Skip Navigation

BSc (Hons) International Business course preparation

To help you feel prepared for your BSc (Hons) International Business studies, we’ve gathered together a range of course related activities including suggested reading, useful websites and some great things to do right now. Read on to find out more:

Suggested reading

You’ll be given far more information about which textbooks to read and introduced to the University Library, as well as the many ebooks we have for you to access when you begin your studies. And we don’t recommend rushing out to buy texts before you arrive. But if you can pick up a second hand copy, borrow from a library, or access online, just one textbook is recommended to help you to prepare for your Year 1 modules:

• Boddy, D. 2020, Management: using practice and theory to develop skill, 8th edn, Pearson, Harlow, England.

During your studies, detailed and updated reading lists are issued in the module handbooks, which are provided in the first session of each module.

You may also want to get a head start by reading up on general business and management subjects and ensuring that you are aware of the current local, regional, national and world developments taking place. Good quality daily newspapers business/management supplements, and magazines are an ideal starting ground for this knowledge.

Useful websites

Depending on your areas of interest, you might want to visit:

Suggested tasks for summer

Although we don’t recommend any particular pre-reading before you arrive, if you want something to keep your mind ticking over, we recommend that you try reading one of the following:

  • The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail (2014) by Clayton M Christensen
    If you want to know how new business ideas destroy the old, this is a great place to start and gives you a really good understanding of innovation.
  • Whoops!: Why everyone owes everyone and no one can pay (2010) by John Lancaster
    A very funny but accurate account of the global financial meltdown.
  • Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (2009) by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
    This book will show you how to look at common things in a new light with nice bite-sized chapters to explore.

Meet your programme leader