BBA Hons Business Administration with specialisation in Marketing (Bahrain)

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Key facts

  • Study mode and duration: 4 years full-time
  • Location: Based in Bahrain

  • Start Date: September

  • Scholarships: Scholarships available

Study with us

Delivering eight new undergraduate programmes, the University of Strathclyde, Bahrain will bring the distinctive approach to academic excellence and world-class research that Strathclyde is known for. Teaching will take place in our new premises in Harbour Heights, Bahrain Bay.

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Why this course?

When you choose to study with us, you’ll join an internationally rated school with an excellent global reputation for teaching and research.

The programme builds your confidence and entrepreneurial capabilities and promotes awareness of globalisation and ethical issues in personal and business decision-making.  

A particular feature of the BBA (Hons) with Marketing is the compulsory Leadership Development Programme (LDP) which will cover areas such as leadership, negotiation, entrepreneurship, ethics and strategic management, as well as honing your practical skills in areas of IT, numeracy and research methodology.

Manama City at night, Bahrain.

THE Awards 2019: UK University of the Year Winner

What you'll study

Year 1

The first year covers a range of modules aiming to develop knowledge and skills across:

  • English Academic Skills
  • Quantitative Methods
  • Strategy and the Business Environment
  • Accounting and Finance
  • Economics
  • HR and Organisational Behaviour
  • Marketing
  • Operations

Year 2

Compulsory classes are Leadership Development Programme 1, Academic Skills and several business subjects. You'll also select two optional modules.

Year 3/Honours year

You'll continue to Leadership Development Programme 2, as well as studying several compulsory classes across business and marketing subjects throughout Year 3.

Leadership Development Programme (LDP)

A particular feature of the BBA is the compulsory Leadership Development Programme (LDP) which runs during Years 2 and 3. This is the equivalent of the Management Development Programme (MDP) undertaken in our other degree programmes. On the LDP you'll cover areas such as leadership, negotiation, entrepreneurship, ethics and strategic management, as well as honing your practical skills in areas of IT, numeracy and research methodology.

Academic Skills

This module aims to provide you with key skills to succeed throughout university, towards employment. Over two semesters the module will support capacity building in academic practice, assessment and feedback, teamwork, and communication, as well as introducing students to research, data analysis and tools for the digital environment. You'll be encouraged to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses to identify developmental areas to work on throughout their first year and beyond.

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Course content

You'll complete the following compulsory modules during the course:

History of Bahrain

Human Rights

Arabic language

Arabic Language (for native speakers)

Or

Arabic Language (for non-native speakers)

Quantitative Methods

This module aims to provide students with an opportunity to develop and demonstrate core mathematical and statistical analysis skills relevant to their proposed degree studies in Business.

Academic English Skills

This module aims to provide thorough training in the language and related academic skills which will enable you to best achieve your academic potential at the University of Strathclyde.

During this module, you'll learn how to:

  • use effective reading strategies to identify the main lines of argument in academic texts and find specific information
  • record effective notes during academic activities
  • develop your ability to develop an academic argument

Strategy and the Business Environment

This module aims to provide students with knowledge of the external environment in which firms operate and how they develop a business strategy to try to succeed in this environment. This module will provide essential tools and theories related to business strategy that provide business students with an insight into how firms make high level strategic decisions that can have a major impact on the firm.

Accounting and Finance

This module aims to provide students with a basic knowledge of Accounting and Finance, and in doing so prepare them for study at undergraduate level in a Business or Finance related degree. Students will explore how firms record and use financial data and how they manage their financial operations. The module aims to provide business students with the essential knowledge and skills in both accounting and finance that will form a solid foundation from which to evaluate and compare the performance of organizations based on public financial data.

Economics

This module aims to provide students with an introduction to Economics and in particular its relevance to the world of business. The module will focus on both microeconomics and macroeconomics.

HR and Organisational Behaviour

This module aims to provide students with knowledge of how organisations function. The module will provide essential tools and theories relevant to organisations and the people who work in them, and covers issues related to individuals, the role of culture in organisations, leadership, motivation, organisational structure, rewards systems, performance management and recruitment.

Marketing and Operations

This module aims to provide students with knowledge of the marketing and operations functions surrounding the decisions firms make on the following: which products to bring to market, how they will price them, how they will promote them, who they will target, and how they will make the product. The module will provide an overview of the theories and models relevant to both marketing and operations management. It is aimed at providing a foundation of knowledge from which students can evaluate the performance of an organisation in the relevant areas.

Compulsory modules

Introduction to Finance

This module aims to provide you with an introduction to finance. The concepts and theories covered will be at an introductory level.  You'll develop a basic understanding of how finance functions operate and businesses analyse the environment in which they are operating.

Academic Skills

This class aims to support you in developing key skills that are important to both your academic and future career. These include skills associated with:

  • research
  • data analysis
  • critical writing
  • team working
  • communication

Leadership Development Programme 1

On the LDP you will cover areas such as leadership, negotiation, entrepreneurship, ethics and strategic management, as well as honing your practical skills in areas of IT, numeracy and research methodology.

Understanding Consumers & Markets

Many of the fundamental concepts of marketing are based on an ability to understand consumers and how these concepts can be implemented more effectively when adequate information about the market and potential consumer behaviour is available.

In this module you will explore factors that influence consumer behaviour and shape consumption practices. The module will draw upon psychological theories to examine how memory, social influence, personality, attitudes and learning influences consumers. You will develop an understanding of consumer behaviour from both managers and consumers perspectives.

The module will also introduce you to key concepts and techniques in market research and how market research can be used to understand consumers changing behaviours. The module will provide you with an in depth understanding of qualitative and quantitative research methods and prepare you for practical market research projects.

You will also gain an opportunity to acquire an industry recognised qualification from the Market Research Society.

The assessment for this module is a combination of individual and group coursework.

Services & Retail Marketing

The service sector is large and a growing feature of the UK economy. In addition, most manufacturing, and product-based organisations (e.g., IBM) encompass extensive service functions as well as product operations. As consumers, we purchase services everyday- be it retail banking, shopping at a supermarket, going to a restaurant, visiting the hairdresser, using transportation services, or engaging with experiential services such as tourism, sports, theatre. Therefore, it is important to understand the problems and challenges in designing and delivering high quality services for customers and businesses.

This module will encourage you to explore and reflect on real world services. The module will help you understand the unique characteristics of services and how service organisations require a distinct approach to marketing strategy both in its development and in its execution. You will draw upon your foundational learning knowledge of marketing in Year 1 such as the marketing mix and further learn about the extended marketing mix.

The module will also provide you with insight into service retailers. You will learn about key elements of service retailers that influence the development of retail strategies and the interaction between consumers and retailers at both in-store and online operational levels. You will also develop an understanding of the dynamic nature of supply chains and innovative distribution channels. You will explore different retail contexts and the supply chain relationships required to create value alongside strategies for sustainable practices.

The assessment for this module is a combination of individual and group coursework.

And two from the following options:

Analysing & Improving Operations

This class is one of the two undergraduate Business Analysis & Technology classes before the Honours year that apply various approaches to operations management problems. Following on from the fundamentals in the first year class, this class introduces you to the subject of operations management in detail and provides opportunity for you to apply some of the basic decision analysis techniques, including simulation, in this context.

Intermediate Macroeconomics & Data Analysis (20 credits)

This module builds upon the macroeconomic foundations established in the first-year Economics module and both extends and deepens analysis. In particular, this module will develop your ability to use key models used to analyse the determination of output in the short run and in the medium run. We will also cover some topics in the analysis of economic data including correlation and simple regression.

New Venture Planning

This class is designed to provide a practical introduction to drawing up business plans and understanding how new ventures are managed and developed. It will not follow the traditional lecture pattern but will be highly interactive. You'll be involved in individual and group activities which will encourage creative thinking and “learning by doing” in addressing the real opportunities and challenges that face the first-time entrepreneur.

 

Compulsory modules

Leadership Development Programme 2

TBC

Organising & Managing Across Cultures

This class aims to allow students to:

  • understand cross-cultural variations and their impact on international human resource management
  • appreciate the importance of the often overlooked ‘soft skills’ of management
  • equip students with knowledge and skills of management in an international business context
  • develop critical thinking skills

Marketing Communication in the Digital Age

This class will outline and discuss the strategic role of marketing in a digital context, and further elaborate on the integration of digital marketing, social media marketing, mobile marketing and traditional and digital marketing communications.

Strategic Marketing in an International Context

This core class addresses the strategy formulation and planning aspects associated with strategic marketing management as it is applied in domestic and international contexts. The class offers students an analytic decision-oriented approach for the development and implementation of international marketing strategy.

And two from the following options:

Venture Management Strategy & Growth

Having established a good understanding of the economic and social impact of entrepreneurship, opportunity identification, and starting and resourcing a new venture in previous modules, in this class you're presented with the challenges and opportunities of managing and growing the venture in a sustainable way. Through working with local businesses, you'll have the opportunity to assess the management practices of Scottish SMEs and consult them on their growth strategies.

Understanding & Optimising Business Systems

The first part of the course will introduce and build experience in two problem structuring methods, SODA and Soft Systems Methodology. The second part will establish an overall understanding of how supply chains work as well as appropriate modelling approaches to address various operational challenges. The third part of the course will introduce basic mathematical optimisation modelling and present how it can be used to tackle problems in different business systems, including applications in supply chains.

The fourth and final part of the course will introduce the students to the ideas of Multi-criteria Decision Analysis to make students aware of the importance of carefully defining objectives when intervening in business systems. Overall, the course will equip students with the qualitative and quantitative analytic skills and techniques in order to make action recommendations for performance improvements in complex business systems.

Intermediate Microeconomics

 This class is one of the two undergraduate Business Analysis & Technology classes before the Honours year that apply various approaches to operations management problems. Following on from the fundamentals in the first year class, this class introduces you to the subject of operations management in detail and provides opportunity for you to apply some of the basic decision analysis techniques, including simulation, in this context.

Advances in Consumer Behaviour

This class provides you with an understanding of some of the contemporary issues and challenges in understanding consumers. Building on the undergraduate Consumer Behaviour class, this module aims to develop your ability to analyse consumer behaviour in a variety of situations and to explore the complexity of 21st century consumption.

The class reviews consumer trends and the significance of consumer culture, and then explores topics that are the focus of recent research attention. Current topics include:

  • consumer identity (possessions and body image)
  • consumer vulnerability
  • postmodern consumers
  • consumer tribes
  • consumption spaces
  • consumers and celebrities
  • consumers and ethics

Brand Management

The importance of brands raises significant questions of how to develop brand equity and how to communicate a branding strategy of differentiation, value and identification. The role of the Brand Manager is reviewed along with formulating the necessary communication strategies to build brand equity and secure market share.

More recent approaches in this vein suggest that the traditional Brand Management approach is all too limited, leaving many questions unanswered. Consequently more recent approaches address the co-construction of brand value, through viral branding, using social media, co-branding and brand extensions. In this respect, the principles of branding are now being applied beyond simply new product development, to such strategies as places, communities and countries.

Other key strategies that may be discussed include, luxury branding, nation branding, business-to-business branding and corporate brands.

International Business Management

This class examines the theoretical underpinnings which help explain the operations of such enterprises, covering both international business strategy and international business management. This will be achieved by exploring contemporary issues in academic thought and international business practice.

Sustainability, Marketing & Society

This class explores sustainability and the role of marketing in society as an agent of change. Marketing as a discipline is often tarnished by the assumption that it focuses on encouraging overconsumption, driving sales for sales sake and is misleading the public. Whilst this is often true, marketing also has a substantial role to play in tackling the biggest challenges in our society, and in particular driving societal discourse and market change towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This class builds from a foundation of evidence-based marketing, driven by systems thinking, understanding full product and service life cycles and fact-led decision-making. Ensuring the claims made and communication approaches employed are substantiated, well-designed and targeted at change for good. A number of different techniques are explored to identify and exploit vectors for change through different approaches to understanding market systems, targeting key stakeholders to drive change, and marketing tactics for reshaping market, organisational and consumer behaviour. The class is an advanced marketing class, assuming a sound grounding in areas of consumer behaviour, branding, strategic marketing and marketing research as a foundation on which more advanced concepts can be built.

Dissertation

To be taken in your principal Business subject if you choose to specialise, or in any area of business if you take the BBA without specialism.

Learning & teaching

Classes are taught through lectures, tutorials, and seminars alongside team-based projects, online materials, and interactive sessions using personal response systems.

The innovative and highly acclaimed  Leadership Development Programme (LDP) is at the core of our undergraduate degrees in the Business School and comprises a series of classes which you take throughout Years 2 and 3. 

You develop knowledge and skills in key areas of management, and team-working, communication and decision-making skills, all of which are highly sought-after by employers.  The programme builds your confidence and entrepreneurial capabilities and promotes awareness of globalisation and ethical issues in personal and business decision-making.

Assessment

The majority of classes involve a final unseen exam which is normally at the end of the semester. This is normally supplemented by individual and/or group coursework.

Students normally have one opportunity to be re-assessed for a failed class. Exam resits normally take place during the summer.

A range of assessment techniques are used including:

  • business reports
  • case studies
  • essays
  • presentations
  • individual and group projects
  • learning journals
  • peer assessments
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Entry requirements

The University of Strathclyde, Bahrain accepts a range of academic qualifications for entry to its programmes.

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Thanawiya/High School Diploma

Students should have successfully completed their high school diploma and have achieved an overall score of 80%, with 80% in relevant subjects for their chosen degree programmes.

International Qualifications (for example A-Levels, IB Diploma, US High School)

We accept a wide variety of international qualifications for admission to our degrees.

Advanced entry may be possible in certain cases (from the 2025/26 academic year onwards).

Please email bahrain@strath.ac.uk for further information and advice on possible entry points and criteria.

English Language

Students are required to demonstrate proficiency in English for entry to our courses. This may be evidenced through previous study in English or a recognised English language test.

Please email bahrain@strath.ac.uk for detailed advice.

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Fees & funding

All fees quoted are for full-time courses and per academic year, unless stated otherwise.

Fees may be subject to updates to maintain accuracy. Tuition fees will be notified in your offer letter.

All fees may be subject to revision.

Fees may be subject to updates to maintain accuracy. Tuition fees will be notified in your offer letter.

All fees are in £ sterling, unless otherwise stated, and may be subject to revision.

Annual revision of fees

Students on programmes of study of more than one year (or studying standalone modules) should be aware that the majority of fees will increase annually. The University will take a range of factors into account, including, but not limited to, UK inflation, changes in delivery costs and changes in Scottish and/or UK Government funding. Changes in fees will be published on the University website in October each year for the following year of study and any annual increase will be capped at a maximum of 10% per year.

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Republic of Ireland

If you are an Irish citizen and have been ordinary resident in the Republic of Ireland for the three years prior to the relevant date, and will be coming to Scotland for Educational purposes only, you will meet the criteria of England, Wales & Northern Ireland fee status. For more information and advice on tuition fee status, you can visit the UKCISA - International student advice and guidance - Scotland: fee status webpage. Find out more about the University of Strathclyde's fee assessments process.

Fees

7,500 BHD

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Start date: Sep 2025

(1 year entry)

BBA Hons
full-time
Start date: Sep 2025

Direct Applications

Our Direct applications service is for international applicants who wish to apply to the University of Strathclyde at this time.

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Contact us

Admissions team

Email: bahrain@strath.ac.uk