Program Overview

Program Overview

The University of Strathclyde offers a Master of Business Administration (MBA) program, which is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of business principles and practices. The program is available in various study routes, including full-time and part-time options, and can be taken in Glasgow or at one of the university's international centers.

Key Facts

• Start date: April and October
• Application deadline: Applications for the October intake close in mid-August, and for the April intake, they close in early March
• Study mode and duration: MBA/PgDip: part-time - 2 years
• Triple-accredited business school: AMBA, AACSB, and EQUIS
• Over 50 years: Delivering the prestigious MBA program

Study with Us

The MBA program at Strathclyde Business School offers students the opportunity to:

• Gain an internationally recognized qualification
• Learn in a cross-cultural environment
• Study strategy with internationally acclaimed academics
• Develop confidence as a manager and leader
• Improve career prospects or change career direction
• Study at Strathclyde Business School, founded in 1948

Why this Course?

The Strathclyde MBA has been delivered on an executive (part-time) basis via international centers since 1988. The program is strategy-focused, blending theoretical and practical business learning, and is flexible and responsive to the needs of working individuals. Students can personalize the program to suit their business interests through a wide choice of electives.

Program Format

The program is designed for busy executives who need to combine career and family commitments with the demands of MBA studies. The flexibility of the part-time approach enables most participants to graduate within two years, but study may be spread over a longer period if necessary, up to a maximum of five years.

Course Content

The Strathclyde MBA program structure has three distinct building blocks:

1. Building Capabilities: Provides a solid foundation in the management of key functional areas found in today's business organizations.
2. Responsible Leadership: Ensures that students are able to lead strategically, sustainably, and ethically.
3. Strategy in Practice: Addresses how organizations survive, become highly successful, and remain financially viable and legitimate in a global, rapidly changing environment.

Building Capabilities

• Operations & Project Management: Explores the principles of contemporary operations and project management.
• Entrepreneurial Thinking & Practice: Examines the entrepreneurial mindset and ways to bring creativity to bear in pursuit of new sources of value creation.
• Marketing Management: Examines the concept of marketing and how it operates within consumer, business-to-business, service, and public organizations.
• Managing Value-Driven Analytics: Introduces students to managing value-driven analytics from the perspective of a general manager.
• Consulting Skills: Supports students in developing inter-personal, critical thinking, engagement, and influencing skills.

Responsible Leadership

• Accounting and Financial Management: Teaches students the language and methods of managerial and financial accounting.
• Leading a Sustainable Organisation: Explores the nature of organizations from multiple perspectives and how to nurture a high-performance organization.
• Strategic Leadership Development: Provides students with a range of learning contexts, theories, knowledge, and practical tools to critically reflect on and enhance their strategic leadership practice.
• Responsible Organisation: Engages students with examples, outcomes, and limits of responsible management practice.

Strategy in Practice

• Digital Transformation & Technological Innovation: Examines the role of digital disruption, digital maturity, and digital initiatives in shaping organizational outcomes.
• Applied Strategic Management: Introduces major strategic management concepts and theories and helps students appreciate the journey undertaken for the development of strategy.
• Macroeconomics and International Business Environment: Examines various long-term and important drivers of the international business environment, including developments in the macroeconomy.
• Economic Analysis for Strategists: Undertakes a rigorous and 'emotionless' approach to analyzing opportunities in existing and new markets.

Electives

Students can select electives from a range of topical and relevant subjects, allowing them to tailor the MBA to suit their own personal preferences and interests. Recent popular electives include Project Management, Global Marketing Strategy, and Developing Effective Consultancy Skills.

Capstone Project

The final part of the Strathclyde MBA is the capstone project, which aims to integrate and consolidate the knowledge gained from across the MBA program. Students can opt for one of three ways to conduct the MBA project:

1. Research Dissertation: Undertake substantial research in an area of interest.
2. Consultancy Project: Design and lead a consultancy project leading to operational costs improvement, enhanced customer experience, or transformed business model within an existing organization.
3. Entrepreneurial Business Plan: Develop a new business or social enterprise idea through the stages of preparation for an entrepreneurial idea.

Ranking

The Strathclyde Executive MBA has repeatedly featured in the annual Financial Times' top 100 ranking of EMBA programs. In the 2024 Financial Times' Business School rankings, Strathclyde Business School was ranked in the top 100 of European business schools.

Learning and Teaching

Learning methods include face-to-face teaching by Strathclyde University staff, regular local counseling support, home/private study with specially prepared core learning materials, and assignments set, marked, or validated by Strathclyde University staff.

Assessment

Assessment throughout the program involves a combination of coursework, workshops, group work, and presentations. As far as possible, coursework will be related to the student's work environment.

Global Practitioner Initiative

The Global Practitioner initiative aims to place practical expertise and content relevance alongside academic knowledge and intellectual challenge at the heart of a high-quality, transformative student experience.

Entry Requirements

For entry to the MBA program, students must:

• Hold a degree from a UK university or equivalent academic qualification from a comparable non-UK institution.
• Be at least 24 years of age.
• Have a minimum of three years' full-time postgraduate experience where the management of people and resources has played a significant role.

Fees and Funding

Fees may be subject to updates to maintain accuracy. Tuition fees will be notified in the offer letter. All fees are in £ sterling and may be subject to revision.

Careers

The university recognizes that career development is one of the main reasons why people invest in an MBA. The MBA job market offers plenty of global opportunities, but can be complex and challenging. The university offers a dedicated careers service for MBA students, which consists of career planning and skills development, as well as unlimited access to personal advice and coaching.