I really liked the town and got a good feeling from the campus.

"The highlight of the course so far has been the placement year. I've been doing press and PR work for Toyota and Lexus. This has involved everything from going through magazine and newspaper articles to organising and participating in fun days and evenings out to keep good relationships with motoring journalists. I have even been abroad to launch new cars.

"I wanted to do a placement as I think graduating with a year's work experience is invaluable. I've found being taken seriously in an office environment is great. It has improved my professional skills and confidence loads. I've learnt so much about life and business – it's a brilliant education. I would recommend doing a placement to everyone."