Manchester Global MBA

Before you start: Pre-MBA

Opens once you have been offered a place and paid the reservation fee. Online and self-paced, taking around 15 hours.

• Manchester MBA Preparation Course (online)

  An introduction to studying at Manchester: how to write academic assignments, what the school means by Learning by Doing, a refresh of key study skills, Business Essentials courses in Marketing and in Operations Management, and a chance to meet the teams who will support you. 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: core knowledge and skills

Workshops: 3 days in Dubai in month 1 and 6 days in Dubai in month 3.

• Leading Global Transitions

  How firms can redefine their purpose around stakeholder value and rebuild their business models for a net-zero global economy, with environmental, social and governance (ESG) practice as the tool for managing both shifts. Covers the forces behind these transitions, including financialisation, shareholder value maximisation, corporate governance and firm purpose. Taught through a 3-day in-person workshop and online learning.

• Strategy and Innovation, Part A

  The economics behind strategic thinking: microeconomics and game theory applied to strategic decisions, how ESG and innovation shape the way firms behave, and the effects of governance, management and market dynamics. Taught through a 2-day in-person workshop, a 1-day virtual workshop and guided online learning, with group presentations held virtually.

• Operationalising and Communicating Value

  Marketing and operations management taught together, including where the two functions reinforce or pull against each other. Covers analysing customer needs and market position and turning them into product and pricing choices, choosing channels and messages for a value proposition, designing operations strategies and supply chains that fit business goals, judging these decisions with data while allowing for its gaps, and writing, presenting and working in teams. Taught through a 4-day in-person workshop and online learning.

Year one, term two

Workshops: 6 days in Dubai in month 3. Strategy and Innovation Part B starts towards the end of this term.

• 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.

• Business Accounting and Finance

  Two parts, Understanding and Measuring Business Value and Creating Financial Value. Covers the difference between cash, profit and net book value; cash budgets and profit and loss accounts; accounting techniques and how international financial reporting standards (IFRS) limit what can be valued; wider societal, environmental, cultural and operational value; the time value of money in project appraisal and asset valuation; and financing decisions that shape future profits. Taught through a 3-day in-person workshop, a virtual workshop run as three weekly 3-hour online sessions, and online learning.

Year two, term three: focus and specialise

Workshops: 4 days in Dubai in month 1, then 6 days at any global location in month 3 for electives 1 and 2. The Live Business Project starts this term and runs to the end of the programme.

• Strategy and Innovation, Part B

  Applies Part A to real business problems: reading industry dynamics, spotting strategic opportunities, designing sustainable growth strategies, and using data and case analysis to make decisions. Taught through a 4-day in-person workshop and online learning.

• Electives 1 and 2

  Two electives from the list below, with workshops at any of the five global locations.

• Live Business Project

  Either explore an entrepreneurial venture in a sector you choose or take on a significant issue for your own organisation. Past projects include restoring the competitive edge of Kellogg's Nutri-Grain bar; how well a corporate parent delivers value to stakeholders; a lean start-up plan called Fit-for-life; how earned media affects brand preference, purchase intention and sales for infant formula brands; segmenting and targeting Chinese e-lock buyers; the critical success factors for taxi-hailing apps; helping Salesforce.com support unemployed job-seekers back into work; and switching among non-household customers in England's water market.

Year two, term four

Workshops: 3 days at any global location in month 3.

• Elective 3

  Your third elective from the list below.

• Developing Managerial and Career Success

  Starts from the idea that managing others begins with managing yourself. Covers what drives managerial and career success, regulating your own thoughts, emotions and behaviour, building a strong reputation and influence, working relationships that support your growth, and planning a global career with resilience and adaptability. Taught through a 3-day virtual workshop and online learning.

Electives: choose three

Electives let you tailor the MBA to your goals, across entrepreneurship and innovation, finance, HR management, leadership and management practice, marketing, projects and technology. They are taught in Dubai, Hong Kong, Manchester, Shanghai and Singapore; some run entirely online and some have longer or shorter face-to-face workshops. The University's programme page adds that each elective is taught through a workshop of at least three days plus online learning, 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 three electives.

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

Extra-curricular support to help you set goals, sharpen interpersonal skills, build corporate connections and raise your profile: networking events, online careers seminars, employability sessions, careers guidance, alumni socials, alumni speaker events and alumni groups. The course-structure PDF describes it as including personalised career support, business clubs and competitions, social events and alumni services.

Onboarding and support

Before teaching starts you have a welcome session, meet the Student Advisor who supports you through the programme, are shown round the Canvas online learning platform (course materials, submitting assignments, grades and feedback, discussion boards and the programme handbook), go through academic expectations and key dates, and join a live welcome session hosted from Manchester with MBA students from every centre. A Global MBA welcome event in Dubai follows, with team-building, Manchester alumni talking about what the MBA did for them, a chance to meet your faculty, Student Advisor and the wider team, and your first face-to-face workshop; you also get in touch with the alumnus you were matched with through the Alumni Buddy Programme. During the programme, the Managing Your Studies series, run by alumni, the support team and academics, helps with planning assignments, balancing work, personal life and study, and managing deadlines, alongside regional one-to-one support, an entrepreneurship club, masterclasses by visiting Manchester academics, the annual Women in Business Forum, social responsibility projects and the annual students and alumni gala.