Introduction
Key information
Duration: 1-year full time, 2 years part-time
Start date: Starts in September 2021, or for part-time, choose to start in January or September.
Apply by: Full time: 1 August (International) and 1 September (UK).
Top 10 in the UK for Business and Economics (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020)
3rd in the UK for annual research income in 2015-2019 (Chartered Association of Business Schools)
Top 50 in Europe (QS World University Rankings: Global MBA Rankings 2021)
Become an effective business leader with ideas that matter and the skills to put them into practice. The Sussex MBA is built on four pillars to help you develop the leadership needed in today’s disrupted business environment:
Digital work – the move to digital technologies and virtual work environments
Innovation – develop new strategies to adapt to disrupted environments
Resilience – ensure employee wellbeing and the sustainability of business models
Policy – lobby and influence policy-makers at local, regional and national levels.
Guided by leading academics and industry experts, you’ll gain a range of management and leadership skills. You’ll develop your critical and strategic thinking, and learn to apply cutting-edge business theory in practice.
Students on our MBA come from all over the world and have experience in a range of industries. This diversity helps open up new ways of thinking. Through teamwork, you’ll delve into cross-cutting themes in the world of business.
Our flexible study options allow you to fit the course around your work and personal life.
Accreditation
The Sussex MBA is an AMBA-accredited programme. AMBA is the global standard for MBA programmes and denotes the highest achievement in postgraduate business education.
The University of Sussex Business School is accredited by EQUIS, the most comprehensive institutional accreditation system for business and management schools. Accreditation ensures rigorous quality control, benchmarking against international standards and is acknowledged worldwide.
Our accreditation and partnership with the Chartered Management Institute mean when you complete the course, you’ll be eligible for a CMI Level 7 qualification in Strategic Management and Leadership.
We’ll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities described in this prospectus. However, we may need to make changes due to significant disruption, for example in response to COVID-19.
"Completing my MBA has not only given my CV a great boost, but it’s really enhanced my ability to talk credibly and confidently to senior stakeholders."
Alexandra Hentschel
Event and Training Team Director, CEB Global
Entry requirements
UK requirements
Degree requirements
You should have a lower second-class (2.2) undergraduate honours degree or above.
Subject-specific requirements
You must have at least three years of management experience in a professional work environment.
International requirements
English language requirements
IELTS (Academic): Standard level (6.0 overall, including at least 5.5 in each component).
English language support
If you don’t meet the English language requirements for your degree, you may be able to take a pre-sessional course.
Admissions information for applicants
How to apply
You apply to Sussex using our postgraduate application system.
Personal statement
Yes. You must submit a personal statement as part of your application.
Modules
Choose to study this course full time or part-time, to fit around your work and personal life. Modules are shown below.
We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2021/22. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to COVID-19, or due to staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. It may not be possible to take some module combinations due to timetabling constraints. We’ll make sure to let our applicants know of material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.
Core modules
Core modules are taken by all students on the course. They give you a solid grounding in your chosen subject and prepare you to explore the topics that interest you most.
Autumn teaching
Accounting and Financial Management (MBA)
Economic, Social, Political and Cultural Environment - Understanding Business Environments
Managing Operations and Quality (MBA)
Managing People and Organisations
Spring teaching
Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MBA)
Leadership and Personal Development
Marketing Management (MBA)
Summer teaching
Applied Research Methods
Strategy
Options
Alongside your core modules, you can choose options to broaden your horizons and tailor your course to your interests. This list gives you a flavour of our options, which are kept under review and may change, for example in response to student feedback or the latest research.
While it’s our aim for students to take their preferred combinations of options, this can’t be guaranteed and will be subject to timetabling. Options may be grouped and if so, students will be able to choose a set number of options from the selection available in any particular group.
Spring teaching
International Business
Management of Negotiation (MBA)
Strategic Brand Management
Fees
Home students: £23,000
The Channel Islands and Isle of Man students: £23,000
International students: £23,000.
Careers
Our MBA is for you if you’re interested in mid-career development or want a general management qualification. MBA graduates are eligible for a Level 7 Strategic Management and Leadership Diploma from the Chartered Management Institute.
You’ll be able to:
Understand different approaches to business administration
Provide the leadership needed to manage in today’s disrupted business environment, particularly in the areas of digital work, innovation, resilience and policy
Apply a critical evaluation of these approaches to current problems and/or new insights at the forefront of your field
Apply these methods to make sound professional judgements, and to be able to communicate these clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences
Demonstrate originality, self-direction and autonomy in planning and implementing business administration in organisations.
"The MBA was transformative – I’ve developed the skills and confidence to devise a strategy, implement a business plan and start my own business.”
Andrew Mckechnie
Consultant, McKechnie Aviation Ltd