Queen's University Belfast - Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
MSc in International Business
Belfast, United Kingdom
MSc
DURATION
1 year
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2027
TUITION FEES
GBP 25,800 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, England, Scotland or Wales: £8,800 | EU Other and International: £25,800
Key Summary
About: The MSc in International Business at Queen’s University Belfast is a one-year full-time program that builds global leadership skills for work across multinational firms, NGOs and startups. It embeds international internships, consultancy projects and an International Business Capstone with a strategy simulation and applied Capstone Project. Modules include analytics with AI, global innovation, emerging markets, digital marketing and business ethics, and the course emphasizes employability through employer networking, placements and international summer schools.
Career Outcomes: Graduates enter consultancy, finance, marketing, innovation, analytics and leadership roles. Typical positions: Strategy Consultants, Global Marketing Managers, Business Analysts in multinational firms and startups.
The MSc International Business is an exciting one-year full-time programme, furnishing students from all backgrounds with cutting-edge global leadership skills to develop a career in an increasingly interconnected and complex business world.
A unique aspect of the programme is the range of embedded opportunities it offers students to engage with global business leaders through international internships and international consultancy projects. This modernised programme provides students with a diverse toolkit for tackling a wide range of global business issues from Doing Business in Emerging Markets, Analytics with AI, Marketing in the Digital Age, Global Innovation Management and Making Ethical Business Decisions.
With a focus on building students’ employability skills, the programme provides students with exposure to real-world business problems, professional connections with employers and alumni, a vibrant culturally diverse learning environment, and access to world-class facilities.
The International Business Capstone module is a distinctive feature of the programme that fosters a dynamic and practical learning experience in the final semester. This module involves an interactive strategy simulation where students work in teams to develop the global strategy of a firm in a game-based scenario. Students also engage in a Capstone Project to generate innovative solutions for real-world business challenges.
Recent graduates have progressed to work in global firms such as Meta, Dropbox, Google, Kellogg (Dublin); Moet Hennessy (New York); Deloitte, Citi, PwC, EY (Belfast); Oracle, BMW (Germany); Roche (Switzerland); Nestle (Panama and China); JP Morgan, HSBC (London); Cisco (Sao Paulo); SAP (Toronto); Acosta Group (Florida); Upaya (Nepal); InfoCentric (Melbourne).
Typical careers include Strategy Consultants, Global Portfolio Traders, Global Mobility Analysts, Heads of Innovation, Global Marketing Managers, Business Analysts, Project Managers, Acquisition Executives, and Financial Managers.
International Business highlights
Student Experience
Focuses on cutting-edge International Business Issues.
The programme focuses on understanding how global managers and organisations navigate grand challenges and megatrends.
Students will gain knowledge and develop skills in a wide range of cutting-edge issues like artificial intelligence, data analytics, sustainability, geopolitical instability, innovation, ethics, and doing business in emerging markets.
Career Development
Emphasis on Employability Skills.
A unique module on Developing Careers and Employability Skills is dedicated to enhancing students’ employability. Through an experienced careers team, students will build an awareness of relevant job opportunities and enhance critical skills for building successful careers. Valuable opportunities to engage with employers and alumni are embedded throughout the programme via employer insights, networking circles, LinkedIn workshops, and job talks.
Industry Links
The International Business Capstone: This is a final semester module that fosters capstone thinking and combines learnings from across the degree. This involves a dynamic online simulation where students work in teams to develop the global strategy of a firm in a game-based scenario.
Capstone Projects – applied practical projects where students work with real-world organisations to generate solutions to complex challenges.
There are 3 pathways to choose from:
Global Applied Project – proposing strategic solutions to a current grand challenge for an organisation of your choosing.
International Consultancy – working alongside a real-world global organisation and mentor to address a specific problem. Example consultancies include developing business model innovation for digital start-ups in Portugal, AI-enabled solutions for Fintech firms in Brazil, digitalisation block-chain initiatives for a US crypto finance firm, and competitor analysis for a firm focused on digital sustainability entering Eastern Europe.
International Internship – working in a global organisation for 9-12 weeks while carrying out an internship project on a problem the organisation faces. Students may work in a variety of roles and functions for firms locally or globally and these range from start-ups, multinationals, or non-profits. A dedicated placement office helps with sourcing and securing internships, with a strong network of industry connections.
Summer Schools
International summer school opportunities are available for students to spend short periods abroad studying specialist courses in partner universities. Students can choose to undertake these courses alongside the programme, usually in the summer period. We have a range of partners across a broad network of universities globally that students can apply to such as Antwerp University in Belgium, Belmont University in Nashville, ESIC and IE in Spain, Excelia, Neoma and Strasbourg in France and research partners across China, Brazil, Taiwan, Malaysia, Australia and Canada.
Year 1
Core Modules
- The Global Business Context
- Global Innovation Management
- Research Methods and Techniques
- International Business Strategy
- International Internship: Work-based Action Research Project
- Sustainable supply chains and networks
- Academic Research Project
- Global HRM
- International Marketing
- Accounting in an International Environment
- Dissertation - MSc International Business
- Consultancy Based Report
Queen’s University Belfast is ranked 174th in the QS World University Rankings 2027
We offer prestigious, competitive scholarships of up to 50% off tuition fees to new international students. You must have an offer to study a full-time course with us in 2024 to apply for a scholarship.
The program provides a wide range of opportunities for graduates to work across various kinds of organizations, industries, roles, and careers. Most of the opportunities will carry a degree of international exposure in the work that graduates engage in.
Previous graduates have gone on to work for start-ups, SMEs, multinational enterprises, trade or business solutions, manufacturing companies, international institutions, NGOs, and government agencies responsible for trade and investment.
Graduates have secured successful careers in a diverse range of roles related to consultancy, strategy, HRM, technology, finance, sales, and analytics. Typical roles include Strategy Consultants, Global Portfolio Traders, Global Mobility Analysts, Group Heads of Innovation, Global Marketing Managers, Business Analysts, Project Managers, Account Executives, Senior Consultants, Sales Directors, HR Managers, Market Analysts for FDI, M&A Executives, and Financial Managers.
Employment after the Course
Our recent graduates have progressed to work in global firms such as Meta, Dropbox, Google, Kellogg, Zapier (Dublin); Moet Hennessy, Natilik (New York); Deloitte, Citi, PwC, Danske Bank, and EY (Belfast); Oracle, PWC, Kingspan, BMW (Germany); Roche (Switzerland); CAPCO (Edinburgh); Nestle (Panama and China); JP Morgan, CapGemini, HSBC, Wells Fargo (London); Cisco (Sao Paulo); SAP (Toronto); Acosta Group (Florida); Expeditors (Seattle); Upaya (Nepal); InfoCentric (Melbourne).
Prizes and Awards
- Sponsored by EY – prize for the Best overall performance (highest overall average mark) by an MSc International Business student.
- Sponsored by Randox Laboratories - prize for the MSc International Business student achieving the highest mark in the "International Business Capstone"
- Sponsored by EY – prize for the Best MSc International Business Dissertation.
The prizes award excellent performing students, usually with monetary benefits, but also with exposure to firms through networking opportunities. Below are examples of some prizes in the MSc International Business Programme.
There are many prizes on offer for students in the program. The prizes are sponsored by corporate firms and awarded at graduation every year by a firm representative.