Master of Business Administration - Modular

Africa's Premier MBA

The Modular MBA programme is suited to students who are seeking international insights in an African and South African context and are looking to study part-time over a two-year period.

Adapt, Evolve, Thrive

Join the preeminent business school linking African experience and global relevance.

Enhance your professional knowledge and become a business leader of the future by understanding and identifying creative solutions to critical challenges in complex environments. Gain a unique perspective and expertise to drive positive societal change in South Africa and beyond.

The benefits of studying for an MBA at the UCT GSB include:

• Enhanced personal leadership competencies
• Expanded professional networks and relationships
• Unique and effective managerial knowledge and tools for efficient management
• Value creation for entrepreneurial enterprises
• An opportunity to diversify skills and self-reinvent
• International exposure
• An increase in earning potential
• Accelerated career advancement
• Skills acquired for greater social impact

The MBA is offered both as a full-time programme over one year or in a modular format over two years.

Modular MBA format

The Modular MBA programme is suited to students who are seeking international insights in an African and South African context and are looking to study part-time over a two-year period.

Students will be required to take no more than 40 days of leave from work during the two-year programme, with no more than 20 days of leave expected during each year. About a third of these days will be hybrid (with the option to join in person on the GSB campus or online, without travelling to Cape Town). All students are expected to take leave from work for these days, whether they join in person or online.

In addition to these full class days, students will be expected to do some coursework outside of business hours throughout the programme (i.e. during evenings and weekends). This work will be as flexible as possible, but students must be able to make time for making time for this work throughout the two years of the programme.

Curriculum

Core Courses

Course designs are updated and adapted annually, therefore the topics listed for each course are a guideline of what students can expect will be covered in each course. The core MBA modules cover a number of different topics.

• Business and Leadership in Global Contexts
• Managing Complex Environments
• Strategic Decision-making in Changing Environments

Electives

In addition to the core curriculum, students are required to select a total of 20 credits of electives courses. The elective courses provide students with the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of specific areas of interest or to enhance their knowledge across a broader range of skills:

• Advanced Finance
• Advanced Leadership
• Complexity of Change
• Coaching
• Company Valuations
• Digital Market-making
• Integrated Reporting
• Lean Thinking and Operational Excellence
• Management Control Systems
• Negotiating to Create Value
• Venture Launch
• Strategic Brand Building
• Social Finance
• Social Innovation Lab

Specialisation Streams

The UCT GSB offers six MBA specialisation streams, allowing you to enhance your generalist MBA training with a set of in-demand specialised skills. This way you can tailor your degree to match your areas of interest, knowledge and unique skills. As employers are increasingly looking for a balance of generalist and specialist skills, this may increase your employability and help you define your career path.

The specialisation streams are made up of specific combinations of MBA core courses and electives. Please note that each specialisation stream has core course minimum grade requirements, so we cannot guarantee that you will be accepted into your first choice of specialisation stream. Also, due to timetabling, logistics and minimum class sizes, specific electives may not be run every year.

We offer six specialisation streams:

• Management Consulting
• Marketing Management
• Innovation and Entrepreneurship
• Leadership and Change
• Operations and Supply Chain Management
• Corporate Finance

• Ranked 1st MBA in Africa and 5th in the world for value for money, Financial Times Top 100 Global MBAs
• Ranked 40th By Corporate Knights Better World MBA
• 1st Place at the 39th John Molson MBA International Case Competition