LUMS is ranked 1st for Research Power in REF 2021 (Business and Management Studies)
Our MSc International Business and Strategic Management equips you with cutting-edge capabilities and skills required to build, manage and develop businesses across national boundaries while navigating the complexities of a dynamic world.
You will develop vital skills for devising and implementing international business and corporate strategy, making informed decisions, and leading effectively in multinational environments. This programme prepares you for high-impact careers in multinational corporations, startups, and NGOs worldwide.
In a world where global economic, social, and political shifts redefine boundaries daily, thinking strategically and acting decisively is key. The MSc International Business and Strategic Management is designed to prepare you for this challenge and to become an agile, globally-minded leader capable of handling the complexities of international business with confidence, creativity, and clarity.
Develop strategic and cross-cultural skills
You will develop a deep understanding of how to evaluate global markets, develop business-level and corporate strategies, and make informed decisions. You will learn to align organisational objectives with long-term goals based on solid analysis and sound managerial judgement, all in the context of a globalised economy.
This programme helps you build the cross-cultural skills needed to manage diversity and navigate the political, legal, and ethical dimensions of global business. You will gain hands-on experience in what it means to negotiate strategies, taking various stakeholder needs and interests into account, and managing ambiguity.
You will learn to drive sustainable business practices, identify growth opportunities in emerging markets, and integrate innovative thinking into strategy making.
Applied learning and practical impact
Your learning on this programme will be highly applied and experiential. You will have opportunities to put theory into practice through group projects, strategic simulations, real-world case analysis, and an independent capstone project.
You will graduate from this programme with a robust, adaptable skill set that is highly valued across industries and borders. Whether your ambitions lie in small or large businesses, national or multinational firms, consulting, entrepreneurship, or policy, this degree equips you to make a meaningful impact in today’s world.
Features of the International Business and Strategic Management MSc programme you should know about:
Strategic mindset
This programme will help you develop the ability to think strategically to inform long-term decisions.
Global leadership skills
Learn how to manage and lead across cultures, regions, and regulatory environments.
Innovation and sustainability focus
Learn to lead with purpose and create value through innovation and responsible business practices.
Experiential learning
Apply your knowledge in immersive simulations and real-world projects.
Careers
MSc International Business and Strategic Management graduates are well-positioned for high-impact careers, including leadership roles in multinational corporations, consulting firms, and startups from various sectors. Graduates from this programme work all over the world in multi-nationals such as Apple, Coca-Cola, GSK, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and Unilever as well as the top global professional service firms such as Accenture, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deloitte, EY, IBM, KPMG and PWC. Typical roles include:
Business Development Manager: Identifying and pursuing new business opportunities, partnerships, and markets worldwide.
Corporate Strategist and Manager: Developing, overseeing and coordinating corporate initiatives and strategies, business unit operations and performance in a larger corporation.
Organisational Developer: Developing and overseeing organisational management and governance systems in alignment with long-term organisational goals and corporate social responsibilities.
Management and Strategy Consultant: Advising organisations on strategy, operations, and business performance improvements in a global context.
Mergers and Acquisitions Consultant: Advising organisations on target screening and selection, due diligence, deal management, and post-merger integration management.
Innovation Manager: Driving and managing innovation in an organisation.
Why study MSc International Business and Strategic Management at Lancaster?
Selena talks about why she chose LUMS and what she enjoyed about her course.
Entry requirements
Academic requirements
2:2 Hons degree (UK or equivalent) in any discipline. We are looking for marks consistently at 2:2 level, or higher, throughout your undergraduate studies. We welcome applications from people who have studied a business or management-related subject, as well as engineering, computing, natural or social sciences, arts or any other discipline.
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 working in an international organisation, contributing to strategic projects, or having exposure to business environments involving international or cross-cultural elements. Please contact us for information and discussion.
English language requirements
We 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.
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.
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.
Course structure
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.
In this programme, all modules are core and there are no optional modules.
Core
core modules accordion
This module is about the critical choices that organisations face to survive and gain sustainable competitive advantage in an international environment with rapid changes. The module explores strategy: the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term. You will develop an understanding of the environment in which enterprises operate and the creation of value at a business level.
You will experience the full cycle of strategy development including:
analysing industry profitability and external opportunities
appraising value chains and identifying sources of competitive advantage
formulating and evaluating strategic recommendations.
Using a mix of lectures, in-class discussions and group projects, you will gain the ability to apply up-to-date strategy concepts. You will develop skills in processing complex data and convincing others of your analytical insights and recommendations.
The Capstone Project is an extended piece of supervised independent research related to your programme in a real-world business context. You will refine your ability to frame and conduct impactful academic or practical research. This module has two components: studying research methods and writing a dissertation or a practitioner-oriented report. You can choose between three assessment formats:
academic dissertation
company-based project
entrepreneurial challenge.
The research methods component of this module equips you with qualitative and quantitative techniques and analytical tools for practical and academic research. You will attend workshops and seminars that provide structured guidance on developing research proposals and ensure you take a focused and methodologically sound approach. Acquiring transferable research skills will enhance your ability to conduct high-quality research, preparing you for academic and professional challenges. The module integrates skills developed across the programme and fosters independent thinking and problem-solving, which are essential for tackling complex business issues.
This module provides a comprehensive understanding of corporate strategy and governance. You will equip yourself with the skills, knowledge and tools to evaluate how corporates can create value across different businesses. You will examine how a well-designed corporate governance system promotes value-creation and mitigates agency conflicts in businesses. Studying theories, practices and ethical considerations will enable you to critically assess corporate behaviour in a business environment.
The module explores the role of the corporate centre and its structures and discusses different global corporate governance systems. You will examine key corporate-level decisions in depth, including:
diversification
vertical and horizontal integration
internationalisation strategies
cross-business unit collaboration.
You will learn cutting-edge theory and experience practical cases, lectures, in-class discussions and interactive workshops. You will develop core analytical, problem-solving and decision-making skills. These skills will increase your capacity to assess corporate strategy and governance effectively and responsibly and prepare you for corporate management, consulting, or policymaking leadership roles.
Firms continuously strive to defend their competitiveness, expand it to new markets or tap into new sources of competitive advantage. Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) are the most prominent means of achieving these outcomes.
This module adopts a strategy lens to integrate important insights from various disciplines, such as economics, finance, accounting, and organisational psychology. It goes beyond traditional modules on this topic by emphasising the multidisciplinary nature of strategy and providing a deeper understanding of the underlying complexities causing so many M&A failures in practice.
This module combines cutting-edge M&A research with practical application. The module uses real acquisition cases, which provide context for a group-based M&A challenge and in-class discussions.
You will experience the full M&A process, including:
strategic conception
synergy analysis
post-acquisition integration
performance assessment.
You will develop your skills around all aspects of the M&A process, enabling you to manage mergers and acquisitions effectively and creatively.
This module explores the intersection between business and corporate strategy and financial management. You will study how financial considerations influence the strategic decisions of multinational companies and how financial analysis supports strategic planning and execution. The module introduces you to the fundamental principles of economic valuation and their application in strategic decision-making.
The module begins with an overview of company structures and the interpretation of financial information from annual reports. You will examine capital markets as key benchmarks for valuation and sources of vital financial insights. Core theoretical concepts such as net present value (NPV), decision-making under uncertainty, and portfolio selection are introduced and developed. These foundational tools underpin the analysis of strategic investments and financing decisions. By the end of the module, you will equip yourself with key skills to evaluate strategies and make informed, value-based business decisions, aligning financial considerations with broader strategic goals.
This module examines the strategic role of innovation in addressing global sustainability challenges and enabling organisations to succeed in an increasingly interconnected and environmentally vulnerable world. It explores how technological, social, and organisational innovation can drive sustainable development, create long-term value, and enhance global competitiveness.
You will engage with advanced theoretical frameworks and real-world case studies. You will use these tools to assess how international innovation strategies are shaped by and respond to global sustainability agendas. Through critical discussion of well-established and emerging theories and case studies, we will investigate the emergence of new geographies of innovation. There will be a focus on the Global South as a source of global innovation and alternative approaches to innovation.
This module combines lectures and seminar discussions to equip you with the analytical and strategic capabilities required to lead innovation for sustainable impact in entrepreneurial organisations, NGOs, and public sector institutions.
This module explores key concepts and theories that explain how firms operate and compete across borders. You will explore the factors that shape international business environments, including political, economic, legal and cultural forces, and examine how multinational firms respond to these in their strategies and operations.
You will engage with foundational international business theories to understand:
why firms internationalise
how they determine which markets to enter and which entry modes to use
how they navigate the risks and complexities of operating globally.
You will also consider how financial issues such as currency risk, capital availability and returns on investments shape internationalisation decisions and strategic choices. Throughout the module, you will reflect on how global trends and cross-national differences impact strategic decisions. By the end of the module, you will be able to apply this knowledge to assess the opportunities and challenges firms face in diverse international contexts.
The Strategy Summit event simulates a strategy development process in a multidivisional multinational firm. This innovative capstone module requires you to integrate the knowledge and skills developed throughout the programme. You will move beyond a theoretical understanding of strategy as a series of theories and frameworks for analytic decision-making to a practical understanding of strategy-making.
The module combines practical exercises, tutorials, and workshops with a role-playing exercise in which your team assumes the roles of key actors in the business process, including:
CEO
Chairperson
Finance Director
Divisional Managers
Consultants
Shareholders
Non-Executive Directors.
You will practice strategy-making in an international competitive environment and develop critical skills for managing the complexity and political tensions related to strategy practice. Throughout the module, you will keep a learning log, which enables effective reflection and reinforces the key learnings developed across the programme.
Fees and funding
We set our fees on an annual basis and the 2026/27
entry fees have not yet been set.
Additional fees and funding information accordion
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.
College fees
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.
Computer equipment and internet access
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.
Application fees for 2025
For most taught postgraduate programmes starting in 2025 you must pay 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.
Application fees for 2026
There is no application fee if you are applying for postgraduate study starting in 2026.
Paying a deposit
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.
Details of our scholarships and bursaries for 2026-entry study are not yet available, but you can use our opportunities for 2025-entry applicants as guidance.
MSc International Business and Strategic Management (IBSM) is an evolution of the MSc International Business and Strategy (BS) programme. We are proud of our IBS alumni and look forward to seeing our IBSM graduates achieve equal success as they complete their studies with us.
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.
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.
Our Students’ Charter
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.
