Telecommunications with Business MSc

London, Bloomsbury

This one-year MSc will equip you with both advanced technical expertise and essential business skills. Taught by leading UCL academics and industry experts, you’ll gain the skills needed to manage and innovate in the telecommunications, ICT and tech sectors, preparing you for leadership roles in a fast-changing industry. 

UK students International students
Study mode
UK tuition fees (2026/27)
£25,300
£12,650
Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Overseas tuition fees (2026/27)
£46,700
£23,350
Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Duration
1 calendar year
2 calendar years
5 calendar years
Programme starts
September 2026
Applications accepted
Applicants who require a visa: 20 Oct 2025 – 26 Jun 2026
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Applicants who do not require a visa: 20 Oct 2025 – 28 Aug 2026
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Entry requirements

Normally a minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. Individuals with significant industrial experience (and without such a qualification) may also be considered.

The English language level for this course is: Level 1

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree


If you're looking to gain a blend of technical and business expertise in the telecommunications industry, our MSc in Telecommunications with Business is the programme for you. 

This one-year Master’s will deepen your understanding of the telecommunications technology and provide you with the business acumen you need to thrive in this fast-evolving sector. 

Via an integrated curriculum, you’ll develop a comprehensive understanding of key technologies, network architectures, and systems, while also gaining insight into essential business areas such as financial management, marketing, and product management. 

With modules taught by academic and industry experts, you'll graduate with the skills and knowledge to excel in technical and managerial roles within the telecommunications, ICT and tech industries. 

Who this course is for

This programme is ideal for recent graduates, as well as those with experience who seek accelerated progression to senior management and technical positions. 

We welcome applications from those with a variety of backgrounds in engineering and the physical sciences.

What this course will give you

This programme offers you the following benefits and opportunities:

  • A postgraduate degree from a top-ranked university. UCL is consistently ranked among the best universities globally (ranked 9th in the latest QS World University Rankings 2026), providing you with a prestigious qualification that is highly regarded by employers worldwide. 
  • Study with experienced academics at UCL, building on over 18 years of expertise in delivering combined technical and business education through the highly successful 'Communications for Industry' programme. 
  • Gain a solid understanding of the fundamentals of telecommunications and stay at the cutting edge of technology development. 
  • Prepare for a successful career in telecommunications, supported by UCL’s ethos of combining technical excellence with real-world industry insights. 
  • Learn a comprehensive approach that integrates technical knowledge with commercial, regulatory, and environmental considerations, equipping you to tackle complex, practical challenges in any scenario. 
  • UCL’s Bloomsbury campus is in the heart of a London district famous for its cultural and educational institutions.

The foundation of your career

Our programme not only enhances your employability but also provides extensive networking opportunities to advance your career. 

You'll gain invaluable insights from industry leaders, connect with professionals in the heart of London, and develop the skills to excel in one of the fastest-developing areas of science and technology. Graduates of MSc Telecommunications with Business have gone on to roles at Huawei, Mastercard and TikTok (Graduate Outcome Survey 2017-2022).

Employability

The programme's mix of technical and business content provides students with an advantage when seeking jobs; our graduates leave UCL ready to succeed in careers in fields such as IT, technology and communications and accountancy and financial services.

Networking

You’ll have regular opportunities to connect, collaborate and build professional contacts as part of your Master’s.   

  • Benefit from UCL's prime location in the heart of London, offering you unparalleled access to industry. 
  • Whether you're advancing your career or transitioning from industry, tap into our extensive connections, with opportunities for site visits, placements, and collaborations with world-leading companies. 
  • Learn to apply theory to practice through guest lectures and invited seminars from industry experts. Previous examples include PwC, Virgin Media and Huawei. 
  • Gain valuable career insights from our world-renowned academic team, who bring a wealth of industry experience directly into your learning environment. 
  • Network with your peers from around the world, who have joined us from organisations such as Telkom Indonesia, Vodafone Idea Limited (India) and BNET (Bahrain), China Mobile, Eutelsat OneWeb (UK), Liberty Global (UK) and Inmarsat (UK). 

Accreditation

Our MSc programme is accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) on behalf of the Engineering Council as meeting the academic requirement for Further Learning for registration as a Chartered Engineer. Candidates must hold a CEng accredited BEng/BSc (Hons) undergraduate first degree to fully comply with the CEng registration academic requirement.

Teaching and learning

Programme delivery includes a combination of formal lectures, workshop sessions, seminars, tutorials and project work. All programme lecturers carry out leading research in the subjects they teach. 

The programme is assessed through unseen written examination, coursework, design exercises and the dissertation. 

You can expect 12 to 16 contact hours per week, with an additional 12 to 16 hours of self-directed study.

Four Business modules take place in either the reading weeks or the last week of term, with 30 to 35 contact hours during that week, plus 20 hours of independent study. These modules also require 30 to 50 hours of self-study before and after the week, for instance, to review taught material and complete coursework.

As these modules run in reading weeks and end-of-term weeks, no other modules run concurrently.

Modules

You are required to complete 5 compulsory modules, 4 compulsory Business modules and 1 compulsory technical module, and then a further 3 optional technical modules. The pool of 6 optional modules varies from year to year.

Most projects involve your own primary research — collecting data and analysing this to shed new light on a particular topic related to the contemporary telecommunications business environment. We have an active programme of industrial sponsorship of projects, where the industrial partner proposes and co-supervises the project, but does not take part in the assessment.

Strategy, Marketing and Product Management must be the first business module completed and Finance and Business Environment must be the second business module to be completed.

Customer Service, Operations and Planning and Organisational Design, People Management and Innovation can be taken in any order once Strategy, Marketing and Product Management and Finance and Business Environment modules have been completed.

The dissertation can be undertaken once all taught modules have been completed. Projects are allocated in March and you will start working on your project in April. Full-time work is done on projects for 4 months (May to September).

Most projects involve your own primary research — collecting data and analysing this to shed new light on a particular topic related to the contemporary telecommunications business environment. We have an active programme of industrial sponsorship of projects, where the industrial partner proposes and co-supervises the project, but does not take part in the assessment.

Strategy, Marketing and Product Management must be the first business module completed and Finance and Business Environment must be the second business module to be completed.

Customer Service, Operations and Planning and Organisational Design, People Management and Innovation can be taken in any order once Strategy, Marketing and Product Management and Finance and Business Environment modules have been completed.

The dissertation can be undertaken once all taught modules have been completed. Projects are allocated in March and you will start working on your project in April. Full-time work is done on projects for 4 months (May to September).

Most projects involve your own primary research — collecting data and analysing this to shed new light on a particular topic related to the contemporary telecommunications business environment. We have an active programme of industrial sponsorship of projects, where the industrial partner proposes and co-supervises the project, but does not take part in the assessment.

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MSc in Telecommunications with Business.

Accessibility

The department will endeavour to make reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities, including those with long-term health conditions, neurodivergence, learning differences and mental health conditions. This list is not exhaustive. If you're unsure of your eligibility for reasonable adjustments at UCL, please contact Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

Reasonable adjustments are implemented on a case-by-case basis. With the student's consent, reasonable adjustments are considered by UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services, and where required, in collaboration with the respective department.

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information about support available can be obtained from UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

For more information about the department and accessibility arrangements for your course, please contact the department.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time Part-time
Tuition fees (2026/27) £25,300 £12,650
Tuition fees (2026/27) £46,700 £23,350

Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.

Postgraduate Taught students benefit from a cohort guarantee, meaning that their tuition fees will not increase during the course of the programme, but UCL reserves the right to increase tuition fees to reflect any sums (including levies, taxes, or similar financial charges) that UCL is required to pay any governmental authority in connection with tuition fees.

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Where the course is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

For full-time and part-time offer holders with a fee status classification of UK, a fee deposit will be charged at 2.5% of the first year fee.

For full-time and part-time offer holders with a fee status classification of Overseas, a fee deposit will be charged at 10% of the first year fee.

For modular/flexible offer holders with a fee status classification of UK, a £350 deposit will be charged.

For modular/flexible offer holders with a fee status classification of Overseas, a £500 deposit will be charged.

Further information can be found in the Tuition fee deposits section on this page: Tuition fees.

Students are expected to have their own computer/laptop, in order to carry out independent study and programming assignments. Average laptop prices can range from £300-£1000. Chromebooks cannot be used at all.

For in-person teaching, UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £119.90. This price was published by TfL in 2025. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.

Funding your studies

A number of competitive EPSRC studentships are normally available for candidates liable to pay fees at the UK/EU rate.

The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) also awards competitive scholarships for postgraduate study, for details visit www.theiet.org.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

Next steps

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

There is an application processing fee for this course of £90 for online applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

  • why you want to study Telecommunications with Business at graduate level
  • why you want to study Telecommunications with Business at UCL
  • what particularly attracts you to this programme
  • how your academic and professional background meets the demands of this programme
  • how you envisage your career path after the MSc
  • your personal statement should also include a technical summary of your final-year project including the aims and technical achievements.

Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this programme match what the programme will deliver.

A video interview may be used as part of the application process. You will be notified if this is necessary.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate courses (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2026-2027

UCL is regulated by the Office for Students.