Level 3 Diploma/National
Diploma in Business

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The world of business offers a huge variety of careers and opportunities. Develop a broad spectrum of skills, knowledge and personal qualities key to progressing in the business sector as you prepare to further your studies at College or university, or enter the working world. This course is ideal for students with a keen interest in business and how it is developed and how businesses work, develop and make a profit.

  • Entry Criteria

    4 GCSEs (9-4), including English language and maths, or successful completion of the Level 2 Diploma with English language at grade 4 or above.

    Don't meet the grades? Take a look at the Level 2 Diploma in Business for a solid understanding of key areas - you will be able to progress to the Level 3 upon successful completion.

  • What will I study?

    In the first year, your programme of study includes:


    • Exploring business - you'll explore the fundamentals of what makes the world of work tick, looking at key aspects of successful businesses and the theories and models that are relevant.
    • Marketing - students will start to research the full marketing mix and understand the importance of a good marketing strategy and how that is applied through advertising, websites, literature, branding and customer experience.
    • Personal and business finance - perhaps the most important part of running a successful business is keeping a keen eye on its finances, this module will introduce you to the key areas of budgeting and finance.
    • Managing events - regardless of the size, every event should be given the same care and attention. You will begin to develop project plans and use event planning tools to understand what it takes to run a seamless event.

    In the second year, you will progress onto a special pathway of your choice, choosing from:


    • Finance
    • Human resources
    • Marketing
    • Business with Law

  • Future Prospects

    Successful students can progress into work across a wide range of business-based careers.

    Further study options include the Foundation degree in Business with a specialism – either here at West Herts College or at university. Over 80% of our students progress to university to study a BA/BSc (Hons) degree.

    For more information visit the National Careers Service.

Why Study Business?

Studying business will open the doors to a vast amount of careers in the complex and dynamic business world. Gain strong real-world knowledge and skills required to help you enter the industry, across a variety of disciplines, including HR, event management, law and marketing. Whether you want to be part of a team or be your own boss, this course will give you the critical thinking and problem-solving skills, to help you kick-start your own business.