MSc Entrepreneurship and Innovation

• You should have at least a lower second class (2.2) honours degree (or equivalent) in any subject or five years' relevant work experience.
• If you wish to gain admission on the basis of five years’ relevant work experience, you’ll be required to attend an interview and present evidence in the form of a portfolio of work and examples that demonstrate your suitability and aptitude for the course. The evidence should be presented in electronic format and attested by an independent person. The independent person could be a current or former lecturer or an employer who has a more senior role than yourself. The University is looking for candidates who can demonstrate a clear interest and commitment to the course and who will benefit from experiencing this area of study.
• We'll consider applications where appropriate work experience can be demonstrated in lieu of, or in addition to, the published academic qualifications in line with the University’s Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning (RPEL) procedures.
• If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.

Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.

We welcome students from business and non-business backgrounds to our vibrant and dynamic MSc Entrepreneurship and Innovation. It acts as a bridge into enterprise if your undergraduate degree was in another subject area and builds on your knowledge if you’re already familiar with business and management theory. Additionally, it’s an excellent option if you’ve been working in a relevant field gaining degree-level knowledge through experience and self-study rather than formal education. This master’s aims to expand the knowledge and expertise you’ve gained through your undergraduate or professional work and pave the way for you to achieve your ambitions.

We take an innovative approach that will help you to become your own careers coach. Our multi-faceted approach will help you gain a combination of academic, analytical, business and professional skills that will prepare you for a career as an innovator and entrepreneur, as well as provide a sound basis for doctoral-level study. We’ll use tried and tested, research-informed coaching and training methods to support your development and help you form clear plans for your future.

As a graduate of this master’s degree, you’ll possess an impressive combination of skills and knowledge. In addition to a sound understanding of the theory and practice of business innovation and development coupled with commercial awareness, you’ll have essential and in-demand interpersonal and people skills. You’ll also possess high-level academic skills in research, critical thinking and opportunity recognition. These attributes will help you become established early on in your career and prepare you to take on leadership roles. In addition, you’ll have the lifelong learning, problem-solving and decision-making skills needed to adapt to new challenges throughout your career.

What can I do with this qualification?

Entrepreneurship and innovation is a vital creator of new jobs and employment opportunities. As one of the fastest growing regions in the UK, Greater Manchester is an economic powerhouse that plays an important role in shaping the UK economy. With a Gross Valued Added of £62 billion (ONS) and up to 40% lower operating costs than London, Manchester is a hotbed for entrepreneurship and innovation. By studying with the University of Bolton, you’ll be well placed to take advantage of the region’s reputation for innovation, technology and creativity.

The MSc Entrepreneurship and Innovation programme is ideal if you want to change your world and manage the trajectory of your career. As a graduate of this postgraduate programme, you’ll be prepared for a range of professions, including as a business founder, a manager of innovation within an established organisation, or in a policy and business development role that supports entrepreneurship and innovation. This course will set you on the way to developing your ideas and enable you to design your own career path. You might also choose to take on freelance or consultancy work advising start-ups or helping existing businesses expand into new fields.

On successfully completing the course, you’ll be invited to continue your education via the MPhil and PhD degrees that are available at the University of Bolton.

Alternative career options

Graduates can also use the qualification as a stepping-stone into a range of other careers. For some of these roles, both relevant experience and/or postgraduate study may be required. Some of these careers include:

• Leadership and management
• Advertising, marketing and public relations
• Sales
• Not-for-profit fundraising
• Business journalism
• Research and development
• Recruitment and human resources
• E-commerce and social media
• Product management
• Civil service
• Social enterprise
• Policy management
• Education and teaching
• Advising and consultancy

Home students starting this course in the first year will be required to pay a Home fee of £9,250 for the academic year 2024/25.

Overseas students starting this course in the first year will be required to pay a Overseas fee of £15,950 for the academic year 2024/25.

Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2023-2024 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.

The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.

Bursaries

Click here for more information on our Master's Bursaries.

Our team of academic and professional staff will use a variety of teaching and learning strategies to help you gain and develop appropriate concepts, knowledge and skills. You can expect practice-based enquiry, self-directed study, lectures, seminars, tutorials, presentations and work-based learning. Scheduled sessions will be held in the evening, allowing full-time and part-time students to study together and offering opportunities for those working in professional/industrial environments to present live case studies.

It’s important to realise that the time spent with a tutor during formally scheduled activities is only a small part of the learning time identified for a module. You’ll also be expected to spend a significant amount of time in guided independent study, such as general background reading, preparing for seminar activities and working on assignments. We are committed to supporting you throughout your learning journey. Over time, our guidance will purposefully become less structured and prescriptive. This will encourage you to develop confidence and independence in your studies and take responsibility for managing your own learning time as you increase in autonomy.

The assessment strategy for the programme is designed to help you achieve the overall aims of the curriculum, as well as the learning outcomes for individual modules. As well as assessing your achievement, it helps to organise and develop your learning. Assessment feedback can help you develop your skills and an understanding of your strengths and weaknesses.

The types of assessment you’ll be required to complete fall into two general categories: formative and summative. Formative assessments help in learning and developing knowledge and skills. Summative assessments, on which grades are allocated, reflect the quality of the learning that has been achieved. Formative assessment will take place via tutorial discussion, group workshops including peer and tutor review, and guidance on work in progress. Formative feedback will be provided face-to-face via discussion, online or in written form. Summative assessments consist of both practical and applied theoretical work. These will include a range of assessments including practical projects, written work, presentations and portfolios.

Modules

The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.

• New Business Creation
• Sustainable Business Growth and Development
• Business Literacy and Employment Skills
• Solutions Driven Design and Practice
• Professional Dissertation

Assessment methods

Learning activities

Disclaimer

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.