Global Sustainable Business Management MSc
Option for Placement Year
Option for Study Abroad
Option for Placement Year
Option for Study Abroad
Please note: this course is subject to validation. The first year of entry for this course is September 2025
Northumbria’s Global Sustainable Business Management MSc addresses future sustainable business practices on a global scale.
This course equips you with the knowledge and skills to drive social and environmental change, as well as offering a well-rounded understanding of business, organisations, and management. Drawing on expertise from Newcastle Business School, Northumbria’s Business Clinic, and global frameworks like the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the curriculum emphasises responsible decision-making and sustainability.
You’ll gain in-depth knowledge of management concepts, tools, and strategies, learning how to lead organisations through the sustainability transition. Through research-rich learning and experiential activities like simulations, you’ll critically reflect on current practices and develop leadership, communication, and decision-making skills.
Top 10: Business Studies at Northumbria is ranked 6th in the UK (Daily Mail University Guide, 2025).
Sustainability Champions: We’ve been named as the 1st most sustainable university in the northeast, as ranked by the 2024 People & Planet University League, and 24th globally. We’re also among a select group of international education providers as a Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) Champion for 2024 - 2025.
Accredited Business School: Newcastle Business School is accredited by the prestigious Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). According to AACSB, “Approximately 6% of the world's schools offering business degree education have achieved AACSB accreditation, demonstrating a commitment to high-quality, rigorous standards, innovation, and continuous process improvement”. Read more about our 'double' AACSB Accreditation.
Applicants should normally have:
A minimum of a 2:2 honours degree or equivalent, or substantial experience of working in a business organisation.
International qualifications:
If you have studied a non UK qualification, you can see how your qualifications compare to the standard entry criteria, by selecting the country that you received the qualification in, from our country pages. Visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/yourcountry
English Language requirements:
International applicants are required to have a minimum overall IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 with 5.5 in each component (or approved equivalent*).
*The university accepts a large number of UK and International Qualifications in place of IELTS. You can find details of acceptable tests and the required grades you will need in our English Language section. Visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/englishqualifications
Full UK Fee: £11,000
Full International Fee: £20,950
Scholarships and Discounts
ADDITIONAL COSTS
There are no Additional Costs
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The course aims to develop experts and professionals in sustainable management who place environmental, social and governance (ESG) priorities at the centre of organisational and investment decisions. We will train future management professionals who are driven by personal and career aspirations to enthuse, drive and make a positive impact in sustainability-focused organisations.
This course prepares you to become a skilled leader and manager in global business, equipping you to tackle the challenges faced by international organisations. Key modules focus on developing global management competencies and international human resource management, covering topics like emotional intelligence, cultural awareness, teamwork, project management, and decision-making.
There’s a choice of summative projects to choose from. Instead of a traditional dissertation, you can choose a consultancy project, working in a small team on a live business challenge with a host organisation. This hands-on experience connects theory to practice and helps develop key transferable skills.
We have a fantastic service for students' to use to gain advice and tips on furthering careers and enhancing their employability.
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The first semester seeks to develop a core understanding of the issues, concepts and theories underlying sustainable business practice. We will evaluate how strategies can be developed that are both environmentally and socially responsible and how they can lead to the development of competitive advantage. Building on this, the course explores the tensions of delivering responsible leadership in rapidly evolving markets and the inherent financial and ethical contradictions involved.
Core modules will focus on key sustainability principles, guided by the United Nations’ 17 SDGs, blending innovative management with responsibility. These modules lay the groundwork for both academic and professional development.
The course also offers flexibility as you progress, allowing you to tailor your learning through optional modules on contemporary and ethical issues in sustainable business.
You could also work across disciplines, with a unique module taught by Northumbria University's Design School and hosted at the Responsible Innovation Hub.
The Business Clinic provides students with hands-on, experiential learning opportunities, working with local and national businesses.
Your tutors will use lectures, seminars, workshops, and tutorials, with group activities that mimic real-world collaboration.
Assessments include assignments, presentations, exams, and a choice of final project, where you’ll research and propose solutions to a sustainability challenge.
Technology is embedded throughout all areas of this course. Learning materials such as module handbooks, assessment information, lecture presentation slides and reading lists are available via our e-learning platform, Blackboard. You can also access student support and other key University systems through your personal account. During the course you will also learn how to create relevant content including podcasts and posters.
The overall aim of the course is to enable students to develop an integrated and critically aware understanding of business, organisations and management within the context of sustainable business management. It is steered by research-led teaching from experts drawn from our Responsible Business Research Group, alongside input from nationally recognised practitioners.
You will be taught by tutors whose wealth of practitioner and research expertise adds to the richness of the delivery of the course.
Our staff research specialisms and diverse range of national and international practitioner links will further enhance your learning experience.
In addition to the teaching delivered by our academic team, you may have the opportunity to attend guest lectures and seminars with experts who are currently working within the sector, and who will share their first-hand experience of what it’s like to work in the field of global sustainable business.
This MSc course is informed by Northumbria’s research group Responsible Business, which represents a Primary research group, hosted by Newcastle Business School, Faculty of Business and Law. Northumbria has championed several initiatives on embedding the sustainability agenda in its organisational model and actively promoting to its stakeholder the United Nation’s 17 SDGS.
Throughout your course, you will be an active participant in the research-rich environment and agenda that is at the heart of Northumbria University. With conferences and research events regularly taking place, and with staff discussing their own research as it relates to the topics you’ll study, there’s a strong emphasis on engaging you in up-to-date enquiry-based learning.
Northumbria University is a research-intensive modern university. We stand ready. Empowering innovators, visionaries and change-makers to transform lives and make a remarkable impact on the world. Making the impossible possible.
Newcastle Business School is equipped with social spaces and hub areas to lecture theatres and exhibition spaces, designed to enhance tour learning.
The University has also invested heavily in IT labs and facilities. Business software includes ARIS Express Business Process Modelling, various SAS applications, Microsoft Project, specialist decision-making software, and Google Analytics.
Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) is embedded throughout the course with tools such as the ‘Blackboard’ eLearning Portal and electronic reading lists that will guide your preparation for seminars and independent research.
There will be plenty of opportunities to put your learning into practice. The Graduate Futures team promotes all types of experiential learning including volunteering, internships and placements. While The Business Clinic provides opportunities for students to work on live projects, giving advice to our region’s businesses.
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