Why I chose to study my undergraduate degree at Warwick Business School

Our undergraduate student ambassador, Shubh shares how his course in BSc Management has enabled him to discover where his interests lie in the world of business.

Before starting at university I had no idea what aspect of business I was most interested in. I knew that I had an interest in business as a whole but I had little knowledge about the many areas within business, and therefore wanted to keep my options open when it came to deciding upon a business degree to study. Before joining WBS, I was studying Mathematics, Commerce, Accounting, Economics and English in Mumbai, India. It was there that my deep interest in business was instilled. This motivated me to apply for the BSc Management course at WBS and enhance my knowledge in this field.

At WBS the various modules which are included in the first year of the BSc Management course ensure that all students are given the necessary exposure to pivotal areas within business. Before starting my degree, I thought that business was all about finance and marketing, but now I know that those areas of business are just the tip of the iceberg in the business world.

• Your first year teaches you the fundamentals of business

During my first year I studied modules which were based on different aspects of business including finance, marketing, economics, business planning, and business operations. As I studied these modules in my first term, I started to gain a better understanding of where my interests lie. I never really understood the power of statistics and how statistics play such an important role in decision making for businesses. I also really enjoyed learning about business planning and had the opportunity to create a startup of my own for the first time. Whilst studying my statistics module a few of my classmates and I worked on a startup which involved helping business people commute without having the hassle of carrying their luggage. Often many professionals need to travel to various different locations for business purposes and they need to carry their luggage with them the whole time. We thought that our business idea would help to eliminate this problem and we worked together, focusing on the funding required to start our business venture as well as assessing the risks, future cashflow, how the business would operate and how we would market the business. It was great fun and really put what I was learning into practice!

I also used my first year as an opportunity to get used to the different study methods and exam methods used at university. During my first year, I was exposed to different styles of assessments including online tests, essays, group work projects, presentations and written exams. I found this really useful as everyone at university comes from different educational backgrounds.

• The range of elective modules available allows you to adapt what you want to study

In the second year of my course, I was able to choose from several different elective modules to tailor my course to my interests. There were also several compulsory modules which all student must study. The idea of elective modules is to explore your interests further, and for my course in particular, I was able to select a chosen pathway in Finance, whereby my modules were more finance-based. I had the opportunity to build on the knowledge I had learned during my first year as well as learning some new modules which didn’t require previous knowledge. For example, I learnt about SAP software, a powerful enterprise resource planning tool used widely in the business world. You can also select elective modules which are not taught by WBS, such as learning a new language or a taking an elective module with the economics or law school. The flexibility of the BSc Management course is what initially attracted me to WBS and now I am able to experience the flexibility of the course myself, the decision to apply here was definitely the best decision I’ve made.

• The pathways allow you to focus your studies around your passion for a particular subject

By the end of my first year at WBS I had a fairly good idea of which area of business I wanted to specialise in, and I had the option of converting my degree from BSc Management to BSc Management with Finance by following the specific finance pathway. In order to do this, I needed to study a certain number of finance specific modules during my second and third year. Alternatively, the other recognised pathways I could have chosen were Marketing, Digital Innovation or Entrepreneurship. You don’t have to study a pathway, but if you have an interest in that subject area it’s great that WBS have created an option so that they can guide you to learn all about that particular subject throughout your degree.

• The real-life case studies WBS use within their modules make you feel prepared to enter the world of work 

The modules I have studied throughout my course have already given me a taste of what the world of business is about. In addition to this, my finance lectures begin with a five minute session discussing the main issues highlighted in the Financial Times which provides me with an insight into the specific areas we were going to focus on during the lecture. This has also allowed me to connect the theories I learn in my lectures to real world scenarios and has enabled me to understand the concepts better.

In our seminars, we also have the opportunity to discuss and learn from real life case studies from the financial world. I feel that the finance pathway has allowed me to explore the world of finance and has allowed me to relate various topics to what I see and read in the Financial Times. The pathway has also developed my critical thinking and analytical skills which will be crucial when entering the finance industry. I feel that the wide-ranging modules I have studied so far, from financing new ventures to mergers and acquisitions, has provided me with a well-rounded experience of learning about the world of finance.

Overall, the flexibility of my course was hugely important to me when deciding which university to attend, as I knew it would allow me to keep my career options open. Currently, in my second year of BSc Management, I can say that the degree has provided me with an infinite number of opportunities for my future career.

Find out more about Shubh's course, BSc Management, and our range of undergraduate courses.