MBA (Professional Top up)

Start date: September and January

Course length: part time: one year

Campus: Kedleston Road site, Derby Campus

This course is available to international students

If you're looking for a successful career in management, want to develop your strategic knowledge and want formal recognition, the Derby MBA (CMI accredited) is for you. The professional top-up route enables you to gain this prestigious qualification within a year.

Working with students from other cultures and backgrounds, you will learn at an advanced and in-depth level how organisations work, their management, and the changing external environments in which these operate.

You will develop a thorough understanding of the challenges of management and the implications of these across core business areas.

The emphasis of the course is on the integration of theory and practice, with core modules covering: managing people, strategies, finance, marketing and operations.

Whether you study online or on-campus, you will have the opportunity to participate in a residential workshop which will help you to get to know your fellow students and will enable you to develop closer working relationships with the group during your period of study.

Exemptions

Holders of Professional Accounting Qualifications and level 7
Management qualifications will normally be granted advanced standing onto the
Masters stage as follows:

 ACCA – awarded 60 credits and must complete: Contemporary
Challenges in Leadership, Sustainable Business Operations, Markets, Customers
and Marketing and the Business Impact/Independent Study.

CIMA – awarded 80 credits and must complete: Contemporary
Challenges in Leadership, Markets, Customers and Marketing and the Business
Impact/Independent Study.

EDEXCEL and CMI level 7 can be awarded up to 120 credits and students
may be asked to complete a short piece of work prior to admission leading to the Business Impact/Independent Study.

Please contact us for details of the fees for this course.

How you'll learn

We don't simply lecture and expect you to sit and listen. We encourage you to contribute your experience and opinions in classes, and to use a range of teaching methods to bring the topics to life and help you to apply the theory to real business situations.

• You will learn through taught lectures, case studies, role play, debating, student presentations - both formative and summative - enquiry-based learning, and problem-solving activities.
• You will also be provided with reading and research activities and will use UDo - the University of Derby's own online teaching portal - as a learning resource.
• You will be encouraged to apply your learning to your workplace throughout the programme so that you can make an immediate business impact.
• We teach part-time and full-time students separately in the early stages of study. This is in order to apply the different teaching approaches required and to make learning more effective as you enter into postgraduate education.
• You'll also benefit from the contributions of guest speakers from businesses and professional bodies, enhancing the breadth and depth of your knowledge, and seeing how the business principles you are being taught can be applied to different situations.
• As a vital part of your learning, you will have the opportunity to visit organisations.
• You will also share knowledge and experience, so you'll learn from other students too, and will develop your ongoing personal learning experience through self-assessment and peer review.

How you're assessed

Our focus is on developing your skills, rather than 'testing' what you can remember. Each assessment method will help you to develop your practical skills, the majority being coursework.

Assessment methods include: computer-aided tests, research projects, work-based reports, case study analysis and reflective management reports.

The MBA is a well-respected award that proves you have reached a high international standard in leadership and management. Our students and graduates find that the reputation of the MBA and the content of our course here at Derby, bring them a host of benefits.

For example, Neelesh Sawoky studied online for his MBA from his home in Mauritius. He was already ACCA qualified and therefore able to take advantage of this professional top-up route. Neelesh heads up the Internal Audit Department of Bank One, and says, "I now have a much better understanding of how businesses are managed and how to deal with their operations, marketing, and human resources."

Hear from other MBA graduates and students

Because our MBA is one of the few in the UK that has been accredited by the CMI, you can apply for a Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Leadership and Management, on top of your MBA, at the end of the course. This is a very useful additional qualification and will help you towards becoming a Chartered Manager, the highest status possible in the managerial profession.

Find out more about CMI Chartered Manager