Business and Management - good or not?

Hi there,
originally I was going to study international business at Loughborough and was set on that. However , upon visiting Glasgow and experiencing the night life, seeing the uni and accommodation I am really keen on going here. However, the closest they do is business management , which is fine but I wasn't sure if its the best option and if its as broad as international business is? I know Loughborough is a great uni but I just prefer the feel of having diverse students from Scotland Ireland etc in Glasgow and how big the town was. My other concern is that the course for business involves studying computer science, or maths alongside it? Or can you study just business because I am no good at any of that! Also , at Loughborough the course is very flexible and you can pretty much pick what you want to study , does the same apply at the business school in Glasgow?
Any comments or help would be incredibly appreciated as I am very confused as to what to do!
Thanks,
Jasmine )))))

Hi, i am English student who is currently in my first year at the University, my major subject is Economics, but i do Business as one of the optional subjects you have to study within the first year.

You do not have to take computer science nor do you have to take Maths. You do have the option to take those subjects alongside business.
If you major in Business Management then you will have to take two different subject in the first year, you have full choice from social sciences, the arts and humanities as well as the Sciences. This is also because you might change your mind as to what you want to pursue as a part of your main degree.

As for the Business Management course itself, in the first year you will be following the syllabus itself, so their are no separate units within the first year of the course. The separate units will come into effect in later years.

and yes the Uni is very diverse, when i came here i thought i would be swamped by Scots, but i am surprised at the number of English people studying up here as well.

Hope this helps.

Thank you this is helpful , ok that's good . Is the course good , would you say it's interesting etc. what topics do you cover mostly? How is it moving from England to Scotland, and what A levels did you get?
Sorry lots of questions
Thanks

No problem.

In terms of the Business Management course the focus for first semester is around Organisational Behaviour, this breaks down and covers a large amount of aspect of the organisation (i can elaborate further if you would like)

The other subject i take apart from Economics and Business is Politics. Since you have to take two other subject in your first year.

The move up here cost me around £80 for a flight plus 20 for the taxi to my accommodation. Other students are very friendly (as you would expect) and a fairly wide range of demographics here, though unsurprisingly the major demographic are Scots. Lovely sites around with the Universities own museum and Kelvingrove not far away as well.

Its also surprisingly very safe to be honest.

My A levels were ABB.

I can provide more advice if you would like.

Yes that would be very helpful thank you.
What is organizational behavior about? Why did you decide to come to Glasgow not an English one, because I understand there are universities higher up in the leagues table though Glasgow isn't that high for business. What is the accommodation like and is the business department good in terms of graduate opportunities and support throughout the course?
Thanks again

Hi there,
originally I was going to study international business at Loughborough and was set on that. However , upon visiting Glasgow and experiencing the night life, seeing the uni and accommodation I am really keen on going here. However, the closest they do is business management , which is fine but I wasn't sure if its the best option and if its as broad as international business is? I know Loughborough is a great uni but I just prefer the feel of having diverse students from Scotland Ireland etc in Glasgow and how big the town was. My other concern is that the course for business involves studying computer science, or maths alongside it? Or can you study just business because I am no good at any of that! Also , at Loughborough the course is very flexible and you can pretty much pick what you want to study , does the same apply at the business school in Glasgow?
Any comments or help would be incredibly appreciated as I am very confused as to what to do!
Thanks,
Jasmine )))))

Hey there,

like 10panditj I am pretty interested in Glasgow's Business Studies!
I currently have an offer for a joint degree in Business Management and Psychology. Glasgow's reputation for psychology is tremendeous but I am still a little concerned about the Business part.

I was particularly surprised by the posts in this thread:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1972223

I am totally aware that such opinons can be complete bullsh**, but still I would love to hear from a few people who are currently studying Management at Glasgow, because it is quite hard to find personal opinions on the web which are not absolutely over the top in either direction!

What do you want to know?

Also for psychology, they take around 300 people on every year, about half of which don't progress to honours!

What I want to know, let's see...
1. What is the general quality of professors in the course? Are they passionate about their subject?
2. Does the course live up to Glasgow's reputation? (Or is it rather mediocre and only benefits from Glasgow's overall reputation?)
3. Is it useful internationally?

Concerning your comment on Psychology, it is pretty much the same here in Germany since too many people just think "that sounds kinda cool"! But I didn't apply for university to drop out after second year so let's hope I'll be part of the successful 50% :P
Thank you a lot for your thoughts!

Just quickly on the point of psychology - it's not that the students that don't make it are poor, it's that there are a number of really good students vs limited places on the honours course. Essentially, you could be achieving high grades and still not make it.

As to your other points:
1) As with every schools, there are some lecturers who are extremely passionate and some who aren't. For the most part, they are extremely switched on and passionate - perhaps because the university is research intensive and the academics are still involved in research. Martin Beirne is one of the most charismatic, passionate guys I've ever had the pleasure of learning from. Stelios Zyglidopoulos is another great mind - originally taught at Judge Business School at Cambridge University. There are more of course, but these two particularly stand out for me. On the whole, the staff are engaging, passionate and readily available to help you out.

2) I would say the course does live up to the 'Glasgow reputation'. It's challenging, totally customizable and has some really good practical courses with links to industry. Morgan Standley, PwC, KPMG etc are all represented quite a lot throughout the year in terms of on campus recruitment, coming in to do mock interviews and sponsoring careers events.

Don't get me wrong, I get the impression the business school does realize it could and should be doing better - the university are investing in it in terms of courses offered, staff coming in and resources in general.

3) Of course it will fair well internationally. The brand name of the university is well known and respected worldwide and you can tailor your course to be whatever you like it to be. We also have excellent links to partner universities you can spend a year at through Russel Group and Universitas21. UCLA Berkley, McGill, Hong Kong University to name a few.

That said, if you wanted more 'international' content; you could look at Strathclyde. The offer a well regarded international business course and the business school is highly ranked (albeit more postgrad than undergrad).

Thank you a lot! That's what I call an answer! Seems like my concerns were not realistic at all. Of course no course is perfect but from what you say I think I could be very happy studying in Glasgow.

I've also applied to Strathclyde, but they haven't made their decision yet. But from what I've heard by now, Glasgow would be a damn good choice!

To the topic of psychology, pardon my quick assumptions. I guess the situation here and in Scotland/Glasgow is quite different in the end. Still, nice to know what I might have to deal with! But I'll think about that when I've started studying, I can only give it all I've got and see where it takes me.