MSc — 2026 entry International Business Management
Build your understanding of global strategy, business development and management practices on our International Business Management masters. You’ll develop skills to lead successfully in multinational organisations, thrive as an international consultant, and help businesses expand globally.
5,972+ people have created a bespoke digital prospectus
Why choose
this course?
- Gain the skills employers want by exploring different dimensions of global business and international management, including strategy, trade, marketing, HR, finance, business reporting and research.
- Learn from internationally respected academics and experienced consultants – you’ll study with lecturers who can bring their extensive international business experience into the classroom. Many are recognised as global experts in their field.
- Meet business leaders and enjoy field trips – get a deeper insight into how top organisations operate through guest lectures, events, and site visits to globally renowned employers. Recent highlights include taking part in the Data to Impact Challenge, pitching business proposals to the Hatchery, and a study trip to SKEMA Business School in France.
- Apply your knowledge in real-world projects – critique real-life business scenarios, prepare insightful reports, and offer creative solutions to genuine business problems, including in your International Business Project. Previous student projects feature Santander and McLaren.
- Grow your network in our supportive business community – connect with professionals from across the world who have similar ambitions. Plus, you’ll benefit from the wide-ranging practical support all international students receive at Surrey.
- Make AI part of your business skillset – learn how to use AI to support essential tasks like market analysis, business reporting and global opportunity evaluation, while developing your own critical judgement around the practical and ethical challenges AI creates.
We’re preparing you for the future by integrating AI into every course, building digital skills, confidence and creativity that employers value in tomorrow’s workplace.
Statistics
Fantastic graduate prospects
91% of our Surrey Business School graduates go on to employment or further study (Graduate Outcomes 2025, HESA).
14th in the UK
And 100th in the world for business and economics in the Times Higher Education World Subject Rankings 2026.
Top 100 in the world
For business administration and for management in the ShanghaiRanking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2025.
Accreditation
What you will study
Studying our degree in International Business will help you to gain a thorough understanding of how successful businesses continue to have an international reach, despite the many challenges posed by the modern world.
You’ll learn how to manage a multinational business, develop and implement global strategies, and adopt the techniques required to control multinational business environments. All key skills that employers will be looking for.
We’ll teach you how to effectively formulate and implement global strategies to succeed in international business. We’ll spark your interest by teaching you about the techniques and knowledge that professional managers need to control multinational business environments. You can also expect to explore areas such as the management of responsibility and ethical considerations.
You’ll experience an inspiring combination of our research findings and case studies from international firms and, in the process, discover why adopting some of the best, forward-thinking management techniques from around the world is crucial to success.
Professional recognition
MSc - Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
Accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
Please note that the modules E-Business Strategy and Business Reporting Techniques are taught from June to July and the International Business Project is undertaken from August to September.
The structure of our programmes follows clear educational aims that are tailored to each programme. These are all outlined in the programme specifications which include further details such as the learning outcomes:
Modules
Modules listed are indicative, reflecting the information available at the time of publication. Modules are subject to teaching availability, student demand, and/or class size caps.
The University operates a credit framework for all taught courses based on a 15-credit tariff, meaning all modules are comprised of multiples of 15 credits.
Course options
Year 1
Semester 1
Compulsory
The world-wide political and economic liberalization and continuous technology improvement in the last three decades have brought unprecedented flows of goods, services, labour and capital across national boundaries. International business today comprises a larger and ever-growing portion of the world’s business and global events and competition affects almost all companies. A company operating internationally will engage in modes of business that are different from those it is accustomed to domestically. International business management is the process of applying management concepts, theories, and techniques in a multinational environment so that firms can become and remain international in scope. Moreover, a comparative view of management and organization in internationally operating firms is provided to understand these processes in detail.
View full module detailsManagement of Human Resources is an introductory module and available to students undertaking a range of MSc programmes at the Surrey Business School. It is intended to provide a firm understanding of the theory and practice of Human Resource management and its strategic role in contemporary organisations. This module covers core functions of HRM and their integration within business strategy as well as contemporary topics concerning management of people. By the end of this module, the students will have gained a foundation knowledge base of HR as a function in organisations and its strategic role in achieving business objectives through people management.
View full module detailsBusiness operates in both a market and a nonmarket environment, the latter being the space where the formal and informal rules governing market competition are set and enforced. A successful corporate strategy aligns the firm's capabilities with the demands of both its market and nonmarket environment. This module systematically examines the political, regulatory, societal, cultural, and natural factors that shape a business' nonmarket environment. Students learn how to analyse and proactively manage the nonmarket environment through integrated market and nonmarket strategies.
View full module detailsThis module provides students practical and theoretical knowledge of International Marketing in contexts, operations and strategies. It aims to develop students’ critical thinking and ability to apply and adapt theories to cases in international marketing.
View full module detailsSemester 2
Compulsory
This module provides students with both a theoretical and practical understanding of International Trade, considered from an international political economy (IPE) as well as management perspectives. This is done through the assessment of International Trade from different angles, predominantly from the international trade management view, the international trade operations dimension, the state’s perspective, from the international trade regime perspective (the GATT and WTO) but also from the perspective of the international society, regional cooperation and the perspective of business and industry.
View full module detailsThis is a compulsory module for the MSc International Business Management programme. Being the final element of the programme, it provides an opportunity to conduct study on a real international business situation and reflect on it. Students will identify a topic area of interest that they wish to develop further through their project. This must be relevant to their programme of study. The module is largely based on self-directed study and research, which takes place during the summer. The learning strategy is designed to develop the students’ ability to conduce and report independent research. It builds on the Business Reporting Techniques module, allowing students to gain experience of applying some of the principles and methods learned. Students should build on the outcomes and feedback received in the Business Reporting Techniques module and develop a project – using secondary research – that demonstrates the successful understanding of the module’s aims and outcomes. The students will have opportunity to understand the techniques essential in writing business reports in the taught module “Business Reporting Techniques”. The project is unsupervised, which means you will not be assigned a supervisor. Instead, two support sessions will be conducted by the module leader to assist students to gain a comprehensive understanding of the requirements of the report.
View full module detailsThe Business Reporting Techniques module enables students to understand a research problem and source, process and conduct appropriate research while preparing a report. It facilitates independent learning process and provides them with the knowledge, skills and understanding required to articulate findings in a structured format. By covering the fundamentals of research techniques and their applications, this module will enable students to work independently for the project module. This module expects students rely on almost everything they learn in the International Business Management Programme.
View full module detailsIn an increasingly globalised business and business environment, it is necessary for management students to learn how to strategies internationally viable global strategies. This module covers a variety of topics such as global strategic analysis, global strategy formulation, and global strategy execution. Strategy-related subjects shape at least half of the contents in this programme.
View full module detailsThis module introduces students to the main principles of accounting and finance and demonstrates the importance of these to management decision making
View full module detailsThe main aim of this module is to get students ready for conducting professional and academic (dissertation) research. Whereas all stages of a research process are covered in this module, the clear focus is on conducting qualitative and quantitative studies to support marketing decisions in response to business opportunities or problems. More specifically, this module offers the relevant framework for making the informed marketing decisions. The module is organized around the stages of a marketing research project (e.g. problem definition, design, data collection, data analysis, and documentation). The course will be of particular value for students planning careers in marketing research and marketing consulting.
View full module detailsOptional
The module provides an opportunity for students to apply their understanding of key theories and debates in International Political Economy (IPE) to current developments and case studies. Students will be able to discuss and debate the role of the main IPE institutions. Current and future challenges to the status quo of IPE are discussed as well.
View full module detailsThe course is mainly aimed at reviewing modern theories of international finance, with special reference to developing economies. This module starts with micro foundation of macroeconomics, that is, intertemporal optimization. Then it exposes students fundamental topics of international finances such as risk sharing, exchange rate, and currency crises. It also emphasizes the importance of empirical analysis with recent econometric methods.
View full module detailsThe module is an advanced, research-led module on sustainability and social innovation. It offers research-led insights into current issues and anticipated trends in sustainability, social innovation, and the changing role of business in society. The module will consider the current theory and critically examine the corporate practice of managing for sustainability, including aspects of corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, innovation and strategic, operational and supply chain solutions for improving sustainability on an international scale. We will examine the social, environmental, economic and business case for sustainability in the global context and reflect on the possible trajectories for the advancement of the sustainability agenda. We will study the emergent trends in organizing for the fulfilment of social needs that are insufficiently (or not at all) addressed by either the private or public sector and examine the case for the social enterprise. We will examine the practice of social entrepreneurship and innovation and reflect on the transferability of the model to more traditional organizations. We will examine how value is created through social innovation and enterprise and look at the associated challenges and opportunities for the future.
View full module detailsInternationalisation is a very substantive feature of the retail industry, with implications for retail competition, retailer strategy, retail development, digitalisation and supply chain management among other issues. A considerable and growing body of academic and practitioner literature surrounds this issue. It highlights some of the potential complexities and enduring challenges of retailing in an international environment and provides a valuable body of knowledge to inform future international marketing managers and retail marketing managers.
View full module detailsThe world is increasingly complex and interconnected and there is a need to identify and manage the resulting hazards and risks (WEF, 2011). Business is facing unprecedented risks. The level of uncertainty and tensions resulting from climate change, pandemics, trade wars, geopolitics and just- in-time supply chains require the identification and strategic management of risk. A successful business manages its downside risks and takes advantage of opportunities resulting from upside risks. This module provides students with a fundamental understanding of uncertainty, hazards and risks required to succeed in business. Many of the increasing unanticipated commercial costs of risk are related to incomplete hazard identification (Goh and Chua, 2010). This course will provide you with an understanding of generic and operational risks of business, using research-led insight into the identification of risk, hazards, and uncertainty. The module facilitates learning through a combination of case studies and insight from practitioners and professionals in risk management. The course provides students with the opportunity to produce a Strategic Risk Management Report. Students work in groups to identify, analyse, and propose a risk management strategy for a corporate or public institution. Students will use the knowledge and skills gained from risk professionals and practitioner lectures, literature, frameworks, and real-world examples which are embedded in the module to produce a Strategic Risk Management report. The course equips students of management with key risk management skills to confidently communicate verbally and in written format risk management required for the strategic management of risk.
View full module detailsOptional modules for Year 1 (full-time) - FHEQ Level 7
For further information regarding programme structure and module selection, please refer to the course catalogue.
General course information
Contact hours
Contact hours can vary across our modules. Full details of the contact hours for each module are available from the University of Surrey's module catalogue. See the modules section for more information.
Timetable
New students will receive their personalised timetable during Welcome Week. In later semesters, at least one week before the start of the semester.
Scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week (Monday – Friday), with part-time classes normally scheduled for one or two days. Wednesday afternoons tend to be for sports and cultural activities.
View our code of practice for the scheduling of teaching and assessment (PDF) for more information.
Location
This course is based at Stag Hill campus. Stag Hill is the University's main campus and where the majority of our courses are taught.
We offer careers information, advice and guidance to all students whilst studying with us, which is extended to our alumni for three years after leaving the University.
Of our Surrey Business School graduates are in employment or further study within 15 months of graduating (Graduate Outcomes 2025, HESA).
A degree in International Business Management MSc leads to a career in many roles, for example:
- Multinational manager
- Regional manager
- Country manager
- HQ-subsidiary co-ordinator
- Strategic business analyst
- Business development manager
- Management consultant in international business
- Supply chain manager.
Giang Tran
Student - International Business Management MSc
Abdulsalam Aderibigbe
Student - International Business Management MSc
UK qualifications
A minimum of a 2:2 UK honours degree, or a recognised equivalent international qualification.
We may be able to take relevant work experience into consideration if you don't meet these requirements. If you have at least one year of relevant experience in a full-time graduate-level role (or a minimum of two years’ experience in a relevant graduate-level part-time role) please provide full details of your role and responsibilities in your personal statement and CV when you submit your application.
English language requirements
IELTS Academic: 6.5 overall including 6.0 in each category.
These are the English language qualifications and levels that we can accept.
If you do not currently meet the level required for your programme, we offer intensive pre-sessional English language courses, designed to take you to the level of English ability and skill required for your studies here.
International Pre-Masters
Prepare for postgraduate study and boost your career prospects. This is an intensive programme of academic subjects, study skills and English language preparation designed to help you succeed.
Credit Transfer and Recognition of Prior Learning
We recognise that many students enter their course with valuable knowledge and skills developed through a range of ways.
If this applies to you, the recognition of prior learning process may mean you can join a course without the formal entry requirements, or at a point appropriate to your previous learning and experience.
There are restrictions on some courses, and fees may be payable for certain claims. Please contact the Admissions team with any queries.
Scholarships and bursaries
Discover what scholarships and bursaries are available to support your studies.
Fees per year
Explore UKCISA’s website for more information if you are unsure whether you are a UK or overseas student. View the list of fees for all postgraduate courses.
- These fees apply to the academic year 2026-27 only. Fees are reviewed annually, and tuition fees may increase for courses running over more than one year.
Payment schedule
- Students with Tuition Fee Loan: the Student Loans Company pay fees in line with their schedule (students on an unstructured self-paced part-time course are not eligible for a Tuition Fee Loan).
- Students without a Tuition Fee Loan: pay their fees either in full at the beginning of the programme or in two instalments as follows:
- 50% payable 10 days after the invoice date (expected to be October/November of each academic year)
- 50% in January of the same academic year.
- Students on part-time programmes where fees are paid on a modular basis: cannot pay fees by instalment.
- Sponsored students: must provide us with valid sponsorship information that covers the period of study.
The exact date(s) will be on invoices.
Funding
You may be able to borrow money to help pay your tuition fees and support you with your living costs. Find out more about postgraduate student finance.
Apply online
To apply online first select the course you'd like to apply for then log in.
Select your course
Choose the course option you wish to apply for.
Sign in
Create an account and sign into our application portal.
Apply options
Apply options
UK applications
Please note that we may have to close applications before the stated deadline if we receive a high volume of suitable applications. We advise you to submit your application as soon as it is ready.
ApplyOverseas applications
Please note that we may have to close applications before the stated deadline if we receive a high volume of suitable applications. We advise you to submit your application as soon as it is ready.
ApplyAdmissions information
Once you apply, you can expect to hear back from us within 14 days. This might be with a decision on your application or with a request for further information.
Our code of practice for postgraduate taught admissions explains how the Admissions team considers applications and admits students. Read our postgraduate applicant guidance for more information on applying.
About the University of Surrey
Need more information?
Contact our Admissions team or talk to a current University of Surrey student online.
Terms and conditions
When you accept an offer to study at the University of Surrey, you are agreeing to follow our policies and procedures, student regulations, and terms and conditions.
We provide these terms and conditions at the offer stage, and again at registration. You will be asked to accept these terms and conditions when you accept the offer made to you.
View our generic registration terms and conditions (PDF) for the 2025/26 academic year, as a guide on what to expect.
Disclaimer
This online prospectus has been published in advance of the academic year to which it applies.
Whilst we have done everything possible to ensure this information is accurate, some changes may happen between publishing and the start of the course.
It is important to check this website for any updates before you apply for a course with us. Read our full disclaimer.