Rural Business Management (Top Up Degree)
Entry requirements
Scottish HND
Applications are considered for applicants who have completed a relevant HND qualification.
About this course
**Course Overview**
The course covers the fundamentals of business management:
Finance, Marketing, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, HR, Economics, Research Skills, Motivation and Leadership and puts them in a vocational rural context extensively supported by field trips.
The course has an experiential ethos and especially suits candidates with an active learning preference. There are many visits to real businesses where students enjoy activities and benefit from listening to owners and managers. The course is supported by guest speakers and students have the opportunity to attend prestigious conferences. Student work is routinely entered for national business competitions and our Rural Business Management students have reached finals [and won prizes] for the past 12 years in succession.
The course benefits from a close relationship with the Scottish Institute of Enterprise and the Institute of Agricultural Managers. The Scottish Institute of Enterprise awards extra certificates to candidates upon completion of innovation modules taught as part of the course and the Institute of Agricultural Managers offers free student membership and access to events and employment opportunities.
The aim of the course is to support Scotland’s natural economy; however, this is wide field which leads to many rewarding opportunities.
**Assessment Methods**
The RBM degree course uses a range of assessment methods from examinations and essays to work based learning with integrated practical tasks and role play activities.
The mix of assessment on the RBM programme enhances the overall quality of the SRUC student experience and links to the graduate attributes: Academically Competent; Critical Thinkers; Desire for Learning and Personal Development; Responsible Members of Society and Employability.
**Modules**
In 3rd year students have to take 8 modules. Some modules are core and others are elective choices. All modules benefit from guest speakers and/or industry visits and attendance at conferences
The 3rd year core modules are
- Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- Product Development and Branding
- Management Strategies
- Economic Policy and Analysis
- Research Skills and Data Analysis
- Advanced Case Studies
Students choose two modules from 4 elective choices
- Tourism in Rural Areas within the UK
- Active Tourism
- Multi Purpose Woodland Management
- Equine Business Management
The elective choices reflect the Ayr Campus specialist expertise in tourism and the vital importance of tourism and rural diversification to the Scottish economy.
The 4th year core modules are:
- Advanced Financial Management and Taxation
- International Marketing
- Professional Practice and Law
- Honours Project [3 credits]*
Elective choices include:
- Contemporary Issues in International Rural Tourism
- Topical Issues
- Wild card choice
*Honours Project
This module takes the form of a research project to encourage the development of investigative skills and to enable the critical evaluation and presentation of information. The focus is on in-depth, well-researched applied information with original insights.
Tuition fees
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What students say
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How do students rate their degree experience?
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Agriculture
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After graduation
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Agriculture
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
About 70% of the UK's land area is given over to agriculture, so this is a subject representing an important part of the country's economy. Typical starting jobs for graduates in agriculture include agricultural science, farming and farm management, but graduates also go into other areas, such as the horticulture trade, auctioneering and conservation. Agriculture graduates are also in increasing demand for one of the hardest-to-fill jobs in the country - surveying. Jobs for agriculture graduates are often in rural areas - in 2016, areas like Essex, Lincolnshire, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Yorkshire and Kent were all important for agriculture graduates.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Agriculture
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£24k
£26k
£27k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
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Graduate field commentary:
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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