Overview
What is Business Studies (Joint Honours)
The business aspects of this degree will result in a graduate with the knowledge and skills necessary to work in, understand, and critically evaluate practices within markets, organisations and business management. The study of Business is the study of the integration of a range of fundamental practices of business including finance, marketing, leadership, strategy, accounting, corporate social responsibility, business ethics, and broad management skills designed to explore and enhance our understanding of how companies and industries operate and flourish.
Business Studies: The course for you?
You will enjoy this course if you have a core interest in business but would also like to develop and engage with either computer science or law. The business aspects of the programme will provide you with a depth of engagement and understanding of the various aspects of markets, organisations and business management.
If you are thinking of Business and Computer Science, then you will like to focus on problem-solving, using logical and mathematical skills and you will also engage with management and business subjects which will help you action these in the commercial world. Computer Science at Trinity is challenging and exciting with a focus on innovation and cutting-edge technology. To get the best from the course, you need to be interested in developing clear logical ideas about situations and about how to develop algorithms for computers to deal with these situations. You should be comfortable using mathematical techniques to solve problems. If you are knowledgeable about computers already, to the extent of building them or writing programs for them, so much the better – but bear in mind, no prior knowledge of computer science is assumed.
If you are thinking of Business and Law, then you would like to gain an in-depth understanding in the disciplines of law and business and develop a critical understanding of both the legal framework of business activity and the economic and commercial context in which law operates. You will have the opportunity to focus on the many areas of overlapping interest between the two disciplines. These include the structure of companies and other forms of business organisation; competition law and regulation of markets; consumer law, labour law; finance and financial markets; taxation; the protection of intellectual property and international perspectives on law and business. This course is aimed at individuals seeking a career defined by the application of legal principles and management practices. The programme will provide you with a firm grounding in law along with strong management skills, enabling students to choose from a wide range of career opportunities or further study.
Graduate skills and career opportunities
Students taking this Joint Honours programme are prepared for challenging careers in business and computer science/law, as well as positioning them for postgraduate study and research in either of these fields. Both government and industry have identified a need for more graduates with these unique combinations of these skills and the business programmes in Trinity offer a unique grounding in ecological, social and governance that are now indispensable to management in the 21st century. Graduates of this programme are employed in a variety of roles and areas, hired by multinationals, such as Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, and by consultancy and accountancy firms, such as Ernst & Young, Accenture, MRBI, PwC, and KPMG, within the public sector and for small and medium-sized businesses. The entrepreneurial route is also popular and encouraged and many students have started their own business and won entrepreneurship awards as undergraduates while others have done so as graduates. Other students have pursued Master’s and Ph.D. studies in business and computer science or law disciplines.
Your degree and what you’ll study
From a business perspective we provide critical engagement with the various business disciplines spanning four main focuses which progress over the four years of study.
- Immerse yourself in the contexts and fundamentals of business within the natural resources and limits of the planet
- Broaden your business knowledge
- Develop practical experience and international exposure
- Deepen your expertise
In order to obtain an adequate grounding in each discipline, students will be required to complete certain mandatory modules, largely taught in the Fresher (first two) years. The Sophister (third and fourth) years will allow students to choose from two/three streams depending on their interests and pathways There is a minimum and maximum requirement in each discipline depending on the chosen pathway.
First and second year
In first year, students study introductory topics in Business and typically take all or some of the following business topics depending on the programme. The core subject areas such as Education for Sustainable Development, Management Theory, and Entrepreneurship
In the second year, Business students have the opportunity to study subjects in greater depth. For example, subjects studied include: Marketing, Accounting, Finance, Managing Climate Change, Sustainable Finance, Operations Management, Creative Thinking, Innovation and Entrepreneurial Action, and Organisational Behaviour.
Third and fourth year
In third year, students again take a combination of topic areas choosing form a larger selection of subjects which could include: Human Resource Management, Contemporary Marketing Management, Consumer Behaviour, Financial Accounting, Management Accounting for Business Decisions, Business in Society, Innovation, Introduction to Fixed Income, Securities and Alternative Investments, Entrepreneurship and Business Modelling, Corporate Finance and Equity Valuation, Services, Management, Digital Technology in Operations, Organisation Theory and Organisational Analysis, Investments, and Social Entrepreneurship.
In the fourth year, students study the following topics in even greater depth: Designing Social Innovations, Delivering Social Impact, Strategic Management Theory and Practice, International Business & the Global Economy, Exploring Organisational Experiences, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Derivatives, Advances in Marketing Theory and Practice, Digital Marketing, Managing People and Leading Change, Operations Strategy and Improvements, and International Finance.
Most modules involve a combination of continuous assessment, essays, projects, presentations, open and closed-book examinations focusing on self directed and experiential learning. There is a core focus on ecological limits and social foundations to business in the 21st century and students will be equipped to understand and act at a system-level to effect widescale change. There is some potential to apply for a limited number of study abroad options in the third year of both programmes.
Click here for further information on modules/subjects.
Study abroad
In third year students may have the opportunity to apply to study abroad for the full or half year with one of Trinity Business School’s partner universities. If accepted, this provides students with the ability to experience a unique academic, cultural opportunity and an exceptional personal experience. Further information on the year abroad programme, and a list of partner universities, can be found at: www.tcd.ie/business/undergraduate/study-abroad
