Postgraduate

MBA

On this page

• Description
• Planning your studies
• Career relevance
• Modules
• Learning outcomes
• Credit for previous study elsewhere
• On completion
• Regulations
• How to register

Description

If you are already registered on the earlier version of this qualification see MBA (F02).

This internationally-recognised MBA course is designed for practising managers aspiring to higher positions. The emphasis for your learning is directly rooted in management practice – the ‘Master’ in the degree title signifies your ‘mastery’ of the art and science of management. To achieve this level of capability the programme concentrates on strategic analysis, interdisciplinary skills, intellectual stimulation and independent judgement and builds these upon a solid foundation of core disciplines, including human resource management, organisational behaviour, accounting and finance, marketing and operations.

The MBA course is designed as an integrated programme, and balances your learning time between 75% of compulsory elements (including the final organisation-based project) with 25% from optional modules. This enables you to adjust the curriculum to suit your needs. MBA modules are challenging but will always direct you towards improving your management capabilities. You will need to have some experiential knowledge at a managerial level and/or of decision-making, so that you have a practical business base on which to build your MBA learning.

You will learn to analyse, synthesise and evaluate a wide range of situations within the broad framework of organisations, their external context and internal management. Among these you will look at economic, environmental, social and technological change issues, corporate governance, markets and customers, managing resources and operations, financing organisations, management and development of people, developing information technologies for application in business and management within a global knowledge-based economy, and development of appropriate business policies and strategies within a changing context to meet stakeholder interests.

The Open University Business School is accredited internationally by the European Foundation for Management Development, through its EQUIS programme; by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB); and the MBA is accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA). There are only about 50 business schools worldwide that have achieved all three accreditations.

Planning your studies

All entrants to the MBA are required to have a minimum of three years’ experience in a managerial, professional or technical role. Usually this means that you are at least 25 years old as it is unusual (but not impossible) to be able to satisfy the ‘experience’ requirement under this age.

Depending on your previous qualifications, there are a variety of routes into the MBA:

If you already hold an honours degree awarded by a recognised UK university, or equivalent you can begin your MBA studies by taking MBA stage 1: management: perspectives and practice (B716).

Various higher education and professional qualifications are considered equivalent to an honours degree. If you hold a qualification that you believe is an equivalent level to a UK honours degree please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service. The Open University Business School Masters Programme Committee is responsible for judging whether applicants’ qualifications meet the requirements for admission.

If you are experienced in managerial work but do not have an honours degree or equivalent you need first to gain our Professional Certificate in Management (C31). This is also a valuable qualification in its own right.

If you have the equivalent of a UK bachelors degree without honours you may be permitted to progress on to the MBA course by taking the first part of the Professional Certificate in Management, Managing 1: organisations and people (B628). Alternatively if you have an official Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) score of 640 or above, and the equivalent of a UK undergraduate degree, you will be allowed to progress directly on to the MBA. If you think either of these possibilities may apply to you, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.

You will also need an appropriate facility in English language, sufficient to be able to work effectively at postgraduate level; generally this means capability equivalent to an International English Language Test System (IELTS) score of 6.5. To assess your English language skills in relation to your proposed studies you can visit the IELTS website. If you are unsure whether your skill level in English is adequate you may find it helpful to look at our Skills for OU Study site.

The MBA qualification is in two stages and typically takes three years to complete based on a regular study of 12-16 hours per week, which experience shows us is the practical limit for a full-time manager balancing study with career and family responsibilities. If you have more time to devote to your learning (perhaps you are working part-time, given time by your organisation, or even taking a career break to study full-time), then it is possible to finish the MBA in less than three years. You are allowed up to a maximum of seven years to complete your MBA.

The MBA is an integrated programme with later modules building on earlier ones. After Stage 1 (the first 600 hours/60 credits) you can vary the pace at which you progress through Stage 2.

To achieve an MBA you must successfully complete at least 1800 study hours and gain 180 credits. Through studying the modules you will accumulate study hours and gain the credits through passing the examinations (or equivalent). These two requirements are separated because sometimes an examination covers more than one module.

Stage 1

Stage 1 consists of the MBA stage 1: management: perspectives and practice (B716). This is a 600-study-hour, 60-credit module that takes 12 months to complete. It is an integrated module covering all the core disciplines which make up the MBA curriculum. You must pass Stage 1 before proceeding onto Stage 2. If you have successfully completed either of the now discontinued modules B700 or B713 these can also be counted as Stage 1 of the MBA.

Stage 2

Your first Stage 2 modules are Corporate finance (B831) and The dynamics of strategy (B835), the former representing 150 hours of study over six months and the latter 300 hours over 12 months. These are compulsory elements of the MBA. You can study the finance module alongside the first half of the strategy module, although if you wish to study at a slower pace (i.e. 6-8 hours per week rather than 12-15 hours) you can take the finance module before you start the strategy module. To complete this part of the programme you will be registered for a three-hour examination which covers these two modules. On successful completion of the finance and strategy modules you will acquire 450 study hours and passing the examination will give you 45 credits.

You also study 450 hours of optional (or 'elective') modules. Some of the elective modules are rated at 150 study hours, and some at 300 study hours. The required 450 hours can be made up in several ways: you can take three 150-hour modules, one 300-hour module plus one 150-hour module, or two 300-hour modules. If you take two 300-study-hour modules you can only count 450 hours towards your MBA. It is important that your mix of optional modules (or credit transfer) integrates with the compulsory modules to form a viable and appropriate MBA graduation profile. At the end of the elective study period you are registered for an assessment module which focuses on this integration. The assessment is in the form of a written assignment (around 2500 words), successful completion of which gives you 45 credits.

To complete the MBA, you take the 300-study-hour compulsory action-learning based project module. This is typically undertaken in your own organisation (though this is not a requirement) which enables you to demonstrate your mastery of the art of management. Although you formally register for this module last, you will find that preparation for this begins with B716 and is embedded throughout your MBA studies.

You should note that the University’s unique study rule applies to this qualification. This means that you must include at least 60 credits from OU modules that have not been counted in any other OU qualification that has previously been awarded to you. 

Career relevance and employability

Employers value the MBA as an indication of high level business and management skills. These skills are in demand, increasingly so in times of economic uncertainty, and employers want practical experience, a thorough grasp of business, and the ability to lead at a strategic level. AMBA’s careers survey shows that MBA students can expect their salary to increase, and the MBA to have a positive impact on their career progression, as well as bring improvements to their organisation or business.

There is more information about how OU study can improve your employability in the OU’s Employability Statement from our Careers Advisory Service. You can also read or download our publication OU study and your career and look at our subject pages to find out about career opportunities.

Modules

For this 180-credit masters degree you require:

60 credits (600 study hours) from the following compulsory Stage 1 module:

or the discontinued modules B700, B713, BZX700

And 450 study hours from the following compulsory Stage 2 modules:

And a 45-credit examination covering strategy and finance

And 450 study hours from the following optional (or 'elective') Stage 2 modules and 45 credits is obtained by taking the assessment module:

And a 45-credit assessment module

And 30 credits (300 study hours) from the following compulsory module:

This compulsory capstone module is the culmination of your MBA study. It integrates your learning from your prior management studies and consolidates your ability to make a real difference to your organisation‘s performance as a manager or leader. After some preliminary exploration, you will undertake a largely self-directed programme of work based on a real-time management initiative of your own choosing. Through support from a tutor, online tuition, a residential school and web-based resources, the module aims to enable you to ground your management learning in your professional practice as a manager. Throughout the module you will be expected to monitor your own learning and development. Informed by appropriate theory and evidence, critical reflection on your learning and practice as a manager during your initiative will be an important part of the work. The assessment will be based on three reports you are required to produce at key stages of your initiative.

Credit for previous study elsewhere

If you have already completed some successful study postgraduate level at another institution we may be able to give you credit for this study that you can count towards this Open University qualification. You can find out more on our Credit Transfer site. If you make a successful claim for transferred credit it may affect your choice of modules so you are advised to investigate this option as soon as possible.

We may be able to exempt you from some of the required study hours in the Stage 2 electives.

Credit transfer details for this qualification:

• Essential Information Sheets - MBA

On completion

On successful completion of the required modules you can be awarded a Master of Business Administration entitling you to use the letters MBA (Open) after your name. You will have the opportunity of being presented at a degree ceremony.

Regulations

As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the Qualification Regulations and the Student Regulations.

Qualification Regulations

• Introduction to the Qualification Regulations
• General Qualification Regulations
• MBA

Student Regulations

The Student Regulations (including the Code of Practice for Student Assessment and the Code of Practice for Student Discipline) are available on our Policy Documents for Students website.

How to register

To register for this qualification, read the description and check you meet any specific requirements (for example, some of our qualifications, require you to be working in a particular environment, or be sponsored by your employer). Then select the module you wish to study first and ensure it is suitable for you before following the registration procedure for that module.

See a full list of modules available for this qualification

About this page

A postgraduate qualification in Business and Management.

Study explained

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Your questions

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Or contact an adviser in our Student Registration & Enquiry Service Email or call +44(0) 845 300 60 90+44(0) 845 366 60 35

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