An MBA degree in your professional resume opens more doors than any other qualification. It is undoubtedly one of the most popular post graduate degrees in the world, is internationally acknowledged and adds value to a working professional’s profile. Typically, an MBA program is designed to holistically groom a person from any study background to enter and succeed in a management career. It factors in every facet of running a business including production, marketing, finance, legal and social perspectives, management information systems and human resources. The course of study equips the student with the tools and knowledge required to manage a business in the current world environment.
UK produces about 10,000 MBAs each year, the second largest contributor to the world MBA pool after the US which heads the list at 90,000. In a survey conducted by the Association of MBAs, an international body involved in assessing and maintaining the quality of MBA education worldwide, 82% of the respondents mentioned that they took the programme to add a business qualification to their profile, while 79% did it to improve career prospects. Interestingly, 70% mentioned ‘intellectual stimulation’ as the reason and 67% voted for increased pay packages.
MBA Program Structure
An MBA programme in the UK is quite different from the structure you may be familiar with in India. While admission rules remain the same – a basic undergraduate degree in any field – UK programmes require a minimum of three years of work experience prior to being accepted to study the programme. A typical UK programme has duration of 12 months, but a few extend to even 21 months including interning at a real workplace. Studying for an MBA degree in the UK is very popular across the world, and especially in India. Working professionals find it very convenient to take a year out to study, and return with a prestigious UK MBA qualification.
The UK offers over 150 MBA programmes, and the course structure is more or less the same across institutions. The 12-month programme also includes a three-month long work-based project or consultancy. The course of study is international in nature, preparing a student to take up a management assignment anywhere in the world. Apart from general study courses, students can choose electives offered as part of the overall MBA programme that would sharpen their skills in specific areas of a business operation. MBA programmes offer full-time and part-time options for study, but both are equally demanding and require the same amount of effort and commitment.
MBA Studies: Where?
Where you choose to study is as important as what you will be studying, i.e., the course content. Your study programme should be able to add value to your existing experience. For example, if you are in a professional marketing and sales set-up, it would help to choose electives that correspond to the field. Additionally, there are options to take up extra courses in Mathematics and English if you feel challenged in these subjects, especially for the former in case you have studied a non-Science programme at the undergraduate level.
There are certain rules to keep in mind when you decide on a particular institution to pursue your MBA programme. For instance, it’s standing in the education community. MBA school rankings are put together by various media publications practically every month. Results of these studies would be variable since different standards are applied for evaluation. An accredited MBA programme has a higher level of acceptability in industry and employment circles. For example, the Association of MBAs offers accreditation services, so it would be wise to go through their list of institutions to select the right one. Accreditation is a benchmark of quality education, and the service offered by the Association is an independent validation of the course programmes offered by various schools of management studies.
It makes good sense to contact the institution directly and enquire about their programmes. For instance, the placement potential of each course programme based on how many students were recruited, and by which company. There are new programmes being introduced each year tailored to the changing equations of the world business environment. Such focused programmes may have a higher employability factor than the popular groups. Again, find out what kind of companies are associated with the school for the internship part of the programme when students are required to enter a real work environment. Enquire about their faculty, as well as the visiting faculty members and their profiles.
Admission & Tuition Fee
Passing a GMAT test is quite essential for admission, but some schools may have their own rules and tests. A GMAT score is required for full-time programmes, but not for part-time courses. The GMAT test is tailored to assess and identify students who are qualified enough to take up an MBA programme. It requires considerable effort to prepare for the test, and there are schools that specialise in this in India. Checking the average student’s GMAT score at an institution will give you an idea about the quality of its programme.
Tuition fee vary from school to school, and can range from £3,000 to even £40,000 or more for a year’s study. Good schools do charge higher fee, but a high fee is not necessarily the benchmark for a good school. Study the institution’s reputation and standing in the corporate world and the media, and make a call on what would be the best choice for you. Taking up an MBA programme would require substantial investment in terms of time, effort and money. Making an informed decision using available sources of information is a good idea for a student intending to pursue an MBA programme anywhere in the world.
Career Prospect & Salary
While an MBA degree increases the value potential of a career manager, there are quite a few students who use the knowledge acquired to move to challenging but smaller companies like start-ups. Some also turn entrepreneurs using the skills and contacts acquired during the study programme. MBAs are employed in areas like business strategy, marketing and human resources. Management graduates are one of the highest paid people in the corporate structure anywhere in the world, and average salary in the UK is around £65,000. An MBA degree ensures a faster climb in the corporate value chain; a quick scan around would tell you that most senior managers today are early to mid-30s in age.
Business Management Studies: Options
Those who wish to join a post graduate management programme right after graduation, a Master’s in Business and Management (MBM) is ideal. This programme is designed for those who don’t have the required three years of work experience to study an accredited MBA programme. At the same time, the study programme equips them for a managerial role; the study curriculum is almost the same as a regular MBA programme but differs in terms of the processes used for teaching and learning.
If you want to specialise after an MBA programme, there are doctoral programmes available leading to a DBA degree. This is suitable for senior professionals since there is greater emphasis on application than theory. The DBA programme is research-based but the focus is on professional practice. You have to be prepared for four years of full-time study.
Top UK Institutions for MBA Studies
London Business School: http://www.london.edu
Manchester Business School:
http://www.mbs.ac.uk
Nottingham University Business School:
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/business
Ashridge Business School:
http://www.ashridge.org.uk
Warwick Business School:
http://www.wbs.ac.uk
Imperial College Business School:
http://www.imperial.ac.uk/business
Birmingham Business School:
http://www.business.bham.ac.uk
Business School - University of
Strathclyde: http://www.strath.ac.uk/business
University of Leeds -
Business School: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/lubs
Durham Business School:
http://www.dur.ac.uk/dbs
University of Aberdeen Business School:
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/business
