Executive MBA
Cork, Ireland
DURATION
2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline *
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 16,010 / per year **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. As we deliberately keep our class size small (30 to 35 students), we strongly recommend early application
** EU fee
Introduction
The Cork University Business School (CUBS) Executive MBA at UCC is designed to prepare our participants to become organizational managers, innovators, and leaders.
Our aim is not only to provide a strong understanding of core organizational functions and disciplines but to move beyond that to facilitate an integrative, critical understanding of the foundations and practice of management and leadership.
Accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA) our MBA provides you with an internationally recognized qualification on graduation.
Our MBA participants develop an understanding of the core disciplines by exploring:
- Organisational Decision-Making and Strategy
- Operations Management
- Human Resource Management
- Financial Analysis and Performance
- Business Innovation and Transformation
- Sustainability and Governance
- Leadership Development
In this program you will develop an appreciation of how all aspects of a complex organization interconnect and an appreciation of the role each function must play in delivering organizational goals; this often requires an understanding of functions and disciplines outside of your existing professional competence and our MBA will help you formalize this learning.
Central to the development of this understanding of the complexity of organizations is our careful approach to class composition, intended to ensure that class participants are exposed to a variety of professional expertise and career backgrounds. To this end, we place considerable emphasis on creating an environment that is conducive to the peer-to-peer learning that we believe is vital to the UCC CUBS Executive MBA experience.
Assessment
Continuous assessment of individual and group assignments is the most commonly used form of assessment on the course.
Who Teaches This Course
The course utilizes the expertise of many industry practitioners, guest lecturers, and UCC CUBS Executive MBA partners. In addition, our teaching team includes staff from across the Cork University Business School (CUBS) and the School of Law, representing the following subject areas:
- Accounting & Finance
- Business Information Systems
- Economics
- Food Business & Development
- Government
- Law
- Management & Marketing
Admissions
Curriculum
We deliver the program via a Leadership Development Framework across all four parts of the MBA.
Part 1
In Part 1, Year 1 students attend a Leadership Development Framework (Introduction) workshop.
Part 2
In Part 2, Year 1 students attend a Leadership Development Framework (Business Research Methods & Consultancy Skills) workshop.
Leadership Development Framework learning in Year 1 is captured through a 50-mark, individual Reflective Learning Log assessment in the 10-credit module BU6511 Managing Change in an International Context.
Parts 3 & 4
In Part 3, Year 2 students attend a Leadership Development Framework (Sustainable Leadership) workshop. Thematics from the workshop will also be covered in the Part 4, Year 2, 10-credit module BU6504 Leadership Project.
Leadership Development Framework learning in Year 2 is captured through a 50-mark, individual Reflective Learning Log assessment in the 10-credit module BU6504 Leadership Project.
Modules
Part 1
- Managerial Control and Performance
- Economics for Strategic Business Development
- Organizational Behaviour
- Managing Human Resources
Part 2
- Financial Investment and Analysis
- Operations and Supply Chain Management
- Managing Change in an International Context
- Strategic Decision-Making and Governance
Part 3
- Ethics and Sustainability
- Economics & Competitiveness for Global Business
- Leading Responsible Innovation & Digital Transformation
- Strategic Marketing
Part 4
- Leadership Project
- Integrated Strategy Project
- Choose one elective module from the following:
- People and Talent Management
- Public Sector Elective
Program Outcome
Personal Benefits
- A comprehensive understanding of the core organizational functions
- The discovery of innate preferences in key personal leadership areas, e.g. analysis, decision-making, and relationship-building
- Developing skills in communication, negotiation, and team building
- The UCC Executive MBA qualification will benefit your career by identifying you as an individual with a high level of leadership ability.
Organisational Benefits
- A two-year investment in key managerial and leadership talent, resulting in a more dynamic approach to personal effectiveness, decision-making, and judgment
- Increased capacity for critical thinking and mindset change
- A shift to a broader strategic emphasis allied with a focus on leading innovation within organizations
- Development of more agile approaches to problem-solving, with a strong emphasis on effective team-based approaches.
Career Opportunities
Many of our MBA students come from specific professional backgrounds – engineering, sciences, ICT, and finance, to name but a few. Their education and professional expertise have brought them to an advanced level in their organizations.
However, to take the next step up the managerial ladder, they need to develop their knowledge of how the wider organization operates and what strategic and operational frameworks are used by top-level management teams.
The UCC CUBS Executive MBA provides our participants with the required learning and knowledge, allowing our graduates to progress in their careers.
In addition, the UCC Career Services, and our team at the UCC CUBS Executive MBA Program Office, cooperate in delivering relevant and appropriate career support advice and tools to our students.
Accreditations
Program delivery
- The Executive MBA program is a part-time, two-year, course taken over four teaching periods
- Each year is made up of two teaching periods and each teaching period is made up of 12 lecture weeks
- Lectures are held in the UCC Centre for Executive Education, Lapp's Quay, Cork.
Who Teaches This Course
The course utilizes the expertise of many industry practitioners, guest lecturers, and UCC CUBS Executive MBA partners. In addition, our teaching team includes staff from across the Cork University Business School (CUBS) and the School of Law, representing the following subject areas:
- Accounting & Finance
- Business Information Systems
- Economics
- Food Business & Development
- Government
- Law
- Management & Marketing