Bachelor's Degree Programme in Business Management
Key learning outcomes
Bachelor of Business Administration is a business management degree that facilitates working in various fields, such as finance, accounting firms, the field of technology and IT, commerce and the public sector in supervisor, expert and development roles. In addition to this, the degree provides comprehensive prerequisites for starting and running a business. The education starting in January 2023 prepares students for tasks demanding legal competence in solving questions related to green transition, especially in expert, development and supervisor positions in private, public and third sector.
Bachelors of Business Administration have practical fundamental skills and competence related to the field of their choice as well as theoretical fundamentals in terms of business development and expertise. Bachelors of Business Administration also have excellent communications and cooperation skills, problem-solving skills, the prerequisites for conducting international and responsible business, versatile language skills and the prerequisites for constant learning.
Business management degree students are either selected for full-time or multiform studies. Those attending the full-time program are are usually younger students and those attending multiform learning programs are often older and already in working life. In addition to this, students are also selected through the open university of applied sciences for both the full-time and multiform learning programs. Each student drafts a personal learning plan, according to which they advance in their studies.
Education content and professional growth and know-how
Universities of applied sciences in Finland, including Jamk, have approved a joint programme for sustainable development and responsibility based on the Sustainable Development Goals that the UN accepted in 2015. The goal of the programme is a sustainable, responsible and carbon-neutral university of applied sciences by 2030.
School of Business (SB) has been a signatory member of the ‘Principles for Responsible Management Education’ (PRME) since 2011. PRME is a United Nations-supported initiative. It engages business and management schools to ensure they provide future leaders with the skills needed to balance economic and sustainability goals, while drawing attention to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and aligning academic institutions with the work of the UN Global Compact. Ethics, responsibility and sustainability (ERS) issues are widely integrated into SB’s operations and the promoting of ERS is one of SB’s strategic goals. SB has chosen an inclusion-approach to ERS-studies.
Competence is founded on developing skills during the degree program: competence in learning and data management; entrepreneurship, innovation and working community competence; international and communications competence; business competence and responsibility competence.
The basis for professional core competence comprises business management competence together with profitability competence and responsibility competence. In addition to business management competence, students will focus on their professional core competence by specializing in one of the following branches of business management after their first year of studies: digital business, finance, marketing, sport business, financial management and evolving management. In specialization studies, students learn the key theories in the field and practice applying them in real-world scenarios through various company cooperation methods, such as exercises and Future Factory project studies. In their theses, students deepen their competence in the theme of their chosen specialization.
In their third year studies, students will complement their competence by either expanding or deepening their competence through studies on a theme differing from their specialization. The practical training completed at the end of their studies in year four enables students to deepen their competence in their chosen specialization.
Professional core competence and complementary competence can also be acquired through shared online course offerings provided by universities, such as Campus Online and Edu Futura, or by participating in the exchange student program or completing practical training abroad.
Flexible studies
Multiform learning studies in business management are implemented entirely online. The full-time program also includes online courses. With the exception of the three initial orientation days, the business management multiform learning program can be completed entirely online. The amount of online teaching and number of teacher webinars as well as the proportions of independent familiarization, individual tasks and group tasks vary in the implementation of the courses. Some courses are studied independently. Some courses are not tied to any specific time, i.e. students may study whenever they want to within the set start and end dates for the course. Some of the courses contain webinars implemented with Zoom software Monday to Thursday between 5 and 8 pm.
Part-time studies allow students to combine work and studies flexibly. Online courses require the same amount of work from the students as classroom sessions. Self-direction and time management are vital in terms of advancing in the studies.
Courses for studying outside the degree program
Degree program courses are also available in the open university of applied sciences, which allows for other besides degree students to take courses. Companies may also purchase any entity they want and offer it as continuing education for their staff.
Students have a choice of alternative or elective studies offered by partner universities in Finland and abroad, such as other universities of applied sciences (CampusOnline), universities and educational institutions involved in the EduFutura collaboration (University of Jyväskylä and Gradia). Higher level studies completed elsewhere may be accredited as part of your degree. Skills acquired elsewhere can also be described and demonstrated to enable accreditation according to the Degree Regulations of Jamk. Further information is available on the web pages for Degree Students.
Working life oriented learning
Working life-oriented learning is included in Bachelor's degree throughout the whole studies, such as practical training, thesis and various working life projects. At Jamk, Jamk Future Factory® is the operating model for working life-oriented and student-oriented learning. It connects working life actors, students, Jamk experts and LAB and other learning environments close to working life. In addition to multidisciplinary and work-life-oriented project studies, it offers students the opportunity to develop their future working life skills, career paths and working life networks.
Studification is also an opportunity for working life-oriented learning, which means combining work, project studies, Future Factory, etc. activities and studies. A plan is drawn up for studification and documented as agreed with the teacher. More information on the web pages for students.The procedure to recognize the informal learning is available on the web pages for Degree Students.
In addition to these, an extensive business cooperation network has been built for each specialisation option, which enables versatile, working life-oriented learning and the use of experts in studies.
Career opportunities and employment
Thanks to the extensive course offering, students may specialise in different areas of business management, which is why their career opportunities depend on the competence acquired during their studies to a great degree. The choice of practical training employer has a significant impact on the students’ employment. Most business management students are employed by their practical training employer.
Example professions of graduates of the degree programme in business management are: entrepreneur, entrepreneurship adviser, coach, consultant, accountant, payroll clerk, auditor, service adviser, investment manager, marketing director, salesperson, sales manager, shop manager, customer service manager, director of administration, HR assistant, personnel manager, project coordinator, export salesperson, export assistant, and teacher.
Qualifications
There are no specific degree-related or statutory qualification requirements in the field.
Further studies
Students may, after graduation and a working career of at least two years, apply for studies leading up to a master’s degree. Studies can also be continued by applying for a university master’s degree programme or similar programmes as well as professional teacher education. After a bachelor’s degree from a university of applied sciences, it is also possible to continue studies at higher education institutes abroad on master’s degree level programmes.
A university of applied sciences also provides opportunities for continuing education in the form of specialisation studies, open studies, an online study portal (CampusOnline) and working life based continuing education..
A student who completes a master’s degree at a university of applied sciences may apply to continue on to postgraduate studies in science or arts at universities (Act 558/2009, Section 37).
Education planning
The advisory board of the School of Business has been active in providing feedback on the development of the degree. In addition to this, the specialisation options have been presented to the major employers in the region. Cooperation with the interest groups in the region is continuous and multifaceted. The whole teaching staff is involved in the networking. Various kinds of feedback on the studies are being collected from the students, and during the last few years, the students have been involved in the audit by the Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council. We are creating new and systematic methods for competence anticipation work.
Contact Information
Pernu Pertti
Head of Department, Business Administration
+358408366920
firstname.lastname@jamk.fi