Master in Science in International Trade and Logistics
Entry requirementsThe MSc in International Trade and Logistics attracts students from a wide range of backgrounds, disciplines and nationalities. Applicants are welcome from any academic discipline. Admission is normally open to those with a good undergraduate honours degree (or equivalent). Work experience is valuable but not essential. Proof of English language competence is required if your first language is not English; for example: * IELTS level 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 in each element of assessment * TOEFL score of 575 or above (paper-based), or 233 or above (computer-based), or 90 or above (internet-based), and at least 4.5 in TWE.
Academic titleMaster in Science in International Trade and Logistics
Course description MSc
Most organisations are involved in receiving products, handling them and despatching them to customers. Improved performance in the retail sector worldwide (increased range, lower prices, faster time to market) is mainly due to increased logistics competencies. Logistics is about managing and controlling the activities along this chain of supply, with the objective of creating sustainable competitive advantage in an international arena. It is no longer enough to 'push' products through the supply channel in the hope that customers may like them. Customer 'pull' strategies to meet the expectations of ever more demanding customers, through customised products and services, quick response deliveries and state-of-the-art information systems, mean that international logistics must be seen as a key enabler of business strategy.
The MSc International Trade and Logistics programme has been designed for those who have not formally studied for a degree in business or management and who would like to increase their understanding of a range of business and management subjects and also specialise in international logistics.
Oxford Brookes Business School is acknowledged as a leading provider of professional business management training in the UK. We have over 100 teaching and research staff and our students are drawn from all over the world. Our reputation is built on our student centredness, our teaching and research excellence, our innovation and service to the community and professional organisations, and our educational philosophy, which seeks to embrace education in its widest sense.
Course content
The MSc is based on the completion of the following compulsory modules, including a dissertation:
Organisational Theory and Design seeks to provide a framework for the understanding and analysis of organisations with particular reference to organisational design, processes and change. The organisation will be critiqued from a number of perspectives: individual, systems/contingency and cultural/social processes. These perspectives will encourage a critical awareness of organisational dynamics and will provide you with an evaluative framework in which to engage in independent problem solving.
Business Strategy introduces you to the major concepts of business strategy and the analytical tools used to develop strategy in complex business environments. You will develop an understanding of how financial statements can be used to evaluate organisational and strategic performance, and how a range of stakeholders' interests impact on the development of business strategy.
Managing Business Operations explores the complex and interconnecting relationships between functional areas and the real world of business. You will learn how business operations and resources can be most effectively and efficiently managed in order to achieve competitive advantage, and how every organisation has to manage its operational activities so as to add value by transforming inputs into saleable or usable output products and services.
Principles of Financial Accounting and Statistics provides the opportunity for you to develop core competencies in accounting, basic statistics and their integration in business decision making. The module seeks to engender the development of an understanding of financial and quantitative information relevant to middle or senior managers which will enhance your effectiveness when operating in an international organisation. The module is primarily concerned with the analysis and interpretation of quantitative and financial information, not its production. The content of this module is used as a foundation for further study in other modules including Research Methods.
Project and Contract Management introduces the principles of project and contract management, and will develop your skills in designing, planning, implementing and controlling business projects. These range from construction, through the introduction of new information systems, to the outsourcing of business processes. This module will help you to develop an understanding of the principles, practices and techniques vital to the leadership and commercial management of such projects. You will learn how to deliver projects on time, to cost budgets and to deliver to the required levels of quality.
Strategic Perspectives shows how changes in the external environment generate both opportunities and threats to which the organisation must respond. The managerial challenge in strategising is to deliver a sustainable competitive advantage. This module aims to provide students with a foundation for doing this, by ensuring that students understand and engage in critical evaluation of the key strategic discourses and issues.
International Trade and Globalisation provides the opportunity to explore and examine the theoretical and empirical framework which enables students to enhance their awareness of the issues of globalisation and to familiarise themselves with the relevant concepts in international trade theory and recent patterns in international trade.
International Logistics and Supply Chain Management studies, in a global context, the processes necessary to manage strategically the flow of materials and products from suppliers through to the final customer in order to achieve competitive advantage. In this module you will study how effective logistics and procurement systems can become key business enablers, and how the management of international supply chains must form a significant element of the strategy of any organisations operating on a global basis.
Personal Development Plan addresses your individual learning needs and priorities, and explores the organisational and individual consequences of individual and collective actions and behaviours. Your personal effectiveness and capacity to recognise, adapt and apply relevant theory to the managerial context, and to personally learn from experience, will be improved by engaging in self-reflection and critical self-evaluation exercises.
Research Methods and Dissertation The dissertation, incorporating a research methods module, is a key component of a master's degree. It gives you the opportunity to explore an area of interest, and students are encouraged to choose topics that will be valuable in their future careers. Undertaking effective management research, and being reflective on the process, is often a requirement of senior management, as well as being a requirement at master's level. On this module, you will be allocated a supervisor who will work with you, providing guidance and advice throughout the process.
Teaching, learning and assessment
Teaching is organised on a module-credit basis, involving a total of approximately 1,800 hours of student input and 290 hours of staff contact. The course is delivered over two 12-week semesters.
Learning methods include lectures, directed reading, workshops, seminars, and practical and project work. Some modules include group work and teamwork activities.
Each course module is assessed individually, generally on the quality of written or visual presentation work, and to some extent on verbal presentations. Assessment methods may include reports, seminar papers, formal written examinations, in-class tests, project work, visual and verbal presentations, workshops, simulations, and practical exercises. The majority of assessments are based on individual assignments, but there is some assessed group work.
Quality
The reputation of the Business School is underpinned through membership of and programme accreditations received from the Association of MBAs, the Association of Business Schools, and professional associations such as the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, and the European Foundation for Management Development. The Business School is, therefore, widely regarded as one of the best within its peer group.
The Business School’s programmes benefit from rigorous quality assurance procedures and regularly receive excellent feedback from external examiners, employers, students and professional bodies. In 2005, Business and Management achieved ‘Broad Confidence’, the best possible result, in the discipline audit trail as part of the Quality Assurance Agency Institutional Audit.
Many students who graduate from Business School programmes go on to achieve high status in the industry of their choice.
The Business School has an active programme of research based around six key research areas:
* Accounting, Governance and Information Management
* Economics and Strategy
* Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism Management
* Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour
* Marketing and Operations Management
* Pedagogy
The School maintains a rigorous and dynamic doctoral programme leading to the higher degrees of MPhil and PhD. Postgraduate students join a supportive, friendly and multicultural research environment.