MBA Outline

The internationally recognized MBA qualification is designed for practicing managers aspiring to higher positions. The emphasis is on strategic analysis, interdisciplinary skills, intellectual stimulation and independent judgment. Within the broad framework of organizations, their external context and management, you will learn to use the knowledge to analyze, synthesis and evaluate a wide range of situations. Among these will be economic, environmental, social and technological change issues, corporate governance, markets and customers, managing resources and operations, financing organizations, management and development of people, developing information technologies for application in business and management within a global knowledge-based economy, and development of appropriate business policies and strategies within a changing context to meet stakeholder interests. The courses comprising the MBA are challenging. They assume that you already have some experiential knowledge acquired from managerial work.

There are many universities which have full time and part time MBA for you to chose and these tables are restricted to full-time study programmes, many students on which seek employment after they complete.

If you are particularly interested in public services and governmental organizations, you may wish to consider our Master of Public Administration (F44). Having said that, the MBA has been completed by many people with such interests. Other alternatives to this general MBA are our MBA (Technology Management) (F03) and MBA (Life Sciences) (F38).

The MBA qualification is in two stages. You must expect to successfully complete Stage 1 before you enrol on Stage 2.

Stage 1

There are three routes through Stage 1.

• Route 1 – if you already have a bachelors level qualification

To follow this route, you must have at least a bachelors level qualification from a recognized university or the equivalent. Further details are set out under Approved Minimum Entry Requirements below. If you are eligible for this route, you can complete Stage 1 either by taking the Postgraduate Certificate in Business Administration course, Fundamentals of senior management (B713) or, if your qualification is in the business studies area, you can study the Professional Diploma in Management course Managing performance and change (B700) (see under Approved Minimum Entry Requirements below for more about which course you are eligible for given your qualifications). Both B713 and B700 involve, on average, 600 hours of study over 12 months.

• Route 2 – if you already hold the Professional Diploma in Management

If you have our Professional Diploma in Management (D64) you can count this as Stage 1 of the MBA. There is a 10 year maximum period within which all study towards the MBA must be completed; if you graduated from the Diploma some years ago, contact the Student Registration and Enquirer Service.

• Route 3 – if you are experienced in managerial work

If you are experienced in managerial work but not eligible for Route 1 or 2, you can take our Professional Certificate in Management (C31), prior to entering Stage 1. When you complete that certificate, you are then eligible to study our Professional Diploma in Management (D64) as Stage 1 of the MBA. The Certificate followed by the Diploma will take two years.

Your first Stage 2 course must normally be Strategy (B820) . Once you have completed B820 you are then able to continue with the rest of Stage 2.

You can read more at website: www3.open.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/qualification/f02.htm