Business Enterprise Development MSc

Study MSc Business Enterprise Development at Aston University and unleash your entrepreneurial potential. 

Develop entrepreneurial skills and practice through learning by doing, and working with others to create and run a productive organisation.

Supported by a select group of team coaches, including academics, successful entrepreneurs and prestigious Aston alumni, you will gain valuable experiences and practical learning in a supportive environment.

Suitable for graduates of all disciplines, as well as those with professional experience but without an undergraduate degree.

What is enterprise development?

Study our innovative MSc Business Enterprise Development degree at Aston University to give yourself the best start to learning about how to develop, sustain and grow a business. It has been adapted from the globally renowned ‘Team Academy’ model of entrepreneurship from Finland and built on the following principles:

• Develop your entrepreneurial capacity and mindset through learning by doing
• Experience the development of a real organisation that you own with a team of others
• Determine your own learning focus and needs, supported by team coaches who are there to support you to develop your skills and capability to grow a business.

This programme puts application and experience at its core. You will develop your entrepreneurial know-how as well as crucial teamwork and leadership skills by starting and running an organisation as part of a group of like-minded Team Entrepreneurs (students).

All our assessments involve practical business activities, such as pitching your business idea, creating a business plan as well as a market research project. You’ll develop vital entrepreneurial skills, gain valuable, first-hand business experience as well as receive feedback and support with your development.

If you enjoy the idea of generating your own learning experiences as and when you need them (just-in-time learning) rather than traditional methods of learning, then this masters course could be for you.  Instead of attending lectures, you will be coached as a team with your peers to develop your ideas, generate business practice and share your learning.

How will my skills develop?

We enable you to put entrepreneurship and management principles into practice. From identifying business ideas, evaluating their commercial viability, conducting market research, pitching for investment and creating formal business plans. The programme covers the entire start-up journey in a practical way.

You’ll manage and take on a series of challenges and opportunities to grow your organisation. This means, you’ll learn about vital business tasks, such as marketing strategy and product or service development. These experiences and insights will help you to develop the commercial skills needed to build a successful business venture.

How will this course help my career?

Our emphasis on teamwork and successful collaboration helps to emulate this key feature of successful businesses – their ability to create high-performing teams. You will work as part of a team throughout the course, and we provide teams with regular, specialist coaching. This will enable you to be on the forefront of new working practices, as team based environments are now commonplace working structures in organisations around the world.

The team coaching sessions are tailored to the needs of the team and organisation that you create, as well as the people within it, providing a rich and unique learning experience. You’ll develop key teamwork, followership, communication, management and leadership skills, all of which will be beneficial whether you choose to pursue your own business venture, a career in consultancy or management/leadership roles.

Modules

The MSc Business Enterprise Development course has been designed to equip you with the skills and experiences needed to set-up and run a successful business venture, whether that’s setting up your own business or social enterprise or working as an innovator and intrapreneur within another organisation.

Core modules

Enterprise Creation and Management

Creating and Leading High-Performance Teams

Academic Effectiveness and Applied Research

Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Business Enterprise Professional Practice

Corporate Social Responsibility Challenge

The course content is built around three key elements:

Enterprise development and growth
Giving you the chance to set up and grow a real-life business. You’ll experience the entire process of starting a commercial venture or social enterprise, from generating business ideas to options to fund the growth of your venture.

Team development and growth
This will develop key teamwork skills, allowing you to build and maintain effective working relationships in a professional context. You’ll explore emotional intelligence, effective communication techniques and how to overcome cultural differences when working in a multicultural team.

Personal development and growth
Equipping you with the leadership, followership and teamwork capabilities and soft skills required of successful business leaders. You’ll become a skilled negotiator, develop an entrepreneurial mindset and enhance your managerial, leadership and followership qualities by putting these skills into practice during practical business activities.

If you have any questions about the application process please get in touch with our postgraduate admissions team:

Email: pgadmissions@aston.ac.uk

Call: 0121 204 3200 (Please note this line is open Monday-Friday between 10am-4pm)

Please click here for guidance on completing the postgraduate application. 

Entry Requirements

One of the following:

• A good UK honours degree, minimum Lower Second Class (2:2) in any undergraduate degree discipline.
• Equivalent overseas degree recognised by Aston University.

OR:

• At least 3 years work or entrepreneurial experience in combination with either BBC at A level or DDD at BTEC level, or
• At least 7 years work experience with at least 5 GCSE’s at C and above, including English and Mathematics.

As well as:

• Two professional references – at least one must be from an academic referee.
• An official academic transcript of your university grades to date
• A completed application form.
   

If you are shortlisted, you will receive an interview invitation which will be conducted virtually or on campus. The virtual / in person interview is a compulsory element of the application process and no offer will be made without a successful interview being conducted first. When applying, please ensure you include an up to date email and telephone number as this is important information for us if you are shortlisted for an interview. Further information about the interview and application process will be made available to you post-application.

International students

• An official academic transcript, with an official English translation, of your university grades to date.
   
• Students whose native language is not English will also need to satisfy our English language requirements. 
   
• For more information about qualifications, view our Aston in your country webpage.
   
• Aston University provides a range of opportunities for international students to join our community and study on our campus. A key part of our strategy is our relationships with teaching partners, providing multiple pathways to Aston. 
   
• For more information about completing a foundation year, visit our foundation year webpage.

Part-time route

The part-time option is not available to international students due to visa restrictions. 

Our MSc Business Enterprise Development course is a unique and innovative task-based learning experience. Rather than traditional lecture based delivery, you’ll experience team coached sessions, action learning groups and creative boot camps to enable you and your team to thrive. 

Our approach is to put practice and teamwork at the heart of our teaching. Rather than having lectures, you’ll learn by actually setting up and managing a real organisation. This will help to develop key entrepreneurial skills and competencies. It will also provide you with invaluable experience in enterprise development, which can help you to build a successful business in the future.

Teamwork

Companies, businesses or organisations are rarely created in isolation, therefore, teamwork is a key focus of this course. We work with teams to provide specialist coaching and support. These regular sessions can be tailored to the needs of the team and individuals within it, which will enable you to collaborate effectively, develop your teamwork skills and learn through shared experiences.

Assessment

Our assessments are all practical and involve authentic entrepreneurial tasks. These include activities such as, pitching for funding, personal reflection exercises, developing business plans, team and leadership activities, as well as a marketing research project. These assessment tasks will help you to develop crucial entrepreneurial skills and give you first-hand experience of key start-up business activities.

Tuition fees for students are reviewed annually and may increase in subsequent years in line with inflation linked to the Retail Price Index (RPI) to take account of the University’s increased costs of delivering the Programme. Any such increase shall always be in accordance with the law. When undertaking a placement year a placement year fee applies.

More information on fees and funding

UK postgraduate loans

If you're thinking about studying a masters course with us, you may be eligible for a postgraduate loan to help with course fees and living costs. 

Find out more here.

Scholarships

At Aston University we are committed to supporting the most talented and hardworking students to achieve their potential by providing a range of scholarships to help lower tuition and living costs. 

Find out more about our scholarships here.

Cost shouldn't limit your career aspirations, which is why we are delighted to offer all Aston University graduates (including exchange students) a 20% loyalty scholarship in standard taught MA, MSc and Full-time MBA course fees. Students who have completed their first degree at Aston University will receive an automatic scholarship when applying for their course. If you are not an Aston University graduate there is still a range of UK and international scholarships that you can apply for.

This means that as an Aston University graduate applying to our MSc Business Enterprise Development course, you could save...

As an Aston University graduate, you will automatically qualify. For more information visit our webpage.

You’ll develop key teamwork, communication, management and leadership skills, all of which will be beneficial whether you choose to pursue your own business venture, a career in consultancy or management/leadership roles.

Working as part of a team throughout the course, will help you to develop vital skills in understanding what successful teams look like.

The coaching you will be provided with will be tailored to suit you and will help you to develop key attributes that will help you within your future career.

Previous graduates of MSc Business Enterprise Development have started their own businesses, taken over the management of family enterprises, worked in project management and innovation roles, and consulted with start-ups to get off the ground.

International students

Aston University is a diverse, close community and welcomes international students on many of our postgraduate programmes. Students from over 120 different countries choose to study with us every year and Aston is not only a great place to study, based in the centre of Birmingham it’s also a great place to live.

Ask one of our International alumni about their time studying with us. They will be happy to share their thoughts on moving to Birmingham to study their course and answer any of your questions from their own experiences.

Find out more

Post-study work visa

Graduate Immigration Route

Aston University welcomed the creation of a new Graduate Immigration Route which enables international students to remain in the UK for two years after you complete your studies to find work. This new post-study work visa applies to international students completing full-time undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Find out more information about the Graduate Immigration Route.

Why study Business Enterprise Development at Aston University?

Our unique course will equip you with a breadth of business skills and experiences that you will learn by doing. Working as part of a team to create and develop a business venture, you will also be supported by a team of coaches including lecturers, entrepreneurs and Aston Alumni. This means, your learning experience will be tailored to you.

What kind of career will I develop with a masters in Business Enterprise Development?

You’ll develop a deep understanding across business functions, and relevant skills and experiences that will help you whether you want to run your own business, work in a leadership or management role or work within an organisation in an entrepreneurial way (intrapreneurship).

Why choose to study with Aston Business School?

Aston Business School is part of an elite group of business schools thanks to our triple accreditation from AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA. We can help to enhance your career prospects, boost your earning potential and set you on the path to a successful, and rewarding career. 

Aston University is renowned for its excellence in teaching and research and the employability of our graduates. At Aston Business School we are committed to innovative approaches to teaching and education. We are dedicated to providing students with a competitive advantage in the jobs market by delivering the knowledge students need to pursue the many career tracks available to them with a background in international business. Teaching on the course is informed by our world-class scholars and provides you with a deep understanding and skills for conducting business on a global scale. At Aston University, we aim to prepare students for the real world challenges. There are plenty of opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience and apply their knowledge in real-life situations by engaging in live projects and internships.