Undergraduate Certificate - Business & Social Studies

Undergraduate Certificate (International Year One) in Business & Social Studies

The Undergraduate Certificate in Business and Social Studies leads to Single Honours degrees in subjects including Accountancy, Business, Economics, Film & Media, Finance, Journalism, Management, Marketing, and Sociology, plus over 30 Combined Honours degrees.

The academic structure of the Undergraduate Certificate includes six core modules to improve students English, Maths and study skills. In addition Business and Social Studies route students study a choice of elective modules relating to their area of interest. See modules and key information below.

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Core Modules
Business and Social Studies Modules
Key Facts
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Core modules

Academic English Skills (AES ) 1: Develop your ability to read academic texts, write extended texts, write subjective notes, listen effectively and participate in classroom discourse.

Academic English Skills (AES ) 2: Improve all your abilities developed in AES1 with greater accuracy, speed, coherence, organisation and presentation.

Academic English Skills (AES ) 3: Learn to use your study time more effectively, improve your use of information sources and develop your research skills in preparation for producing an extended, referenced, academic essay.

Mathematics and Statistics: This module contains both algebra and statistics. You will develop your knowledge and understanding of mathematical terms and techniques, and apply these to solving problems, frequently drawn from practical and real-life situations.

Academic and Personal Development Planning: This module will encourage you to focus on your degree choice and career aspirations and will require you to build a portfolio to show your development over the length of your programme. As part of this module we will also help you to ensure that your IT and independent learning skills are welldeveloped, so that you can succeed in your degree studies at the University of Stirling.

Business and Social Studies Modules

Economics 1: Learn to understand economic systems, types of goods, allocation of resources, elasticity, price controls, types of markets, cost and revenue, economies of scale and market failure.

Economics 2: Learn about aggregate demand and aggregate supply, economic policies, inflation, unemployment, international trade and development economics.

Sociology 1: Learn about the life and culture of Britain through key sociological topics such as ‘the family’ and ‘class’.

Sociology 2: You will have a further opportunity to study British life through the topic of ‘the mass media’, including issues such as ownership and control, public service broadcasting and how the media provide a picture of contemporary Britain, especially crime and deviance.

Sociology 3: The main aim of this module is to introduce you to social policy (employment, health, education, housing, social security) and to show a variety of approaches can be applied to address social issues in these areas.

Business Models and Management Accounting Techniques: Develop your understanding of the operational and strategic problems facing business people in the modern market economy. Learn about the role of management accounting in providing managers with the information for decision-making, planning and control.

Accounting and Finance: Learn about double entry book-keeping, preparation of trial balances, profit and loss statements, depreciation, limited companies, manufacturing accounts and interpretation of accounts.

Choice of Modules

Note that it is necessary to take specific modules in other routes to qualify for progression to some Combined Honours degrees. ISC staff will advise on the most appropriate elective choices on arrival at the University.

Key facts

Course length	3 terms
Tuition fee	See fees page
Entry points	September or January
Term dates	September 2011 start: Term 1 - 12 September to 9 December 11 Term 2 - 16 January to 23 March 12 Term 3 - 10 April to 15 June 12 January 2012 start: Term 1 - 16 January to 23 March 12 Term 2 - 10 April to 15 June 12 Term 3 - 18 June to 24 August 12
Entry requirements	English: IELTS 5.0 or equivalent - Students with IELTS 3.5 or above can first study one or two terms of English Language Preparation (ELP) Academic: Good high school graduation grades or equivalent academic study For recognised academic and English language qualifications and information on ELP see entry requirements page
Course structure	The programme is modular and comprises 6 core modules and 4 elective modules. You take 4 modules in term 1, 3 modules in term 2 and 3 modules in the last term.
Assessment	End of module/term: a combination of examinations, coursework, presentations and extended essays Continuous: a mixture of lecture classes, small-group seminar work and directed self-study
Progression	On successful completion of the foundation course students can progress to: the second year of a University of Stirling undergraduate degree in selected subject areas the first year of any undergraduate degree at the University of Stirling

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International Study Centre