Master of Business Administration
Award
MBA
Duration & study mode
1-2 years full-time, typically 2-5 years part-time
Course starting dates
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Online: September, January, May
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Paisley: September, January, May
The MBA is based at our Paisley campus, situated in a historical Scottish town with a rich culture and architectural heritage. The campus is with travelling distance of Glasgow and has good transport links for students.
There is also the option to study our MBA programme fully online. Your learning on the MBA is supported by AULA the virtual learning environment at UWS.
Our MBA emphasises its pedagogical approach to vicarious learning where you will identify contemporary business practices and relate these back to theories and concepts.
Key to this is peer-to-peer learning and the sharing of professional and business experience, as well as reasoning and reflection. In doing so, we believe that this provides an integrated approach to understanding the role of business functions and the challenges faced by the discontinuous business landscape. The use of practical examples and cases studies enables MBA graduates to develop the skills and competences needed to be successful managers.
The MBA offers four elective module choices enabling you to tailor the MBA to suit your aspirations. The very nature of the MBA, as well as the significant peer interaction provides you with extensive networking opportunities allowing you to develop an international network of peers.
Upon graduation students may wish to continue their study through a Doctor of Business Administration, a PhD and/or Continuous Professional Development.
The MBA will develop your personal capabilities, skills and knowledge to prepare you for a career in management. You’ll study the workings of organisations, the global environment, strategy, enterprise, current management trends and challenges, learning to apply strategic thinking to real-world scenarios.
An MBA equips graduates with a 360-degree view of their chosen industry/sector. This level of insight is highly valuable to firms looking to recruit leaders and managers with a deep understanding of business.
Topics you may cover include:
“People recognise the MBA as a credible course that gives you a very good understanding of business. I mentioned to a contact that I had completed the MBA and he immediately asked me to send him my CV. Through that connection I was able to secure my current job”
Jason Fernandes, MBA Graduate and Investment Analyst at JB Equity
This qualification opens the door to a range of positions in all sectors, giving you the knowledge and skills to enter the industry at a managerial level.
An MBA is a recognised management qualification and is one that enables graduates to develop their management and leadership capabilities which allow them start their own business, become a business or management consultant, move up the career ladder in the sector in which they currently work or even change industries. Some graduates may continue in education and go onto to study a higher degree like PhD or DBA. The UWS MBA is a credible and globally recognised qualification that gives you the flexibility to achieve your aspirations or change career direction.
We welcome Scottish, UK and international students and consider all applicants on an individual basis.
Don’t worry if your qualifications are not listed here, we take a range of factors into account when assessing your application and are happy to consider other alternative combinations of qualifications and experience
If you are applying with an EU or non-EU qualification, please check our Postgraduate Entry Requirements page which gives more information about country-specific entry requirements.
You will normally be expected to satisfy at least one of the following admission requirements:
You may also be considered with other academic, vocational or professional qualifications deemed equivalent.
For applicants whose first language is not English, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level. The qualifications below must have been gained within two years of the start of your course.
General English language requirements at UWS: International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic module (not General Training)
Exceptions to this level of IELTS scoring exist for some accredited or professionally-recognised courses (see section below for more details).
SOCIAL WORK DEGREES
For our BA (Hons) Social Work and MSc Social Work programmes, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
All stated English tests are acceptable for admission for both home/EU and international students for this programme:
For our research degrees (MRes, MPhil, PhD, DBA, DProf) applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
For Health, Nursing & Midwifery courses that lead to, or require professional registration with the Nursing & Midwifery Council, applicants are required to have an IELTS or Occupational English Test (OET)*.
For such courses, the IELTS score is as follows:
* Note that the Occupational English Test (OET) will now be accepted in addition to IELTS as proof of a Nurse's English Language Competence (Nursing & Midwifery Council, 2019).
For our BSc (Hons) Applied Biomedical Science, BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science and MSc Advanced Biomedical Science programmes, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
For our Certificate of Higher Education courses, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
TOEFL IBT*: 78; no sub-test less than:
* Please note that TOEFL is still acceptable for admission to this programme for both home/EU and international students.
For international students, the Home Office has confirmed that the University can choose to use TOEFL to make its own assessment of English language ability for visa applications to degree level courses. We therefore still accept TOEFL tests taken in the last two years for admission to this programme.
West African Senior School Certificate of Education (WASSCE) including acceptance of WAEC Scratchcard*
*UWS will accept a WAEC scratchcard confirming that an applicant has achieved C6 or above as evidence of meeting English language requirement from Nigeria if the student graduated within the last 5 years. After 5 years applicants would be required to provide the WAEC Certificate.
Applicants who do not meet the minimum English language requirements have the option to study one of our preparatory and pre-sessional English courses. The UWS courses available are:
The MBA course has a number of core modules, which will enable students to lead from within through innovation and creative thinking, shaping them into a leader for the ever-changing context of business.
The modules are interdisciplinary in nature enabling students to critically demonstrate and understand the integration of key business functions enhancing their ability to design and deliver effective organisation-wide strategies across sectors.
Students are required to complete the following three core modules:
Students undertaking the MBA will have the option one of four of the following modules:
At the dissertation stage there is an option of either the Strategic Business project or the Developing Professional Practice module which will enable students to work with an employer on a project related to Leadership
A recognised innovative feature of our MBA programme is the fact it is supported by its own virtual learning environment – Aula which provides access to MBA core materials and allows students to study and interact online with their peers.
You will be taught through a combination of:
Learning and teaching
Assessment
Assessment methods will include:
All students should apply directly to the University through our online application system. Before you apply, you should check that you meet our entry requirements and you should have all your supporting documents ready.
The first stage of the process is to complete the initial application form. You will then receive a follow-up email with further instructions relating to your application including documents that you will need to forward to support your application, e.g. degree transcripts and certificates etc.
Most courses don't have a formal closing date, but they will close when they are full; apply early to avoid disappointment. There may also be funding deadlines that apply to you.
The Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) applies to all international students and researchers (apart from exempt nationalities) who are subject to UK immigration control and are intending to study or research at postgraduate level in certain sensitive subjects.
Students and researchers who are nationals of EU countries, the European Economic Area (EEA), Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland or the United States of America do not need an ATAS certificate.
An ATAS certificate may be required for certain taught postgraduate master's degrees for international students at UWS.
For the latest information on ATAS and details of eligibility and how to apply for a certificate check the UK Government's dedicated ATAS web pages.
Do you have a question about applying for this course? Get in touch. We are here to help!
£15,500 per year of study
£15,500 per year of study
£15,500 per year of study
£15,500 per year of study
£10,335 Total cost for online study
£10,335 Total cost for online study
£10,335 Total cost for online study
£10,335 Total cost for online study
£5,515 Dissertation only
£5,515 Dissertation only
£5,515 Dissertation only
£5,515 Dissertation only
£2,210 per module (20 credits)
£2,210 per module (20 credits)
£2,210 per module (20 credits)
£2,210 per module (20 credits)
£2,210 per module (20 credits)
£2,210 per module (20 credits)
£2,210 per module (20 credits)
£2,210 per module (20 credits)
We will always try to make sure that we publish accurate course information but we do not accept responsibility for any mistakes or omissions. We will also try to make sure that we deliver our courses in line with our published information. However, we may not always be able to do so and you can find further information about this in our enrolment terms and conditions.