Business Management and Entrepreneurship BSc (Hons)
- Business, management and marketing
- Undergraduate
Turn ideas into ventures. Kingston’s Business Management and Entrepreneurship degree will help you build business knowledge and entrepreneurial mindset and leadership capabilities to develop new ventures and drive innovation. Whether you have a business idea you want to explore or want to create change within an established organisation, you’ll develop the skills and confidence to turn opportunities into impact.
What is a business management and entrepreneurship degree?
Business management focuses on how organisations operate, grow and succeed, from managing people and finance to developing strategy and making effective decisions.
Entrepreneurship is about spotting opportunities, developing ideas and turning them into viable ventures.
A Business Management and Entrepreneurship degree brings those two areas together. At Kingston, you’ll learn how businesses work while developing the confidence and entrepreneurial mindset to question how things are done, solve problems and turn ideas into action.
Business management and entrepreneurial skills you will develop
Entrepreneurship is more than having a good idea. It’s knowing how to spot an opportunity, test it, shape it and develop it so that other people believe in your vision too.
Throughout your degree, you’ll build the business knowledge and entrepreneurial confidence to do exactly that. You’ll learn how to make informed decisions, respond to change and turn ideas into practical opportunities – whether you want to create something of your own or bring fresh thinking to an existing organisation.
You will develop the following skills.
- Opportunity identification and market analysis
- Innovation and new product or service development
- Business planning and venture development
- Startup finance and investment readiness
- Risk assessment and entrepreneurial decision-making
- Leadership, team-building and stakeholder management
- Strategic thinking and commercial awareness
- Problem-solving, adaptability and critical thinking
- Data analysis, digital business and technology skills
- Project management and collaboration
- Business pitching and communicating ideas
You’ll develop these skills through practical learning, from business simulations and group projects to presentations, client interaction and real industry collaboration.
Kingston’s Future Skills programme and PebblePad will help you reflect on what you’ve achieved, build evidence of your experience and talk confidently about what you can do.
By the time you graduate, you’ll have the business management knowledge and entrepreneurial skills to take you into start-ups, scale-ups, SMEs, established organisations or social enterprise.
Why choose this course
If you want to do more than learn how businesses work, Kingston gives you opportunities to test ideas, solve real problems and start building entrepreneurial experience while you study. Kingston is one of a select group of UK universities rated Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework, recognising outstanding student experience and outcomes.
You’ll study in London, one of the world’s major business and entrepreneurial centres, at a university consistently ranked among the top UK higher education institutions for graduate start-ups (HE-BCI survey 2024/25). The course is three years, with the option to add a professional placement year and gain valuable workplace experience.
Turn ideas into ventures
Join a diverse, enterprising community and access Kingston’s wider entrepreneurial ecosystem, including Bright Ideas, Studio KT1, the Kingston Business Incubator and Seething Wells Innovation Hub. This gives you opportunities to develop, test and grow business ideas throughout your course, and potentially launch a venture while you're still at university.
Work on real business challenges
Through live briefs, client projects and industry collaboration, you’ll tackle genuine problems and put your learning into practice.
Develop the skills employers are looking for
Through Kingston's Future Skills programme and the Business School's focus on Human-Centric Capabilities, Enterprising Mindset, Digital Intelligence and Global & Sustainable Impact, you'll develop problem-solving, communication, adaptability, digital confidence and leadership skills that employers increasingly value.
Learn to innovate with AI, data and technology
Digital intelligence is embedded throughout the course. You'll learn how businesses use AI, data and technology to identify opportunities, make better decisions and drive innovation.
Meet people from the world of business
Guest speakers, employer events and networking opportunities give you the chance to hear directly from professionals working across business, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Learn on a course shaped by industry and future business trends
Kingston Business School's Industry Advisory Panel brings expertise in AI, innovation, marketing, sustainability, consultancy and data, helping ensure your learning reflects the skills organisations need today and in the future.
Access specialist business facilities
As a Kingston Business School student, you'll learn in a modern business environment supported by specialist facilities, innovation spaces and enterprise support designed to help you develop your ideas and professional skills.
Show what you can do
You’ll use PebblePad throughout your degree to build a digital portfolio of your projects, teamwork and experience, giving you real examples to draw on for placements, jobs or your own venture.
Kingston Business School accreditation
Kingston Business School is AACSB-accredited (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) – an international recognition held by just 6% of business schools worldwide. It means you’ll study at a business school whose education has been assessed against internationally recognised standards for quality and continuous improvement.
The School has also been accredited by the Small Business Charter, recognising its commitment to supporting small businesses, entrepreneurship and the local economy, and reflecting an environment of enterprise for our students.
Ready for business
At Kingston Business School, we believe that professional success is shaped by honing your personal capacity and skillset, supported by the academic framework of knowledge. Through vocationally rich, employer-engaged and research-informed courses, we work alongside our students to help them meet personal goals and career ambitions.
Course overview
Learn how to turn ideas into business opportunities
In just three years, you’ll gain practical, real-life experience that prepares you to turn ideas into opportunities – whether you want to build your own business or make an impact within an established organisation.
This course takes you beyond theory. You won’t just learn about how businesses work – you’ll put your academic knowledge of business management to the test, exploring and developing ideas before shaping them into a viable model with the potential to grow, whether that’s within your own venture or an established organisation.
Put your ideas to work
You’ll put entrepreneurship into practice. Through live briefs and projects with clients in real organisations, you’ll create, develop and communicate ideas in response to current business challenges – building experience of turning your thinking into something practical.
Understand what makes a business successful
From strategy, project management, finance and accounting to start-up creation, business design thinking and growth, you’ll explore the different elements involved in building and running an organisation. You’ll also develop experience of working with and leading entrepreneurial teams.
Use technology to move ideas forward
Digital technology, data and AI are embedded throughout the course. You’ll explore how businesses use technology and evidence to make better decisions, adapt to change and find new ways to develop and grow.
As AI continues to reshape organisations, you'll explore both its opportunities and limitations, developing the confidence to use technology responsibly and effectively in business settings.
Learn from people who know business
You’ll learn from a mix of industry professionals and academic researchers, combining current industry insight with the theory and research that underpin successful business and entrepreneurship.
Start building your professional world
Your experience goes beyond your modules. Professional networking, hackathons and speed interviewing give you more ways to meet people, test yourself in different situations and start building the confidence and connections you can take into your future career.
Business at Kingston University
Hear from our students and staff and find out what it’s like to study business at Kingston University.
What are the facilities like?
When you join Kingston University, you will have access to a wide range of facilities and resources designed to support your studies. Use the virtual tour below to explore some of the facilities and learning environments that students within this subject area may experience during their studies.
What you will study
Kingston’s Business Management and Entrepreneurship degree gives you the chance to build ideas, test them and see what it takes to make them work in the real world. You’ll combine a strong grounding in business with specialist learning in innovation, venture development, leadership and finance.
Foundation year: Business
Not quite ready to start Year 1 of your BSc (Hons) degree? You might choose a foundation year to help you prepare by building the skills, knowledge and confidence you need to progress to the first year of your degree.
You’ll study this year of a four-year degree at Kingston College, close to Kingston University’s Penrhyn Road campus, exploring topics including professional skills, numerical concepts, business IT, marketing, customer care and business law.
Year 1
In your first year, you will be introduced to the foundations of business and begin to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. You will understand the environmental influences faced by organisations and the key concepts of marketing and sales. You'll explore disruptive technologies and how they can be used to deliver digitally enhanced solutions, changing the way businesses operate. Over the course of this year you’ll gain insights into how organisations and individuals collaborate to achieve excellence in their performance.
Core modules
Year 2
In Year 2 you'll start putting your ideas to the test. You'll build your problem-solving, decision-making and enterprise skills while exploring accounting and financial management, business design thinking, and sustainable and responsible management – all in the context of developing and growing an organisation.
Core modules
Optional year
You have the option to take an additional year to study abroad or to undertake a year-long work placement (or even a mix of both).
For business students, this is a great opportunity to gain international experience and apply your learning in real-world settings. Whether through study abroad or a professional placement, you’ll broaden your outlook, build global connections, and develop key skills like adaptability and problem-solving.
Professional placement year
This course has a professional placement year option which takes place between Year 2 and your Final Year. During this professional placement year you will take a placement within a relevant setting, ensuring you gain essential experience to add to your CV and help you secure a graduate job.
Final year
In your third year, you’ll be ready to apply your critical understanding and strategic thinking to real-world start-up, scale-up and SME settings. You’ll explore leadership in changing environments while developing your own leadership style and future-focused professional skills.
You’ll also examine how artificial intelligence is being applied in business and innovation, including its practical uses, limitations and ethical implications.
A key focus will be investment readiness: how organisations secure funding through business angels, crowdfunding, venture capital and private equity, and how they prepare for growth, pitching and exit.
Core modules
How you will learn to build a business
Having an idea is just the beginning. Throughout your degree, you'll explore what it takes to turn that first spark into a business proposition with real potential – one you can test, develop, fund and take forward.
Find an idea worth developing
You’ll learn how to identify potential opportunities, explore what customers need and test whether there is genuine demand for your idea. Business design thinking will help you challenge assumptions, develop creative solutions and shape an initial idea into something more commercially viable.
Build the business around it
From understanding your customer and developing a value proposition to marketing, finance, operations and managing a team, you’ll draw on your wider business management knowledge to work out how an idea could function in the real world – and what it takes to grow and scale successfully.
Learn how to fund your next move
You’ll explore what makes a venture investment-ready and how different funding routes work as a business develops. This includes crowdfunding, business angels, venture capital and private equity. You’ll also learn to develop funding proposals and look at opportunities from an investor’s perspective as well as an entrepreneur’s.
Make people believe in your idea
A great business idea has to be communicated well. You’ll develop funding proposals, present your thinking and practise pitching through practical projects, including a major client project in your final year.
And you won’t always be handing in a traditional essay. Your assessments can include business simulations, pitches, marketing and product or service plans, infographics, interactive dashboards and webpages – giving you experience of creating the kinds of outputs used in the real world.
Kingston’s Future Skills programme gives you further opportunities to apply and reflect on the professional skills you’re developing, while PebblePad helps you capture evidence of your projects, teamwork and practical experience as you progress through the degree.
Beyond your course you'll have access to Kingston's wider entrepreneurship ecosystem., Through Bright Ideas, Studio KT1 and the Kingston Business Incubator, you can develop concepts, gain mentoring, access workspace and receive support to turn promising ideas into real ventures.
Start-up and venture finance
A great idea still needs the right financial backing. On this course, you’ll explore how new businesses secure funding and investment, what investors look for and how funding needs change as a venture develops.
How businesses get funded
You’ll explore the full innovation finance spectrum, from early-stage funding through to longer-term growth and exit strategies. This includes crowdfunding, business angels, venture capital and private equity, as well as tenders and funding calls.
You’ll also examine later-stage options such as IPOs and mergers and acquisitions, alongside emerging approaches including blockchain, initial coin offerings and decentralised finance.
Think like an investor
Understanding funding means seeing a business from both sides of the table. You’ll develop funding proposals, use financial analysis and forecasting, and learn how to assess business opportunities from an investor’s perspective as well as an entrepreneur’s.
You’ll explore how organisations can develop medium- and long-term funding strategies across start-ups, growing businesses, SMEs, NGOs and social enterprises.
Put your pitch to the test
Knowing your numbers is only part of the challenge. You’ll also learn how to communicate the potential of an idea and prepare a convincing investment pitch.
Your learning culminates in a major client project, where you’ll combine strategic financial analysis with professional pitching skills.
Take your idea further at Kingston
Kingston’s wider enterprise support can give you further opportunities to explore funding beyond the classroom. This includes the Enterprise Circle £10,000 grant, with successful recipients receiving advice and support as they plan their next stage of growth.
Understanding how ventures attract, secure and manage investment is a core entrepreneurial skill – and an important part of knowing how to build and grow a business.
Entrepreneurship within organisations
You don't have to start your own company to think like an entrepreneur.
Intrapreneurship is about bringing entrepreneurial thinking into an existing organisation – identifying opportunities, developing new ideas and helping businesses adapt, innovate and grow from within.
On this course, you’ll develop the capabilities that make that possible, including opportunity identification, problem-solving, ideation, innovation, adaptability and collaboration. You’ll also build the strategic thinking, commercial awareness, leadership and communication skills needed to turn ideas into practical solutions and bring other people with you.
These are skills employers value. They need people who can challenge established ways of working, respond to change and help organisations find new directions.
Turn ideas into change
You’ll explore how organisations use data, technology and AI to make decisions, identify new opportunities and respond to change. You’ll also develop practical experience in managing projects, leading teams and using business analytics and digital intelligence to support strategic and operational decisions.
That could mean contributing to product innovation, helping a business enter a new market, supporting business or digital transformation, or developing a new service, process or internal venture.
Wider Student Enterprise activity gives you further opportunities to develop enterprise skills, test ideas and gain real-world experience beyond the classroom.
These skills are valuable across large organisations, SMEs, public sector bodies and third-sector organisations, giving you a route into entrepreneurship even if starting your own business isn’t your goal.
International students: direct application
Are you an international student? Have you decided Kingston is the place for you? If so, you can apply for this course directly, rather than having to go through UCAS.
What career opportunities does this course offer?
Careers with a business management and entrepreneurship degree
A Business Management and Entrepreneurship degree gives you a broad range of career options. You might launch and grow a venture of your own. Or you could apply your entrepreneurial skills and mindset in an established organisation, helping it launch new products, break into new markets or innovate its operations.
Alongside specialist entrepreneurship knowledge, you’ll graduate with a broad foundation in business management and experience of developing ideas, presenting proposals and working on practical business challenges.
Careers you could pursue
Your combination of business and entrepreneurial skills means you are ready for roles including:
- Startup founder – develop an idea into a new commercial or social venture and take it to market.
- Business development manager – identify opportunities for growth, new markets and commercial partnerships.
- Innovation manager – develop new ideas, products, services and ways of working within an organisation.
- Product manager – help take products and services from research and development through to launch and growth.
- Management consultant – work with organisations to understand challenges, improve performance and manage change.
- Marketing manager – use customer and market insight to develop brands, reach new audiences and support growth.
- Social entrepreneur – build ventures designed to create social or community impact alongside financial sustainability.
- Your wider business management knowledge opens up career pathways in areas including sales, retail operations and analysis, data analysis, sustainability, technology and finance.
Create change from within an organisation
Starting a company isn’t the only entrepreneurial career path. You can also use the skills developed on this degree as an intrapreneur – bringing new ideas and entrepreneurial thinking into an existing business or organisation.
That could mean driving innovation, developing new services or strategies, implementing digital or business transformation, or finding new and exciting ways for an organisation to grow.
Build experience you can show employers
Throughout the course, you’ll build practical evidence of what you can do through projects, presentations, teamwork, client interaction and industry engagement.
Student Enterprise, which sits within Kingston’s Careers and Employability Service, gives you further opportunities to develop enterprise skills and gain real-world experience. Wider opportunities such as Bright Ideas, Studio KT1 and the Kingston Business Incubator can help you continue developing ideas beyond your modules.
You’ll also use PebblePad to build a digital portfolio of your work and experiences, while Future Skills helps you develop and demonstrate the professional skills employers value.
Specialist careers support
You’ll take part in an Assessment Centre Experience, giving you the chance to experience a typical graduate recruitment process and receive tailored feedback. You’ll:
- Develop your understanding of the jobs market, current opportunities and different recruitment processes.
- Learn how to identify roles that suit your skills and ambitions.
- Receive personalised feedback to help you improve and progress.
- Access additional webinars covering employer expectations, best practice and practical recruitment advice.
Your degree can prepare you for graduate employment, entrepreneurship or further study, giving you the flexibility to decide where you want to take your business and entrepreneurial skills next.
Future Skills
Our Future Skills programme is embedded within all our undergraduate courses and throughout the whole Kingston experience. These skills will help you to become a future-proof graduate by equipping you with the skills most valued by employers, such as problem-solving, digital competency and adaptability.
As you progress through your degree, you'll learn to navigate, explore and apply these graduate skills. You’ll also understand how to demonstrate and articulate to employers how these future skills give you the edge.
Key features
Future Skills
We don’t just teach you a subject – we prepare you for career success in a fast-changing world.
Whichever course you take at Kingston, you’ll master the Future Skills employers are looking for.
Read about how Future Skills will benefit your studies
Adobe Creative Campus
As a Kingston student, you’ll have access to Adobe Creative Campus, giving you free use of industry-standard creative tools like Photoshop, Illustrator and Premiere Pro.
You’ll be supported to build your digital and creative skills, whatever your course or experience level.
Find out the advantages of Adobe Creative Campus
TEF Gold
We're rated Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), recognising our outstanding teaching, student experience and graduate outcomes.
This reflects our commitment to helping every student at Kingston achieve their goals.
Teaching and assessment
Scheduled learning and teaching on this course includes timetabled activities including lectures, seminars and small group tutorials.
Fees and funding
Additional course costs
Some courses may require additional costs beyond tuition fees. When planning your studies, you’ll want to consider tuition fees, living costs, and any extra costs that might relate to your area of study.
Your tuition fees include costs for teaching, assessment and university facilities. So your access to libraries, shared IT resources and various student support services are all covered. Accommodation and general living expenses are not covered by these fees.
Where applicable, additional expenses for your course may include:
Scholarships and bursaries
For students interested in studying this course at Kingston, there are several opportunities to seek funding support.
Course changes and regulations
The information on this page reflects the currently intended course structure and module details. To improve your student experience and the quality of your degree, we may review and change the material information of this course. Find out more about course changes
Specifications for this course are published ahead of each academic year.
Regulations governing this course can be found on our website.
Staff expertise
You’ll learn from people who understand business and entrepreneurship from different angles – academics whose research is shaping current thinking, alongside professionals who bring real industry experience into the classroom.
Our teaching is informed by research, industry engagement and emerging business trends, ensuring you learn about the challenges and opportunities shaping organisations today, from AI and innovation to sustainability and responsible business.
That means you won’t just hear how things are supposed to work in theory. You’ll explore how ideas are tested, developed and applied in real organisations, with teaching that connects academic thinking to what is happening in business now.
You’ll also meet people beyond the teaching team through guest speakers, employer events, networking opportunities and practical projects with external organisations. The course is informed by an Industry Advisory Panel with expertise across areas including AI, innovation, marketing, sustainability, consultancy and data.
Life at Kingston
Student life
Being part of Kingston means joining a diverse community where you can connect with others, build confidence and shape your own university experience both on campus and beyond.
Read more about student life at Kingston University
KU Connect blog
Hear from our students, staff, alumni and partners as they share what it truly means to be part of Kingston University.
Explore the articles on our Kingston Connect blog
Chat to our students
Want an inside view? Chat with our current students to hear honest insights about studying, campus life and what it’s really like to be part of Kingston, helping you feel confident about your next step.
Chat to our student ambassadors
FAQs
Frequently-asked questions
Key information
The scrolling banner below displays some key factual data about this course (including different course combinations or delivery modes of this course where relevant).
