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Business Entrepreneurship and Innovation BA (Hons)

Develop your entrepreneurial and creative skills and apply them to real-life situations on a course that helps prepare you for the working world.

You deserve a positive teaching and learning experience, where you feel part of a supportive and nurturing community. That’s why most students will enjoy an innovative approach to learning using block teaching, where you will study one module at a time. You’ll benefit from regular assessments - rather than lots of exams at the end of the year - and a simple timetable that allows you to engage with your subject and enjoy other aspects of university life such as sports, societies, meeting friends and discovering your new city. By studying with the same peers and tutor for each block, you’ll build friendships and a sense of belonging.

Overview

Building enterprise is seen as one of the most effective ways to realize individual promise and spur the economy. Entrepreneurial minds are constantly refining ways to produce and deliver goods and services, develop new products and services, or indeed create new industries. Preliminary research shows how vital entrepreneurial thinking is to this process, driving our national prosperity.

Whether you want to launch your own business or change an existing organisation, this programme immerses you in the world of creative business thinking, helping you to prepare for employment after university. You will develop your entrepreneurial and creative skills and apply them to real-world situations.

Taught by lecturers with industry experience, this course will hone your key competences as you study core topics that cut across business and entrepreneurial practice. Innovative modules will teach you relevant knowledge and equip you with practical skills. You’ll be able to take part in a collaborative consultancy project with businesses in the Leicester area and simulate a new venture creation using SimVenture software. You will also have the opportunity to pick the optional final year module, Venture Creation Project, where you will get to create a feasible and compelling solution to a new business venture within a specific market and pitch your idea to a panel consisting of staff, experienced entrepreneurs and potential investors.

Key features:

Study a stimulating, challenging and interesting programme, designed to arm you with vital skills and competencies in preparation for life after university.
Practice-focused modules will use SimVenture simulation software.
The work-based, live case study assessment gives you experience of working with real companies as a consultant to enhance your employability skills.
Create a feasible and compelling solution to a new business venture within a specific market and pitch your idea to a panel consisting of staff, experienced entrepreneurs and potential investors as a part of the Venture Creation Project module.
Benefit from the expertise of our lecturers, many of whom have worked in business and bring real-world experience into the classroom.
Guest lectures from business experts add real value to your experiential learning.
Placement opportunities with local, national and global companies. Past students have landed roles in purchasing and logistics at Siemens and as a management trainee at Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

Benefit from block teaching, where most students study one subject at a time. A simple timetable will allow you to really engage with your learning, receive regular feedback and assessments, get to know your course mates and enjoy a better study-life balance.

Scholarships

DMU offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships and bursaries to help you realise your academic ambitions.

International student scholarships

Find out about available international scholarships or visit our fees and funding page for more information.

UK
EU/International

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: NN21

Duration: Three years full-time, four years with a placement.

Fees and funding:

2025/26 tuition fees for UK students: £9,250

Find out more about additional costs and optional extras associated with this course.

How to apply

Submit a study-related enquiry

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: NN21

Duration: Three years full-time, four years with a placement.

Fees and funding:

2024/25 tuition fees for international students: £15,750.

Find out more about available funding for international students.

Find out more about additional costs and optional extras associated with this course.

How to apply

Application guidance document

Submit a study-related enquiry

Entry criteria

Entry criteria

GCSEs

Five GCSEs at grade 4 or above including English and Maths

Plus one of the following:

A levels

A typical offer is 112 UCAS points. You need to study at least two subjects at A Level or equivalent (e.g. BTEC)

T Levels

Merit

BTEC

BTEC National Diploma - Distinction/Distinction/Merit
BTEC Extended Diploma - Distinction/Distinction/Merit

Alternative qualifications include:

Pass in the QAA accredited Access to HE overall 112 UCAS tariff with at least 30 L3 credits at Merit.
English and Maths GCSE required as separate qualification. Equivalency not accepted within the Access qualification. We will normally require students to have had a break from full-time education before undertaking the Access course.

International Baccalaureate: 26+ points.

Mature students

We welcome applications from mature students with non-standard qualifications and recognise all other equivalent and international qualifications.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 6.0 overall with 5.5 in each band (or equivalent) when you start the course is essential.

English language tuition, delivered by our British Council-accredited Centre for English Language Learning, is available both before and throughout the course if you need it.

UCAS tariff information

Students applying for courses starting in September will be made offers based on the latest UCAS Tariff.

Contextual offer

To make sure you get fair and equal access to higher education, when looking at your application, we consider more than just your grades. So if you are eligible, you may receive a contextual offer. Find our more about contextual offers.

Structure and assessment

Year 1

Block 1: Entrepreneurship and Innovation Today
Block 2: Fundamentals of Business Theory and Practice
Block 3: Marketing Principles for Entrepreneurship
Block 4: Entrepreneurial Finance

Year 2

Block 1: Creative Branding, Buying & Selling
Block 2: Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics
Block 3: Business Analytics and Research Skills
Block 4: Managing Projects and Consulting Live

Year 3

Block 1: Critical Perspectives on Entrepreneurship
Block 2: Business Strategy and Governance
Block 3: Digital Transformation and Entrepreneurship
Block 4: Students choose one of the following:
- Venture Creation Project
- Dissertation

See detailed module information

Note: All modules are indicative and based on the current academic session. Course information is correct at the time of publication and is subject to review. Exact modules may, therefore, vary for your intake in order to keep content current. If there are changes to your course we will, where reasonable, take steps to inform you as appropriate.

Teaching and assessment

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars, group work and self-directed study.

Assessment is through a varied range of innovative coursework methods (presentations, essays and reports) and usually an exam or test. Examples of coursework include:

A work-based live case study in which you visit and work with a real company as a strategy consultant
Studying different types of leadership and working in groups on different projects where you take it in turns to be the leader of a small team

Assessment is typically weighted as follows in your first year:

Exam: 28%
Coursework: 72%

These assessment weightings are indicative only. The exact weighting may vary depending on option modules chosen by students and teaching methods deployed by the academic member of staff each year. Indicative assessment weighting and assessment type per module are shown as part of the module information. Again these are based on the current academic session.

Teaching contact hours

This is a full-time course. Each module is worth 30 credits. It is expected that student will spend a total of 300 hours of study for each module. You should be prepared to devote approximately 10 contact hours a week to your studies and additional independent hours of study in order to succeed. Teaching is through a mix of lectures, tutorials, seminars and lab sessions and the breakdown of these activity types is shown in each module description.

Other: In addition, each module provides a two-hour surgery each week for individual consultation with the lecturer. You will also have timetabled meetings with your personal tutor and careers and/or subject meetings scheduled throughout the year.

Self-directed study: In order to prepare for, and assimilate, the work in lectures and seminars you will be expected to use our on-line resources, participate in flipped or virtual classroom discussions on our virtual learning environment (VLE) and engage in personal study and revision for approximately 25 hours per week.

Facilities and features

Hugh Aston Building

You will have access to our purpose-built Hugh Aston Building, equipped with lecture theatres and classrooms, break-out spaces for group work, quiet study zones for individual work and IT labs. Wherever possible, students will be given home access to specialist software.

You’ll also have access to the building’s new £5.5 million extension called The Yard, which provides more than 22,000 square metres of extra space. This is designed to facilitate your learning experience with large and airy breakout spaces, a new Student Advice Centre, and a balcony on the top floor. The Yard also features more comfortable classrooms and self-study spaces, allowing you to carry out independent study as well as group work.

Library services

On campus, the main Kimberlin Library offers a space where you can work, study and access a vast range of print materials, with computer stations, laptops, plasma screens and assistive technology also available.

As well as providing a physical space in which to work, we offer online tools to support your studies, and our extensive online collection of resources accessible from our Library website, e-books, specialised databases and electronic journals and films which can be remotely accessed from anywhere you choose.

We will support you to confidently use a huge range of learning technologies, including Learning Zone, Collaborate Ultra, DMU Replay, MS Teams, Turnitin and more. Alongside this, you can access LinkedIn Learning and learn how to use Microsoft 365, and study support software such as mind mapping and note-taking through our new Digital Student Skills Hub.

The library staff offer additional support to students, including help with academic writing, research strategies, literature searching, reference management and assistive technology. There is also a ‘Just Ask’ service for help and advice, live LibChat, online workshops, tutorials and drop-ins available from our Learning Services, and weekly library live chat sessions that give you the chance to ask the library teams for help.

Campus Centre

The home of  De Montfort Students' Union, (DSU) our Campus Centre offers a welcoming and lively hub for student life. Conveniently located at the heart of campus, it includes a convenience store, a Subway and a Starbucks. Here you can find the DSU-owned charitable accommodation service Sulets and DSU’s shop, SUpplies, selling art supplies, stationery and clothing, and printing and binding services. The building is also home to the DSU officer team.

Opportunities and careers

DMU Global

Our innovative international experience programme DMU Global aims to enrich studies, broaden cultural horizons and develop key skills valued by employers.

Through DMU Global, we offer an exciting mix of overseas, on-campus and online international experiences, including the opportunity to study or work abroad for up to a year.

Placements

An optional paid placement year offers invaluable professional experience.

We can help you secure a placement through activities such as mock interviews and practice aptitude tests, and you will be assigned a personal tutor to support you throughout your placement.

We advertise posts in all locations in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, including some international posts.

Our students have taken placements with companies including Pfizer, Nissan, Volvo, FedEx, Ernest Young and Bosch.

Graduate careers

Employers are now looking for graduates who possess the types of enterprising skills and attitudes taught on this course, enabling them to be successful across a range of different environments and contexts.

Recent graduates have gone onto roles such as Business Analyst at Capita, Supply Manager at Cummins, General Management Graduate at Network Rail and Business Process and Design Analyst at Vodafone.

Take your next steps

Nine halls of residence and around 2,300 rooms, all of which are within easy walking distance of the campus.

Run by students for students, DSU offers more than 150 societies and almost 40 different sports clubs for you to get involved in.

Business Entrepreneurship and Innovation BA (Hons)

Block teaching designed around you