13
13th for Business and Management in the UK
QS World University Rankings by Subject (2025)
99
99th for Business and Management in the world
QS World University Rankings by Subject (2025)
Lancaster University is top 10 in The Complete University Guide 2026
Innovation and entrepreneurship have always lain at the heart of societal change and transformation by fulfilling two important functions:
Today’s global challenges go far beyond mere economic development needs but are multi-faceted and complex, relating to different societal issues such as inequality, poverty, pollution, and climate change. Thus, innovation and entrepreneurship are increasingly seen as key means to solve the grand challenges the world is facing. Combining innovation and entrepreneurship with sustainability competencies presents an exciting opportunity to rethink, redesign and rebuild a responsible future for business practice. The MSc in Innovation and Entrepreneurship provides students with the necessary skills to become successful and responsible innovators and entrepreneurs and to make a valuable contribution to global sustainability.
We offer the ideal environment for aspiring innovators and entrepreneurs, emphasising theoretical rigour and practical experience. We hold a prestigious Small Business Charter award and are renowned for our knowledge exchange and business engagement activities.
We believe in an experiential approach to teaching and learning. Modules such as Innovation Practice Lab, therefore, build on the assumption that learning and skill development come from doing. This programme provides a real opportunity to develop a new business idea with support from our enterprise centre and mentoring and advice from our 80+ Entrepreneurs in Residence. Thus, you will benefit from academic excellence, broad business networks and cutting-edge theory and models delivered by leading professors.
You will study the following modules as part of your programme. See the course structure for more details on the content of each module.
Term 1
Term 2
Term 3
Full-year modules
2:2 Hons degree (UK or equivalent) in any discipline. We are looking for marks consistently at 2:2 level throughout your undergraduate studies.
If you do not meet our main academic entry requirements, we may be able to consider your application where you have relevant extensive professional experience. Such experience could include close involvement in a family business, or in your own business venture. If you meet these additional criteria we would welcome the opportunity to discuss this with you. Please contact us for information.
If you have studied outside of the UK, we advise you to check our list of international qualifications before submitting your application.
Relevant work experience is helpful but not essential
We may ask you to provide a recognised English language qualification, dependent upon your nationality and where you have studied previously.
We normally require an IELTS (Academic) Test with an overall score of at least 6.5, and a minimum of 6.0 in each element of the test. We also consider other English language qualifications.
If your score is below our requirements, you may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
Contact: Admissions Team +44 (0) 1524 592032 or email pgadmissions@lancaster.ac.uk
If you are thinking of applying to Lancaster and you would like to ask us a question, complete our enquiry form and one of the team will get back to you.
We also have more details on our website about:
Delivered in partnership with INTO Lancaster University, our one-year tailored pre-master's pathways are designed to improve your subject knowledge and English language skills to the level required by a range of Lancaster University master's degrees. Visit INTO Lancaster University for more details and a list of eligible degrees you can progress onto.
We continually review and enhance our curriculum to ensure we are delivering the best possible learning experience, and to make sure that the subject knowledge and transferable skills you develop will prepare you for your future. The University will make every reasonable effort to offer programmes and modules as advertised. In some cases, changes may be necessary and may result in new modules or some modules and combinations being unavailable, for example as a result of student feedback, timetabling, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes and new research. Not all optional modules are available every year.
Design thinking underpins continuous innovation, integrating the needs of people, technology and requirements for business success. In this module, you will learn how to combine creativity and innovation to tackle complex and ill-defined problems and develop inclusive, innovative propositions. You will practice a designer mindset applicable in large corporations, medium-sized organisations as well as small start-ups. As a core part of the module, you will participate in a team-based innovation challenge together with fellow students.
This module consists of two components: research methods and dissertation. The research methods taught component is designed to equip you with the additional research techniques and analytical tools necessary to undertake your dissertation which may be company based. The dissertation component consists of an extended piece of supervised independent research of around 15,000 words on a topic relating to some aspect of your master's programme. You choose your topic in the Lent Term. The focus of the dissertation is normally on issues raised in the core modules but may tackle areas of interest revealed in the optional modules that you wish to investigate in further depth. There is also the opportunity to undertake a company-based project.
The module highlights the process of innovation and new venture financing with particular emphasis on the financial needs of scaling and growth. Reflecting the pragmatic necessities and abundant uncertainties of new and fast-developing innovation projects and entrepreneurial ventures, you will be introduced to cash flow, working capital, and investment funding strategies.
Some of the best innovation comes from within an organisation. Innovation and creativity thrive in cultures based on openness, trust, and collaboration. This is an integrative module that will connect all programme learning addressing intrapreneurship and innovation at an organisational level. You will collaborate with a client organisation to appraise and enhance its innovation orientation and readiness, gain insights into innovation practices and learn about enablers and disablers of innovation.
This module complements the academic content of the programme by helping you develop important career skills such as how to present yourself on the job market and business presentation skills. The ability to present complex data in a clear, concise and convincing way is an important skill for business graduates, and in this module, we offer you the opportunity to learn and practice presentations in a safe environment.
This module aims to provide a broad overview of qualitative and quantitative approaches as used in management research, together with an understanding of the different research paradigms. This module prepares you for the independent research you will undertake for your final research project.
Innovation sets firms apart from their competitors. Innovative firms tend to design, develop, market, sell and finance products or services, tapping into undiscovered needs or addressing existing needs more effectively. But how do organisations capture, develop, embrace, and harness innovation? And how can this be established in a responsible way?
In this module, you will do a deep dive into innovation management and explore its links to responsible management.
Strategic purpose is key to organisational success. Businesses driven by purpose outperform the market over the medium to long term because they do not exclusively focus on profits. Strategic purpose requires consideration of how quality, customer satisfaction, productivity, human resource policies, and corporate social responsibility affect value creation. In this module, you will explore responsible leadership and its links to strategic purpose.
The module will provide students with an insight into the challenges for ‘born sustainable’ start-ups in creating economic value alongside the creation of social and ecological value. You will be introduced to new creative and innovative skills that can be transferred to either the start-up context or to businesses wishing to become more sustainable.
Businesses typically experience critical phases of change, causing turmoil. Managers and entrepreneurs must respond appropriately to sustain business competitiveness and survival. You will learn entrepreneurial leadership and change management skills for managing common change scenarios such as start-up, growth, business turn-around, and organisational crisis.
Family businesses are all around us, yet we often lack a good understanding of what makes them unique and sustainable. Family businesses range from large multinationals such as Walmart, Samsung, and Lego to resilient small businesses. In this module, you will learn how to work entrepreneurially and professionally in family firms to achieve long-term growth and performance.
| Location | Full Time (per year) | Part Time (per year) |
|---|---|---|
| Home | £16,270 | n/a |
| International | £27,300 | n/a |
There may be extra costs related to your course for items such as books, stationery, printing, photocopying, binding and general subsistence on trips and visits. Following graduation, you may need to pay a subscription to a professional body for some chosen careers.
Specific additional costs for studying at Lancaster are listed below.
Lancaster is proud to be one of only a handful of UK universities to have a collegiate system. Every student belongs to a college, and all students pay a small College Membership Fee which supports the running of college events and activities. Students on some distance-learning courses are not liable to pay a college fee.
For students starting in 2025, the fee is £40 for undergraduates and research students and £15 for students on one-year courses.
To support your studies, you will also require access to a computer, along with reliable internet access. You will be able to access a range of software and services from a Windows, Mac, Chromebook or Linux device. For certain degree programmes, you may need a specific device, or we may provide you with a laptop and appropriate software - details of which will be available on relevant programme pages. A dedicated IT support helpdesk is available in the event of any problems.
The University provides limited financial support to assist students who do not have the required IT equipment or broadband support in place.
For most taught postgraduate applications there is a non-refundable application fee of £40. We cannot consider applications until this fee has been paid, as advised on our online secure payment system. There is no application fee for postgraduate research applications.
For some of our courses you will need to pay a deposit to accept your offer and secure your place. We will let you know in your offer letter if a deposit is required and you will be given a deadline date when this is due to be paid.
The fee that you pay will depend on whether you are considered to be a home or international student. Read more about how we assign your fee status.
If you are studying on a programme of more than one year’s duration, tuition fees are reviewed annually and are not fixed for the duration of your studies. Read more about fees in subsequent years.
Find all fees and funding information for students at Lancaster University.
You may be eligible for the following funding opportunities, depending on your fee status and course. You will be automatically considered for our main scholarships and bursaries when you apply, so there's nothing extra that you need to do.
Unfortunately no scholarships and bursaries match your selection, but there are more listed on scholarships and bursaries page.
If you're considering postgraduate research you should look at our funded PhD opportunities.
| Scheme | Based on | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Based on {{item.eligibility_basis}} | Amount {{item.amount}} |
We also have other, more specialised scholarships and bursaries - such as those for students from specific countries.
Browse Lancaster University's scholarships and bursaries.
Q&A with MSc Innovation and Entrepreneurship student, Nanda.
As part of the Design Thinking and Innovation module on this programme, students explore how we could innovate Lancaster High Street in an immersive design thinking challenge. This video explains how we learn to become good innovators.
Jowin takes us with her for a day as she studies MSc Entrepreneurship and Innovation and relaxes on campus.
Lancaster is ranked 13th in the UK and joint 99th globally for Business and Management according to the QS World Rankings by Subject 2025, one of nine subjects at Lancaster to be featured in the top 100 in these prestigious listings.
QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025
The information on this site relates primarily to the stated entry year and every effort has been taken to ensure the information is correct at the time of publication.
The University will use all reasonable effort to deliver the courses as described, but the University reserves the right to make changes to advertised courses. In exceptional circumstances that are beyond the University’s reasonable control (Force Majeure Events), we may need to amend the programmes and provision advertised. In this event, the University will take reasonable steps to minimise the disruption to your studies. If a course is withdrawn or if there are any fundamental changes to your course, we will give you reasonable notice and you will be entitled to request that you are considered for an alternative course or withdraw your application. You are advised to revisit our website for up-to-date course information before you submit your application.
More information on limits to the University’s liability can be found in our legal information.
We believe in the importance of a strong and productive partnership between our students and staff. In order to ensure your time at Lancaster is a positive experience we have worked with the Students’ Union to articulate this relationship and the standards to which the University and its students aspire. Find out more about our Charter and student policies.
