Events Management BA (Hons)

Course Content

• Course Details

  The University of Northampton’s Events Management degree has been designed to contribute towards achieving the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goal: SDG15 of Life on Land.

  This programme offers a practical approach to the successful management of a wide range of events. Experiences are at the heart of this degree programme so you will plan and deliver an event every year. There are numerous opportunities to engage in work placements, project work and to network with successful events businesses. Throughout this Events Management course you will learn the principles and theoretical frameworks related to events management and how to apply this theory in practice. You will cover the following Event Management course themes: logistics and operations management, risk management, health and safety, strategy, finance, integrated marketing communications for events, project management, public relations, sustainability, economic and social impacts of events.

  With the current situation the nature of events changes every day, but the Events Management BA degree team are observing industry responses to the pandemic and feeding that into our teaching and learning. So the events you will be organising during your years of study might be different from what previous students have done before, but it will follow all of the industry and relevant government guidelines to make sure the events our students run are safe, whilst still contributing to a range of great causes in our local community.

  Optional Placement Year

  You are encouraged to undertake a year-long placement in between Stages Two and Three of study for the Events Management degree. If you meet the entry criteria, and choose to take up a placement year you will find it an invaluable experience that helps you to apply your learning in your final year and prepares you for your career. Whilst on your Optional Work Placement Year you will study a 40 credit module ‘The Placement Year Experience – Organisations in Context’. We offer a lot of support in helping you to find a placement, which can be in the UK or overseas.

  Engage with our Industry Partnership Group

  Our Industry Partnership Group is made up of local, national and international events management, hospitality and tourism organisations, such as Marriott International, Silverstone, Whittlebury Park and the Canal and River Trust, and we are delighted to collaborate with such illustrious partners across the events and tourism sector with local and global reach and impact. Interacting and engaging with our partners is an integral and unique element of our events management courses and other similar programmes.

  Our industry partners contribute to the programmes through live case studies, guest lectures, and sharing their specialist knowledge as well as offering placements, work experience opportunities and research projects. Industry Partners are also involved in contributing to our bespoke Changemaker week programmes with mock assessment centres, panel discussions, workshops and research presentations. Our partners are core to how the programmes develop and they contribute to course and module development by being critical friends and enabling us to make the courses as up to date and relevant as possible, leading to our students being industry-ready when they graduate. You can see who our industry partners are and how we work with them in the ‘Industry Partners’ section below.

  List of modules

  Please note the modules shown here relate to the academic year 23/24. The modules relating to the academic year 24/25 will be available from June 2024.

  • Stage 1
    • Event Logistics (20 Credits)
      Module code: LEI1005

      Status: Compulsory
      The purpose of this module is to deliver the necessary theory and practice of event operations management; delivered through scenarios, case studies, and practice-based learning, to provide the skills necessary to produce clear and accurate event operational plans resulting in the delivery of an event.
    • The Events Industry (20 Credits)
      Module code: LEI1006

      Status: Compulsory
      The purpose of this module is to provide students with the opportunity to explore and investigate different sectors of the events industry. Focus is placed on distinguishing between public, private and voluntary sectors, as well as appreciating the range of stakeholders connected to events anad the impacts they experience.
    • Service Industry Decision Making (20 Credits)
      Module code: LEI1024

      Status: Compulsory
      The purpose of this module is to provide students with the ability to create and utilise basic, financial information linked to operations, budgeting, planning and cost control in events, tourism and hospitality. This information can then be developed to make contextualised decisions linked to the success of the service related business or event.
    • Professional Development for Tourism and Events (20 Credits)
      Module code: LEI1026

      Status: Compulsory
      The purpose of this module is to provide students with a support orientated forum in which to develop skills, knowledge and understanding of the demands of university study and employer expectations of graduates. Module content will help to develop the transferrable skills, attributes and attitudes required to succeed both as an individual and in a team based environment. A key aspect of the module is to allow students the opportunity for self reflection and self assessment.
    • Entrepreneurship for Tourism and Events (20 Credits)
      Module code: LEI1027

      Status: Compulsory
      This module explores the dynamics and characteristics of innovation in tourism, hospitality and events industries and explains the evolution of business models and frameworks. Students will study the internal and external drivers of innovation in the ever-changing markets of events, tourism and hospitality and focus on how and why businesses change their operations, products and services in order to gain competitive advantage.
    • Events and Tourism in the Media (10 Credits)
      Module code: LEI1028

      Status: Compulsory
      This module introduces the complex nature of the media, as well as how events and tourism entities are presented and represented in this space. It also equips the students with the core knowledge of marketing techniques utilised by events and tourism professionals to gain media exposure for their market offerings.
    • Market Intelligence for Events and Tourism (10 Credits)
      Module code: LEI1029

      Status: Compulsory
      This module equips students with an understanding of the importance of market intelligence in contemporary events and tourism industries. It also guides students in building their core skills and knowledge to conduct basic market research activities, interpret gathered data and use this to underpin business decision making.
  • Stage 2
    • Development Through Work (20 Credits)
      Module code: HRM2048

      Status: Designate
      The purpose of this module is to enable students to review their own employability skills in up to two relevant work contexts. Students will identify and evaluate different approaches to management and leadership, making appropriate recommendations for improvements.
    • Managing Visitor Attractions (20 Credits)
      Module code: LEI2001

      Status: Designate
      The purpose of this module is to provide students with knowledge and understanding of the developmental, operational, strategic, marketing and micro/macro variables which influence national and international visitor attraction management. The module will allow students to explore these concepts through case studies, scenarios, industry best practice guidance and on-site learning activities at actual attractions. Content allows learners to consider visitor attractions from multi-faceted consumer and industry perspectives.
    • Risk Management in Events (20 Credits)
      Module code: LEI2006

      Status: Compulsory
      The purpose of this module is to develop student awareness of the need for effective risk identification and management. This module runs in tandem with LEI2007 allowing students to evaluate risk in a live events context. Utilising a variety of industry case studies, students will also consider a range of risk management challenges and strategies across a variety of venues and event settings.
    • Events Professional Practice (20 Credits)
      Module code: LEI2007

      Status: Compulsory
      The focus for this module is the design and feasibility of an event. This module provides the opportunity for students to complete a feasibility study for their own event concept. The event is then designed, project managed and implemented. An analysis and evaluation of stakeholder feedback is then conducted.
    • Events and Tourism Research (20 Credits)
      Module code: LEI2023

      Status: Compulsory
      The purpose of this module is to provide students with the opportunity to apply theoretical concepts to real world environemnts via assessing a range of contemporary themes and challenges currently impacting on the events, tourism and hospitality industries. Students will consider the transient nature of the service sector and select areas of interest for further investigation and analysis.
    • Career Launchpad for Events, Tourism and Hospitality (10 Credits)
      Module code: LEI2026

      Status: Compulsory
      This module enables students to reflect on own work experience and interactions with others in order to understand how they perform in and contribute to various group environments. It further supports students in taking ownership of their own career path. The module includes support for completing the Changemaker Silver Employability Award.
    • Event Hospitality (10 Credits)
      Module code: LEI2027

      Status: Designate
      This module explores the role and significance of hospitality at a range of events. It enables students to identify how the food service element supports and echoes the aims and objectives of events, as well as how the hospitality experience and choice can be used to enhance the overall event experience.
    • Event Communications (10 Credits)
      Module code: LEI2030

      Status: Compulsory
      This module provides students with the opportunity to explore the application of marketing and communications theory to the successful management of entities within the events industry. Students will have the opportunity to explore real-life cases and appreciate the impact of a range of marketing communications strategies and techniques on businesses.
    • Contemporary Issues in Events (10 Credits)
      Module code: LEI2031

      Status: Compulsory
      This module explores the broad range of current trends related to events management, from the various economic, social, environmental and cultural impacts of events on a range of stakeholders, to the rise of event-related technology and other approaches to building resilience in the sector decimated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
    • Championing Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing in Events, Tourism & Hospitality (10 Credits)
      Module code: LEI2032

      Status: Compulsory
      This module introduces students to the core tenets of equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing as they relate to events, tourism and hospitality. Students will appreciate the ethical and practical implications of implementing EDI initiatives and will learn how to protect and support their own wellbeing and that of others.
    • Customer Experience Design for Events (10 Credits)
      Module code: LEI2033

      Status: Designate
      This module explores how customer experience design can support effective engagement of audiences with event content via a range of channels and event formats, including face-to-face, virtual and hybrid. Students will learn the key principles of customer experience design, as well as use a range of tools which support this process.
  • Stage 3
    • Client-Centred Event (40 Credits)
      Module code: LEI3009

      Status: Designate
      Students will take on an event from a live client brief; in which they have to produce a feasibility study and present this to their client. Once the event has been agreed by the clinet the students will plan, project manage and deliver the event to a professional standard.
    • Events and Sustainability (20 Credits)
      Module code: LEI3012

      Status: Designate
      The purpose of this module is to provide students with a critical understanding of event impacts and legacies so that the practioners of the future are equipped to strategically plan and manage events in line with the principles of sustainability.
    • International Destination Management for Tourism and Hospitality (20 Credits)
      Module code: LEI3014

      Status: Designate
      This module provides a framework for analysis of the strategic nature and dynamics of tourist destinations and the challenges facing destination managers responsible for the planning, management and marketing of tourism destinations. The module seeks to demonstrate the opportunities for hosts, visitors and other tourism stakeholders to achieve their agendas and maximise their benefits in a balanced way without compromising the future. The module has a broad strategic management and international focus and is designed to provide students with a subject specialism in the field of destination management.
    • Service Excellence Design (20 Credits)
      Module code: LEI3025

      Status: Designate
      This module explores methods, strategies and practices that contribute to the delivery, leadership and management of high quality service experiences. The module emphasizes the relationship between the service provider and the consumer through the consideration of how value is created; how information is transmitted; how services are made tangible; how the service experience is managed, and how relationships are maintained, in cross-cultural contexts.
    • Mega Event Legacies (10 Credits)
      Module code: LEI3026

      Status: Compulsory
      This module examines the concept of mega-events, and their global use as a catalyst for urban regeneration, social, cultural and economic development of host cities / nations. It seeks to equip students with a critical appreciation of how legacies can be achieved through effective management of event impacts and regeneration.
    • Building Your Personal Brand (10 Credits)
      Module code: LEI3028

      Status: Compulsory
      This module supports students in developing their own personal brand to facilitate their successful engagement with recruitment practices in the events, tourism and hospitality sectors. It provides opportunities to reflect on own experience, skill set and participation in mock recruitment processes, to build confidence and support the transition from university into the world of work.
    • Integrated Marketing Communications for Events (10 Credits)
      Module code: LEI3032

      Status: Designate
      This module enables students to independently design an integrated marketing communications campaign for their chosen event. The module offers the opportunity to develop an extensive range of skills relating to employability, including planning, reasoning, strategic thinking and prioritizing as well as creativity.
    • Content Marketing & Public Relations for Events (10 Credits)
      Module code: LEI3033

      Status: Designate
      This module enables students to devise a content marketing and public relations strategy for a chosen event entity. Concepts explored include principles of public relations, digital marketing and social media, as well as how storytelling can be used to drive effective promotion in these media spaces.
    • Dissertation (40 Credits)
      Module code: LEI4001

      Status: Designate
      A dissertation is the culmination of most programmes of undergraduate study, providing students with the opportunity to design and conduct an independent piece of research. Students select a topic of interest and develop this into a researchable idea.
    • Research Project (20 Credits)
      Module code: LEI4002

      Status: Designate
      This module enables students to independently carry out an investigation of a current 'industry' or 'sector' issue relevant to their degree and their professional development. The students will make use of relevant academic concepts to structure their investigation and then collect and analyse a sample of secondary data.

  Experiential Learning

  The University of Northampton’s Events management courses offer more than just knowledge and information. We create countless opportunities for our students to get essential hands-on experience that builds their CVs and their skill base. These opportunities for paid work in the hospitality, events and tourism sectors, together with hundreds of voluntary experiences, enable our students to challenge themselves and explore the sectors more broadly. We encourage our students to gain experience and broaden their horizons, enabling them to find their individual niche and potential career paths. Within the modules and taught content, there are practical modules to develop and deliver events and projects that involve collaboration and research with external partners and through these projects, our students raise over £20,000 per year for local charities. Within the courses, we utilise hundreds of different international case studies, including many projects that have been directly delivered by our academic team, that enable students to apply their learning in depth through scenario exercises and guest sessions with the project team and/or client.

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• Entry Requirements

  Standard entry requirements apply to the University of Northampton’s Events Management degree. A typical offer is around:

  • BCC at A Level or
  • DMM at BTEC or
  • Pass (C and above) at T Level.

  For more more information on how to make an application, please visit our How to Apply page.

  If you are an International student and would like information on making an application, please see our How to Apply page.

  Integrated Foundation Year Entry Requirements

  The standard entry requirements for the Integrated Foundation Year are:

  • DEE at A level or
  • MPP at BTEC or
  • Pass (D or E) at T Level.

  For more information on how to make an application please visit our How to Apply pages for Home and EU, and International students.

  English Language Requirements

  All International and EU students applying for a course with us must meet the following minimum English language requirements:

  • IELTS 6.0 (or equivalent) with a minimum of 5.5 in all bands for study at undergraduate level

  For information regarding English language requirements at the University, please see our IELTS page.

   

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• Fees and Funding

  2024/25 Tuition Fees
  

  Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 2024/25 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.

  • UK Full Time: £9,250
  • UK Part Time: £1,540 per 20 credit module
  • UK Integrated Foundation Year: £9,250 for the foundation year; thereafter standard fees apply
  • International Full Time: £15,200
  • International Integrated Foundation Year: £15,200 for the foundation year; thereafter standard fees apply
  • Optional Work Placement Year: £1,200

  For information on the scholarships available to you, please see our scholarships page.

  For more information about possible funding options, please visit our Fees and Funding pages.

  Additional costs

  There are no additional costs for this course for students beginning their studies in September 2024. Should this change, applicants and students will be contacted by the university with details of the costs.

  2023/24 Tuition Fees
  

  Fees quoted relate to study for the Events Management BA degree in the Academic Year 23/24 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.

  • UK Full Time: £9,250
  • UK Part Time: £1,540 per 20 credit module
  • UK Integrated Foundation Year: £9,250 for the foundation year; thereafter standard fees apply
  • International Full Time: £14,750
  • International Integrated Foundation Year: £14,750 for the foundation year; thereafter standard fees apply
  • Optional Work Placement Year: £1,100

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• Professional Body

  The University of Northampton’s Events Management courses are a member of The Association for Events Management Education (AEME). AEME was established in 2004, with the aim to advance events education within the UK and overseas.

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• Industry Partners

  Find out who our industry partners are:

  Canal & River Trust

  

  Something Borrowed Event Hire

  

   

  Marriot

   

  

   

  Sheer Edge – Corporate Hospitality & Event Support

   

  

   

  Whittlebury Park

   

  

  Silverstone

   

  

  CJS Event Solutions

  

  Markshall Estate

  

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• Student Perks

  At the University of Northampton, everything we do, from funded trips to paid internships, is to give you everything you need to make a difference when you leave.

  If you join our full-time BA Events Management degree at Northampton, you will receive a laptop when your course begins*. The laptops are built to a bespoke custom specification ideal for use in the seminar room, collaborative group work or studying at home.

  Whatever your ambitions, we’re here to help you to achieve them. We’ll support you to identify the skills you’re learning during your course, find your strengths and secure practical experience so that when it comes to applying for jobs or further study you’ll feel confident in standing out from the crowd. We’ve created the Northampton Employment Promise because we are so confident that if you focus on your studies and complete one of our awards you’ll be highly employable by the time you graduate. Putting you in a great position to secure employment or continue your studies.

  To check out the full list of perks, visit our Student Perks page or dedicated International Perks page.

  *UK fee payers only (see Terms and Conditions for further details).

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• Integrated Foundation Year

  The Integrated Foundation Year (IFY) offers a new and exciting route into studying for a degree in Events Management, attracting ambitious and driven students who are willing to learn and advance.

  If you have non-standard qualifications or do not quite meet the admissions requirements for Events Management we can offer you a fantastic opportunity to study a four year Events Management programme which includes a Integrated Foundation Year. The Integrated Foundation Year will help you develop the theoretical/practical and academic skills you need, in order to successfully progress to the full award.

  Our four-year courses will enable you to successfully follow the degree pathway of your choice while gaining essential study skills. The foundation year of your chosen degree will be studied on a full-time basis and is aimed at supporting the transition to higher education. Years two, three and four are then studied as a standard degree programme.

  Please see our Integrated Foundation Year page for more details.

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• FAQs

  How will I learn?

  Our Event Management course uses the active blended learning approach to teaching and learning and weekly sessions are delivered in workshop format, usually for 12 hours per week. Some of your studying will be completed online, enabling you to complete some of the work at a time that is most convenient for you.

  You will have a supportive network around you including your course leader and personal tutor. We recommend that you spend 30 hours per week in self-directed study time.

  How will I be assessed?

  A variety of individual and group-based assessments are used including reports, presentations, posters, e-portfolios, projects, client briefs, and videos.

  What type of events have students organised whilst studying this course?

  We have a dedicated YouTube playlist of our student-ran events so you can see the types of events that have been organised in the past.

  Will I go on any study trips?*

  In previous years Events Management students have participated in an optional study trip to London and an optional study trip to a European destination. The cost of the optional trip to London should not exceed £85 for travel, tours and accommodation, whilst the cost of the optional trip to Europe should not normally exceed £500 for flights and accommodation. You will need to allow an additional £100 for your expenses.

  We also aim to provide a regional or national study trip annually to a venue or event. In some cases you will be required to contribute to the cost of entry; this would normally not exceed £50.

  *Future study trips are dependent on Government and local travel guides related to Covid-19.

  Are there any special features on the Events Management?

  • Many students choose to undertake work placements of around 4-5 months’ duration in the summer break or work on internships a couple of days each week. In between stage one and two you can complete a module which provides you with academic credit for this summer work experience. Volunteering is actively encouraged and supported throughout the course to enable students to gain experience and practice skills.
  • We are building a student community and encouraging cross-year collaboration. Many first and second year students will volunteer to work at events that are hosted and fully organised by our final year students. The new Events Management Society is run by our Course Advocates and seeks to connect and support students across all year groups.  We share industry news and encourage collaboration through our subject area social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram (@ETHNorthampton) and LinkedIn.
  • We invite industry professionals to provide you with their insight and experience as guest speakers within module activity and in our Changemaker Weeks, as well as involving them in live-client projects and allowing you to present your event ideas to external clients. Our Events Industry Forum ensures that we keep our course content as up to date and relevant as possible and provides connections for students to engage with the industry throughout your studies. Working with the Growth Works, we are offering all UON event management students the opportunity to engage with mentoring and industry events.

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