Manchester Global Executive MBA

Before you start: Pre-MBA

Available as soon as you have secured your place. Online and self-paced, taking about 15 hours.

• Manchester MBA Preparation Course (online)

  Key study skills, an introduction to the Learning by Doing approach, and a head start in Marketing and Operations Management through Business Essentials courses. The University's own page describes the course as voluntary and also lists Business Essentials in Accounting, Corporate Finance, Cultural Economy and Financialisation, and Economics, and a practice MBA essay with feedback.

Year one, term one (January intake): core knowledge and skills

Workshops in Manchester in January and in Hong Kong in March, with virtual workshop days for Digital Economy and Business Accounting and Finance in February.

• Leading Global Transitions

  Tools for analysing the global business environment through a cultural political economy lens. Covers shareholder value and governance, financialised business models and the global economy, how managers' language and practices shape firm behaviour, managing in an unstable and complex financial environment, and the social context of business, including inequality, uncertainty, sustainability and household finances and wealth. 3-day in-person workshop. The University's own page describes the current course as the two transitions firms face: redefining their purpose around stakeholder value and redesigning business models for a net-zero economy, with ESG as the tool for managing both.

• Digital Economy

  Economic theory and the principles of internet markets, how technology and artificial intelligence are changing sectors such as advertising, financial markets and healthcare, and how to innovate in platform businesses and lead the digital transformation of established companies. 2-day in-person workshop, 1 virtual workshop day and online learning. The University's own page titles it Digital Economy - AI, Platforms and Business and adds using AI in corporate strategy and decisions, AI-driven business models, case studies in HR, finance, healthcare and retail, identifying AI use cases and designing AI-powered products, ethics such as bias and privacy, and leading AI projects.

• Business Accounting and Finance

  Reading and analysing financial reports, and the main techniques of management and cost accounting for decision-making, bringing the two together for financial strategy and planning. 3-day in-person workshop, a virtual workshop and online learning, with compulsory virtual sessions equal to 9 hours over three weekend days.

• Leading People and Organisations

  Organisational behaviour: why today's management practices and organisational structures exist and how they shape behaviour at work. Covers motivation, leadership and team performance, organisational structure and culture, and managing change in complex organisations, applying research-based frameworks to real management problems. Taught through a 3-day in-person workshop and online learning.

Year one, term two (January intake)

Workshops in Dubai in September, with the Strategy and Innovation Part A virtual day in October. Strategy and Innovation Part B starts towards the end of this term.

• Strategy and Innovation, Part A

  Strategy for current conditions: global instability, technological disruption and the sharing economy studied alongside established strategic theory, mixing theory with practice and team-based analysis of live cases. Part A has a 2-day in-person workshop and 1 virtual workshop day. The University's own page describes Part A as the economics behind strategic thinking: microeconomics and game theory applied to strategic decisions, how ESG and innovation shape firm behaviour, and the effects of governance, management and market dynamics.

• Operationalising and Communicating Value

  How operations management and marketing interact and how to balance and integrate them, applying theory to practical business scenarios and working on solutions with multinational classmates. 4-day in-person workshop and online learning.

Months 13 to 18 (January intake): focus and specialise

Workshops in Manchester in January, then two elective workshops of at least 3 days each in March at any global centre.

• Strategy and Innovation, Part B

  The second part of Strategy and Innovation. 4-day in-person workshop and online learning. The University's own page describes Part B as applying those insights to real business challenges: industry dynamics and strategic opportunities, sustainable growth strategies, and data and case analysis for decisions.

• Live Capstone Project

  The programme's live business project, named the Live Capstone Project in the course plan and described on the branch page as the Business Inquiry: about six months of group work with a 1-day workshop in Manchester, delivering consultancy on a real business challenge for a not-for-profit partner, with the option of a commercial project instead to suit your career goals. The University's own page adds that the client organisation is normally sourced by the students, possibly from the not-for-profit or social value sector, with the client and project scope approved by the course unit director, and that teams work with a supervisor to build a strategic plan, ending in a professional presentation and report with recommendations for the client.

• Electives 1 and 2

  Two electives from the list below.

Electives: choose two

Each elective has a face-to-face workshop of at least 3 days in Manchester, Dubai, Hong Kong, Shanghai or Singapore, plus online learning. Some electives run entirely online and some have longer or shorter face-to-face workshops, and the list is updated to keep pace with topics such as fintech and sustainability. The University's own page adds that you can combine electives into your own pathway, for example in marketing, digital business or finance, that electives vary in length and availability, and that some run only once a year, which can limit the options open to you.

Digital electives

Part of the same choice of two electives.

GEMBA+ (alongside the degree, not credit-bearing)

Targeted extra-curricular activities to sharpen your skills, clarify your goals and raise your global profile: facilitated professional discussions with senior alumni, Global Careers Service and alumni relations events such as welcome dinners, speaker sessions and visits to global organisations, and access to the MBA+ activities of all the part-time MBAs, including online careers seminars and employability sessions. The course plan also lists induction, cultural activities, class socials, senior alumni introductions, networking events, The Reflective Executive workshop, alumni speaker events and socials, and regional and industry alumni groups.

After you graduate

An optional post-graduation elective, with a workshop of at least 3 days in Dubai, Hong Kong, Manchester, Shanghai or Singapore plus online learning, counts towards your continuing professional development. Graduates also keep lifetime membership of the global alumni community.