Online BBA Program
Bachelor of Business Administration
BBA Degree Program Overview
The Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) program develops a thorough understanding of the most relevant business and management concepts, skills and competencies, with attention given to their real-world application. Covering numerous sub-disciplines, the program provides a comprehensive and holistic overview showing the student how all the parts interact to create value for businesses, customers and the society at large. Its special focus on marketing in the 21st Century, adds an additional unique differentiator to the degree, increasing the graduates’ marketability. This program is designed for individuals who are either entering the job market or who currently hold junior positions. Given the broad scope of a BBA, the degree provides the necessary foundation for a career in business and management. It is also suitable for self-employed entrepreneurs wishing to gain a better understanding of the various disciplines involved in running their business.
BBA Degree Objectives
The program provides students with a basic knowledge and understanding of key business foundation disciplines including the business environment, economics, resource management, business information systems, marketing and quantitative methods. SMC focuses on helping you become an exceptional leader in your profession. This means that every course we offer is designed with enterprise, leadership, and your success in mind.
Target Group & Career Objectives
The program has been devised for young professional adult audience. The ideal candidate has already demonstrated interest in business, management and specifically marketing throughout their secondary education and respective extra-curricular activities. The desired student audience is ambitious, curious and has already mastered early-on career challenges in either a business administration or junior management or marketing position. The programme is equally suited to aspiring entrepreneurs who want to establish a solid foundation prior to engaging in future venture activities.
BBA Curriculum & Course Descriptions
All courses are at EQF Level 6. Each course has 6 ECTS credits. The total program learning hours amount to 4500.
The course introduces accounting for business entities such as sole proprietorships, partnerships and corporations, focusing on how business events impact the balance sheet, income statements, and the statement of cash flows. Topics include: the process of recording and analyzing transactions, the accounting cycle including record-keeping, preparation of financial statements, and the theory of accounts.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
This course explores the legal and ethical framework in which businesses operate. Sources and areas of business law are presented and compared internationally. Students also learn to critically analyze and evaluate the behavior of business owners, managers, and employees. Given heightened consumer scrutiny of corporate ethical conduct, a portion of the course will focus on how managers can navigate ethical dilemmas, meet the expectations of customers, employees, suppliers etc. and flourish as good corporate citizens.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
Students will develop both their knowledge of mathematics as a subject and their reasoning and communication skills, through lectures, tutorials, seminars, guided self-study, independent learning and project work. This development is addressed in all of our first year modules, although different modules have a different emphasis.
In addition to these broad aims, this module introduces the basic concepts of probability theory and statistics, illustrated by a full range of examples and applications; introduces an important statistical computing package; provides secure and solid foundations for higher level probability and mathematical statistics modules.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
The course provides students with the necessary skills to communicate in a manner that is both concise and persuasive. Students learn to write professional reports, proposals, tenders, letters and other commercial correspondence. The course also explores the features of dynamic presentations, including methods of structuring, visualizing and delivering a message.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
Today’s globalized business environment and an increasingly cultural diverse workplace, require that managers are culturally aware. To prepare students, this course focuses on cultural and cross-cultural issues and explores suitable management and communication approaches. The course highlights aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility as they relate to intercultural settings.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
This module provides an overview of the economic way of thinking. The module introduces graphical analysis, the concepts of demand and supply, the decision-making process regarding the optimal level of output and identifies and distinguishes among different market structures.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
The course provides an understanding of economic issues as they pertain to national economies and international trade. Topics covered include: national income, employment, GDP, the dynamics of inflation, aggregate demand and supply, money and the banking system, monetary and fiscal policies, and international trade. Some time is also spent presenting competing economic models. In other words, the course presents the macro framework in which business is conducted.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
This course covers the marketing process as it relates to the “four p’s”: product, place, promotion and price. Specifically, the course explores the concepts and practices of marketing management, sales, channels of distribution, consumer behavior, pricing strategies, advertising, and market research.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
This course explores the concepts of corporate finance, investments and capital markets. Throughout, attention is given to trade-offs of risk and return in financial decision making. Issues presented include the time value of money, the nature of financial markets, financial analysis and planning, security valuation and capital markets, capital budgeting, IRR, the Profitability Index, Net Working Capital, credit policies and receivables management.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
This course explores the basic concepts of managing, planning and controlling an organization. It begins with the process of building leadership skills and lays a solid base for the difficult tasks of human resources management. The course focuses on communication, decision making and leadership for administrative and managerial positions in business and government.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
The course focuses on the process of recognizing and creating opportunities for business ventures. Students learn about planning, organizing and controlling activities involved in setting up a business. Challenges such as financing, staffing and marketing new ventures are discussed, as are government regulations. The course also deals with the problems of running a family business, working with family members, transition management and the growing of a small business. Instructions on how to create a good business plan form the practical aspect of this course.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
This practice-oriented course provides the student not only with the theoretical understanding of the Project Life Cycle within an organizational context but allows familiarizes the student with hands-on tools and techniques of effective project management. PM activities that are explored include: developing project plans and schedules, allocating and coordinating resources, risk assessment, budgets and controlling costs, and managing teams.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
In this practically-oriented course, students familiarize themselves with the e-business strategy framework, using the steps of the e-business strategy formulation roadmap, linking the individual steps of the roadmap to the different parts of the e-business strategy formulation. They explore the main business issues involved in each stage of the roadmap and apply the concepts in the design and implementation of an e-business initiative.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
The course provides the foundation for understanding information systems and examines IT-related roles, functions and strategies in today’s business environment. The course will cover the principles and concepts of IS, the motivation for using IS in business, the technologies implemented and their applications, and the reciprocal relationship between the organization and information technology.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
The course is an introduction to the issues surrounding human resources and the complex relationship between management and employees. Students examine human behavior. They are presented with effective human resource management practices that are aimed at promoting employee well-being and improving the productive efficiency of the company. Topics include: recruiting and selection, staffing, development and performance appraisal of human resources. Also discussed are topics such as labor management-relations and ethics.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
The course presents concepts, tools and techniques involved in managing the flow of resources (e.g. materials, goods, information etc.) through a global supply chain. The risks and rewards of outsourcing organizational R & D, production and delivery processes are discussed. Core topics include: supplier selection, warehousing, quality control, procurement, negotiations, risk management, and distribution, among others. The result is an in-depth understanding of organizational cost, quality, and innovation as it pertains to a company’s supply chain.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
This course introduces the vital role technology innovation plays in management strategy. Models of technological innovation past and present are explored, and students are shown how the innovation process can be embedded in an organization. Specifically, students are taught the how innovation needs are identified, innovation projects are selected, new product are developed, and the value of innovation is captured.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
In this course, the student will be exposed to an integrative study of organizations in a changing business environment. The course equips students with the necessary skills to critically assess an organizations’ strategic position, and to formulate, implement and lead change effectively.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
This course focuses on how firms formulate, implement, and evaluate strategies in a turbulent and rapidly changing environment. Students focus on integrated decision-making in terms of strategy formation, implementation, and evaluation. The course is designed to allow students to synthesize the knowledge gained through previous courses, using and applying the tools, models and theories of different business and management disciplines. In this, the course serves as a capstone course for the fundamentals portion of the program.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
The course provides an analytical framework for the study of international trade. Students explore a broad array of relevant topics applying both theoretical models and empirical studies to determine a model that best fits “real world” data. Competing theories concerning the nature of international trade and the gains or losses thereof are discussed. Student will also explore the relevance and policy implications of these theories/models, especially in terms of growth, income distribution, and development.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
This course introduces students to the basic concepts of operations management and the transformation process that converts organizational resources to finished products and services. Operations Management responsibilities like process and layout design, plant location, production planning and scheduling, quality management and control, capacity and inventory management will be covered. Qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis will be applied to Operations Management issues.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
In this course, students explore the nature of organizational, individual and group dynamics and learn how to influence these positively to increase organizational effectiveness. Specifically, students will study individual and group behaviors dealing with morale, conflict resolution, power and motivation and explore effective leadership models and communication strategies. Discussions will also include the impact of change and effect of the diversity.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
This course examines the process by which buying decisions are made in consumer markets. Various issues and concepts relating to consumer research are explored and critically appraised in terms of their intellectual validity and their managerial significance. The aim of this course is to provide students with the opportunity to develop a theoretical understanding of consumer behavior in conjunction with the skills to apply this knowledge to practical marketing situations.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
In this course, we emphasize the strategic importance of marketing communication, rather than seeing it as merely a tactical process of promoting the other elements of the marketing mix. Brands exist in the minds of customers not only through their experience of a product or service, but also because of the long-term effects of communication. Communication is, of course, essential in any relationship. Building and managing relationships with consumers and customers has a direct bearing on marketing communications. Marketing communications helps define an organization’s relationships with customers not only by the kind of messages exchanged, but also by the choice of media and occasion to suit their customers’ preferences.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
This course shows how brand considerations (with a strong emphasis on online media), can be linked closely to a business and/or product strategy. Specifically, students will learn to identify and develop brand positioning and values, evaluate brand equity, plan and implement brand marketing programs and retain brand loyalty and attachment. Special focus will be placed on brand marketing in the digital world.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
The need for effective public relations in both the private and public sectors is growing rapidly, especially with the prevalence of social media and online communities of interest. This course teaches students the importance of developing a favorable public opinion towards the organization, firm or individual and how to apply the principles of public relations in a strategic manner. Included is a preliminary review of communication planning, crisis communication and issues management. Special attention will be placed on public relations in online media.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
This course provides a complete overview of all aspects of digital marketing. Students are familiarized with essential digital technologies and electronic marketing tools. They learn how to assess various digital channels and select those most suitable for their strategic objective. Students also learn to formulate effective digital marketing campaigns that are aligned with their marketing objectives and to create attractive user experiences. Social media risks, challenges and ethical issues concerned are also discussed.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
This course provides students with fundamental tools and techniques necessary to conduct research in social science. Students gain an understanding of the role and importance of research for strategic and operational managerial practice and problem-solving needs. The course covers quantitative and qualitative methodologies with a special focus given to statistical research, thereby preparing students for various research projects throughout the program, including the final thesis paper.
- Contact Hours: 40
- Self-study Hours: 92
- Assessment Hours: 18
- Total Hours: 150
Bachelor Thesis
The BBA thesis provides the opportunity for students to benefit from an extended period of independent research and critical study. Learners will explore a topic of interest in detail and thereby gain in-depth knowledge and competences, as outlined in the learning outcomes of the BBA program. Students are expected to show an understanding and awareness of the subject, and to be able to identify, discuss and analyze appropriate texts relevant to the subject of study. Given the marketing emphasis of the BBA program, the research topic should be marketing oriented.
BBA Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the program, learners will have acquired the following competences, knowledge, and skills (click on each heading to see the details):
- Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the business environment with a special focus on the dynamics of entrepreneurship, management and marketing
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key business foundation disciplines such as business environment, accounting, marketing, business information systems, organization behaviour, entrepreneurship and innovation
- Demonstrate critical knowledge and understanding of a range of activities within the key business functional areas such as marketing, human resource management and innovation management
- Deal critically with business/management problems and issues in order to create innovative business or marketing strategies for new or existing ventures
- Identify and select relevant sources of business data
- Critically analyse and appraise business information
- Deal critically with management problems and issues in order to create actionable recommendations for decision making and facilitating subsequent action
- Use planning and analytics-driven business intelligence tools to inform key business processes within the organisation
- Demonstrate financial literacy through reading and interpreting managerial information and other data
- Demonstrate the ability to pick and deploy operational resources in managerial and administrative contexts within the value chain of the organisation
- Effectively communicate information, arguments and analysis in a variety of forms to specialist and non-specialist audiences
- Make professional judgements in an organizational context that reflect on relevant social and ethical issues
- Assume a leading role within diversely complex projects and to evaluate, appraise and manage team performance
- Direct, monitor and assess own learning and identify key competences for self-directed achievement of the respective learning goals
- Apply relevant transferable skills acquired within a professional workplace environment in an effective and self-driven manner
- Formally and informally communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions in a professional manner
- Use appropriate media and work effectively online with others using collaborative tools
- Interact effectively within a team/learning-/professional peer environment
- Negotiate in a professional context and manage conflict
- Develop self-leadership strategies to enhance personal and professional effectiveness
- Manage and direct their own learning with minimum guidance
- Exercising initiative and personal responsibility
- Seek, appreciate and make use of feedback and self-evaluate their own work, growth and performance
- Demonstrate self-awareness by reflection on continuing personal and professional development
BBA Program Tuition Fees
Tuition can be settled as per the following optional payment plans:
Option 1: monthly installments
- Deposit: 5,000 Euro
- 36 monthly installments: 250 Euro
Total tuition: 14,000 Euro
Option 2: annual installments
- Year 1: 4,000 Euro
- Year 2: 4,000 Euro
- Year 3: 4,000 Euro
Total tuition: 12,000 Euro
Option 3: advance payment
- Single payment: 9,900 Euro
Total tuition 9,900 Euro
Additional fees may apply after 4 years of study.Â
If you require financial assistance, please read our information on scholarships here:
Scholarships & Financial Aid | Signum Magnum College (smceducation.com)
BBA Admission Requirements
Admission to the SMC BBA program depends on both quantitative- and qualitative criteria. Our Admissions Committee also values extracurricular activities and personal development in their assessment. Our minimum requirements include:
Free BBA Application
Bachelor Program Admission Process
This program is accredited by the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority.
Accreditation License Number 2019-014