Course overview

Develop essential and highly valued skills in business and big data through our combined honours course in Business Management and Data Science.

Virtually every industry is looking to leverage the power of data to enhance the efficiency of their operations and drive innovation. This means graduates with skills in data science and business are in extremely high demand.

The business management element of this degree will help you to understand core areas such as the macro-environment where you will develop your understanding of the political, social, technological, economic, and cultural factors that can have a major impact on international businesses. You will investigate the unique nature of a firm's international operations and enhance your comprehension of international business strategy.

You will analyse human behaviour in organisations, organisational behaviour and explore the key concepts and issues in operations and quality management. You will examine business strategy and activities including a virtual business game simulation that will give you the opportunity to put the theory you've been learning on the course into practice.

Within the data science component of the degree, you will develop your understanding of the core principles of the subject. From programming in Python to the cutting-edge applications of artificial intelligence, you will learn the latest tools and theories across this exciting discipline.

The programme will develop your skills and knowledge into new and exciting areas. For example you will learn how to deal with uncertainties in large data sets and how to create appropriate statistical models. This means you will not just be able to use the techniques in data science, but you will have a comprehensive understanding of the underpinning theories that support them.

Our flexible curriculum also offers a wide variety of optional modules that on diverse topics from marketing, accounting and human resource management to software engineering, web technologies and data ethics and security. This will enable you to tailor your degree to your career aspirations and interests.

Strengthening your employability

Work Placement Year*

In an increasingly competitive job market, employers are seeking to recruit employees who have high-level knowledge, skills and an understanding of the workplace. Choosing a work placement year between your second and third year, is a fantastic way to gain industry experience. It can provide a valuable insight into what working in a specific area of business is like, gives you the chance to familiarise yourself with the professional working environment and develop professional networks, and provides the opportunity to apply the theory you’ve learnt on your degree course.

*Students who require a visa to study in the UK may be able to add in a work placement depending upon the programme. The ability to add a work placement is dependent upon the UK Immigration rules at the time of the request. It may be that for some programmes students will not have the option to request a placement period to be added to their programme before they arrive in the UK and would need to apply for a new visa. There is no guarantee that a placement will be provided and that students who have a visa are subject to a number of restrictions on the type of work, including placements they can undertake.

International Year

In between years two and three of your studies you can choose to spend a year or a semester studying abroad. This exciting opportunity enables you to understand your field from different cultural perspectives and to establish international networks.

It also shows you have the personal attributes to embrace new experiences which can enhance your employability. We offer exchange opportunities with a wide variety of partner institutions.

Entrepreneurship Year

An Entrepreneurship Year provides you with the opportunity to showcase your innovative abilities and ideas to develop your business aspirations. If you’ve ever wanted to establish your own start-up or have been inspired by your studies this entrepreneurship year is an amazing opportunity to develop your own business idea. You will undertake your entrepreneurship working within Keele’s Smart Innovation Hub.

The Entrepreneurship pathway is available to UK and international students. Yet for international students, the availability of the Entrepreneurship pathway is subject due to the latest visa regulations.

Engage with academics at the cutting-edge of research

Keele is a research-led university which means your lecturers are actively conducting research at the forefront of their areas of expertise.

Staff in Keele Business School are active researchers in core areas such as accounting, finance, economics, human resource management, marketing and management. Their academic work will inform your learning, incorporating recent theories and current themes to open discussion in your subject area. There are professional support staff on hand to answer any queries you may have during your undergraduate studies at Keele.

Our academics in Keele Business School are multicultural and multinational, bringing an international aspect to the School’s teaching, research and business activities. Find out more about research in Keele Business School.

Within Data Science our academic research specialisms span a wide remit and feed into modules in the latter years of your degree.

Our research themes include:

• Health and cultural informatics
• Artificial intelligence
• Machine learning
• Computer vision
• Evolutionary robotics
• Computational and probabilistic tools and algorithms to simulate problems in applied science and engineering
• Computational approaches for solving inverse problems for imaging and ensuring safety and security.

Find out more about our Data Science research

Student Support

We offer a robust multi layered student support structure to help you meet your academic and personal needs. You will benefit from the guidance of an academic mentor and access to Keele's Student Experience and Support team.

Our open-door policy enables you to engage with your lecturers directly, meaning you can seek support, gain feedback, or discuss any matters relating to your studies on a regular basis. In addition to this, experienced students and doctoral researchers usually run help-desk sessions especially when exam and coursework deadlines get closer.

Societies

We have a wealth of student-led societies at Keele which cover a diverse range of interests. Joining a society related to Business and Data Science is a great opportunity to continue to develop your computing, web design or multimedia skills away from your studies. This is another excellent way of demonstrating your genuine interest for the area and can be beneficial when it comes to applying for graduate roles.