Having a degree can boost your earning potential and promotion prospects, and allow you to make an even greater contribution to your organisation.
In this blog, Leadership, Business and Management course leader Dr Hamid Foroughi explains that studying for a business degree while working is possible and can enhance your career opportunities.
Is it possible to get a degree while working full-time? We hear this question a lot and the answer is yes, you definitely can, and we’ll help you.
We have decades of experience working with people who are studying part time. We’ve found that studying while working is not just possible, it measurably grows your ‘value’ to an employer.
Those we teach have shown time and again that having a degree has fast-tracked their career, and has often led them into management and leadership roles.
Who can study for a Leadership, Business and Management degree?
Our BA (Hons) Leadership, Business and Management top-up degree course is designed for those in work who want to top up a Foundation degree to a full Bachelor's degree.
- It’s part-time over 18 months.
- Business degrees suit a wide range of people.
- It doesn’t matter if you’re an extravert or an introvert.
- It doesn’t matter if you come from the public or private sector.
- It doesn’t matter if you’ve not studied at university level before.
- If you’ve got the drive and ambition to study, we will give you a leg up and help you achieve your dream of having a business degree.
- All it takes to succeed in business is a well-plotted path at one of Portsmouth’s part time business degree courses.
You'll graduate with the skills to tackle any issues that arise in business. And you’ll boost your chances of earning more and being promoted, while making a valuable contribution to the business you work in.
Excellent teaching and support
Our teaching and support staff are superb and work as a team, making sure your experience is well rounded. Our lecturers have many years’ experience working in industry and in researching in all aspects of business, from leadership and strategy to business improvement and process re-engineering. Portsmouth Business School was voted the third Most Influential Business School in the World by the Financial Times Teaching Power Rankings 2021.
You are given a personal tutor to help you navigate the challenges of both learning alongside work, and of narrowing down your focus to ensure your studies bring the maximum benefit to both your current employer and your own career aspirations.
You’ll have a dedicated faculty librarian who is a specialist in business sources to support your studies, too.
One of the biggest benefits of studying BA leadership, Business and Management (top up) is that we help students balance their study and work commitments by scheduling classes on the same afternoon each week. Most lectures are also available online, ensuring you can catch up on anything you miss or revisit new ideas and concepts as many times as you wish.
We like to think of it as us working in partnership with you and your employer.
How can I juggle studying while working?
There are lots of ways to juggle the competing demands of working while studying, including getting good at your own time management. It’s helpful, too, to make yourself take breaks to let your learning ‘settle’ and bed down in your mind. Another technique is prioritising your tasks so that the things that matter the most are done first, or learning when to say no so you can manage your workload.
It can help if you have a dedicated space and time to temporarily shut out the world and get your head down in the books and teaching sessions, such as a specific study room or location.
We can help with this as you study alongside others facing the same challenges as you. Together you’ll learn tactics to balance your academic studies and other responsibilities.
The course provides the underpinning required to become a successful leader and effective manager. The units are carefully planned to build your knowledge and academic skills in a logical order which meant I could see my progress as each assignment passed. I really enjoyed the opportunity to debate, discuss and share ideas and experiences with my peers from different industry backgrounds.
Studying for a degree can improve your career
You'll graduate with the skills to tackle any issues that arise in business. And you’ll boost your chances of earning more and being promoted, while making a valuable contribution to the business you work in.
One good thing about studying business with us is that much of our course is designed to relate to real issues you face in your workplace. I encourage my students to bring their workplace into the lecture theatre and seminar rooms. Reflecting on your personal work experiences brings theory to life.
You’ll learn about topics such as strategic management, change management and business strategy, and learn how to manage people effectively. You'll also delve into leadership theories and develop your critical thinking and research skills.
Most of you will be able to complete your assignments based on data from your own workplace – so your projects are not just real, they’re projects focusing on challenges your employer is facing. As you can imagine, this greatly increases your value to your employer.
Several of our graduates now run their own very successful businesses and we’ve seen time and again that those who have a business degree have a much higher chance of working as a consultant with a lucrative salary. Having a business degree also opens doors to working almost anywhere in the world.
By learning as you work, you can maintain an income while putting what you learn into practice. You’ll deepen your understanding of key business, leadership and management subjects that are vital for a successful business career.