Master of Business Administration

Master of Business Administration - MBA

Keele University's MBA is designed to develop the business leaders of tomorrow.

Our programme will equip you with the knowledge and skills to lead contemporary organisations in an ethical and sustainable way, whether in the public, private or not-for-profit sector. The modern business world demands skills such as creativity, agility and an entrepreneurial edge. We develop these skills by embedding creativity and innovation into our curriculum.

We are in the process of refreshing our curriculum for the 2025/26 academic year to reflect best practices and the latest advancements in academia. New course content and modules will be available on this course page in due course.

Month of entry

September, January

Mode of study

Full time

Location

Keele University campus

Subject area

Business and Management

Fees for 2025/26 academic year

UK - Full time £20,200 per year
International - Full time £20,200 per year

Duration of study

12 months

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Why study Master of Business Administration at Keele University?

Study within a Business School that is co-located with over 20 innovative small and medium sized enterprises who work closely with the school.

Explore contemporary business and management sustainability challenges with a significant focus on environmental issues and social and corporate governance.

Hands-on experience with businesses and live projects to develop skills for a career in the modern business world.

Access comprehensive careers guidance designed to support the creation of your personal brand and to plan your career development and your progression strategy.

Benefit from innovative teaching methods including problem-based and social learning, whilst networking and developing alongside future leaders from a diverse range of organisations.

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Keele Business School ranks among the Top 40 globally for sustainability

Keele Business School’s MBA programme has been recognised as one of the top 40 worldwide for its focus on sustainability.

Study for an MBA at Keele

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Course structure

The programme comprises a taught programme of nine modules amounting to 135 Level 7 (Masters) credits, plus an MBA Research Methods module (15 credits) and associated dissertation, placement or consultancy project worth 30 credits.

This amounts to a total of 180 credits for the MBA as a whole.

Modules

The module details given below are indicative, they are intended to provide you with an idea of the range of subjects that are taught to our current students. The modules that will be available for you to study in future years are prone to change as we regularly review our teaching to ensure that it is up-to-date and informed by the latest research and teaching methods, as well as student voice. The information presented is therefore not intended to be construed and/or relied upon as a definitive list of the modules available in any given year.

Core taught modules

Financial Management

Provides you with an insight into how the modern day business leader can use financial and non-financial information to support decision-making.

Strategic Marketing

Strategic marketing is central to enabling an organisation to respond to a dynamic marketplace: it is the activity which determines and prioritises all other marketing tasks and as such is the core marketing activity.

Organisational Strategy in a Dynamic World

Examines and explore several theoretical perspectives and theories – as paradoxes and/or conflicting viewpoints – and examine the strategic thinking and decision-making processes that take place for an organisation to develop suitable strategies to compete in what can be dynamic and hyper-competitive environments.

Leading in Complexity

Addresses the needs of executives in today’s dynamic environment and so focuses on strategic leadership in the context of complexity and change.

Digital Transformation and the Digital Organisation

Covers a range of different topics relating to the digitalisation of organisations, including: digital and data management strategies; use of data collection & analysis to support effective decision-making; and disruptive technologies and business models.

Management of People and Organisations

Looks more closely at the role of management in organisations. It will provide practical skills informed by current academic thinking on management.

Creativity and Innovation Management

The purpose of this module is to develop creative thinking and reflective analytical skills to stimulate new ideas to improve organisational performance and contribute to sustainable development.

Research Methods

Will enable you to examine and apply appropriate paradigms for your sector and context, develop knowledge of the various research styles available to researchers, and explore epistemological rationales and ethical implications.

Creating Sustainable Value Through Operations

Explores how organisations can build operations and supply chains in a sustainable way that help to deliver the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit.

Organisational Responses To Sustainability Challenge

Looks at the bigger picture but focuses on how companies can respond by changing what they are doing - both strategically and operationally - to gain or maintain a competitive advantage whilst improving their sustainability performance.

You will then be required to select one of the following options:

Dissertation OR Consultancy Project OR Placement Project
This module aims to provide an opportunity for you to undertake a substantial piece of independent research, a consultancy project or a work-placement.

Dissertation

Dissertation

The dissertation is a formal written academic project of between 15,000 and 20,000 words, making it ideal preparation for future academic research at MPhil or PhD level or for the report-writing and scrutiny expected of senior management professionals. Taking inspiration from your own interests, and with support throughout from a highly experienced supervisor with relevant expertise, you’ll choose an important and emerging topic to conduct either quantitative or qualitative research in various accounting fields, such as corporate governance, social and environmental accounting, performance management, auditor independence and audit quality,
and so on.

Consultancy project

Consultancy project

You will have the opportunity to spend eight to 12 weeks undertaking a management research project on behalf of an organisation (chosen by Keele Business School). You’ll put into practice what you’ve learned, developing and applying your skills to solve a business problem, issue or focus on a specific project. As part of the eventual assessment, you’ll present your findings to the host organisation, exactly as you would do within the workplace.

Two previous Keele Business School students have worked with a local council, one undertaking a feasibility study for the establishment of a school for those wanting to work in the circus, the other developing an evaluation tool to assess applications for the town’s local market. Another Keele Business School student worked with a manufacturing company to investigate new markets for its tile boards outside of the ceramic market such as weddings, mood boards and displays.

Please note that participation in the Consultancy Project is only available after a comprehensive selection process. Additional information can be found here.

Placement pathway

Placement project

In an increasingly competitive job market, employers are looking to recruit employees who have high-level knowledge, skills and workplace experience. With support from the Faculty Placement Officer, you will gain first-hand professional experience on a suitable, paid work placement for between eight weeks to 12 months. During your placement, you will be required to complete an extended project on behalf of the organisation. As part of the eventual assessment, you’ll present your findings to the host organisation, exactly as you would do within the workplace. Your placement can be based anywhere in the UK giving you the opportunity to work with local, national and international organisations.

Students who require a visa to study in the UK may be able to add in a work placement depending upon the programme. The ability to add a work placement is dependent upon the UK Immigration rules at the time of the request. It may be that for some programmes students will not have the option to request a placement period to be added to their programme before they arrive in the UK and would need to apply for a new visa. There is no guarantee that a placement will be provided and that students who have a visa are subject to a number of restrictions on the type of work, including placements they can undertake.

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Entry requirements

The following section details our typical entry requirements for this course for a range of UK and international qualifications. If you don't see your qualifications listed, please contact us to find out if we can accept your qualifications.

Typical offer

Please ensure that you read the full entry requirements by selecting your qualifications from the dropdown menu below. This will include any subject specific, GCSE/Level 2 Maths, and English language requirements you may need.

Typical offer: 2:2 degree in any subject Additional criteria apply

Please select your country from the drop-down list below for the full entry requirement information

UK

2:2 degree in any subject or a degree level professional qualification
and
three years demonstrated professional experience since graduation
or
ten years demonstrated professional experience in management or leadership roles

You will also need: an English language qualification (see below)

Bangladesh

60% in a 4-year degree or 3-year degree with a 2-year Master's in any subject from a public university
or
CGPA 2.8 in a 4-year degree or 3-year degree with a 2-year Master's in any subject from a private university
or
a 4-year degree or 3-year degree with a 2-year Master's level professional qualification
and
three years demonstrated professional experience since graduation
or
ten years demonstrated professional experience in management or leadership roles

We don’t accept degrees from certain universities, please see our Bangladesh Country Page for more information

You will also need: an English language qualification (see below)

Canada

70% or C or a GPA of 2.5 in a degree (Ordinary or Honours) in any subject or a degree level professional qualification
and
three years demonstrated professional experience since graduation
or
ten years demonstrated professional experience in management or leadership roles

You will also need: an English language qualification (see below)

China

70% in a degree in any subject or 65% in a degree in any subject from a '211' university or a degree level professional qualification
and
three years demonstrated professional experience since graduation
or
ten years demonstrated professional experience in management or leadership roles

You will also need: an English language qualification (see below)

Ghana

Second class degree in any subject or a degree or a GPA of 2.5 level professional qualification
and
three years demonstrated professional experience since graduation
or
ten years demonstrated professional experience in management or leadership roles

You will also need: an English language qualification (see below)

India

55% or CGPA 6/10 in any degree of three years or longer
or
a degree level professional qualification

and

three years demonstrated professional experience since graduation
or
Ten years demonstrated professional experience in management or leadership roles

You will also need: an English language qualification (see below)

Kenya

Second class degree in any subject or a degree level professional qualification
and
three years demonstrated professional experience since graduation
or
ten years demonstrated professional experience in management or leadership roles

You will also need: an English language qualification (see below)

Nepal

60% / 2.4 in a 4-year Bachelor's degree in any subject or 65% / CGPA 2.8 in a 3-year Bachelor's degree in any subject or a degree level professional qualification

and

three years demonstrated professional experience since graduation
or
ten years demonstrated professional experience in management or leadership roles

You will also need: an English language qualification (see below)

Nigeria

You will also need: an English language qualification (see below)

Pakistan

We accept a range of qualifications from Pakistan. Please visit our Pakistan Country Page for more information

or we will consider demonstrated relevant professional qualifications or experience

You will also need an English language qualification (see below)

South Africa

Second class division 2 / 60% in a Bachelor's degree with Honours in any subject or Second class division 1 / 70% in an Ordinary Bachelor's degree in any subject or a degree level professional qualification

and

three years demonstrated professional experience since graduation
or
ten years demonstrated professional experience in management or leadership roles

You will also need: an English language qualification (see below)

Sri Lanka

55% in a Special Bachelor's degree in any subject or a degree level professional qualification

and

three years demonstrated professional experience since graduation
or
ten years demonstrated professional experience in management or leadership roles

You will also need: an English language qualification (see below)

Uganda

Second class degree in any subject or a degree level professional qualification

and

three years demonstrated professional experience since graduation
or
ten years demonstrated professional experience in management or leadership roles

You will also need: an English language qualification (see below)

Zimbabwe

Second class degree in any subject or a degree level professional qualification

and

three years demonstrated professional experience since graduation
or
ten years demonstrated professional experience in management or leadership roles

You will also need: an English language qualification (see below)

Pre-Master's in Business

The Keele University International College offer a one semester Pre-Master's in Business programme for international students who do not meet the traditional entry requirements for a postgraduate business degree at Keele University.

Please visit the Keele University International College for more information on how to apply, entry requirements and course details.

English language requirements

All of our courses require an English language qualification or test. For most students, this requirement can be met with a 4 or C in GCSE English. Please see our English Language guidance pages for further details, including English language test information for international students. For those students who require an English language test, this course requires a test from Group C.

References

Normally, you will need to provide at least one academic reference to support your application unless you have been out of study longer than two years. If it has been more than two years since you last studied on a degree-level programme, you will normally need to provide an employment reference instead. For more information about Academic References, please see our Postgraduate how to apply web pages.

Personal Statement/Statement of Purpose

Please see our Postgraduate how to apply web pages for guidance on what to include in your personal statement.

Recognition of Prior Learning

The Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is a process which enables applicants to receive recognition and formal credit for learning acquired in the past through formal study or work and life experiences.

RPL can also be requested for admission onto the start of a programme in lieu of the admission requirements. For more information, see our Recognition of Prior Learning web pages.

Professional qualifications and work experience

The majority of our courses will consider relevant work experience and/or professional qualifications at the appropriate level, as an alternative to an undergraduate degree for entry. The work experience should be for a sustained period and at a suitable level, based within a relevant sector to your chosen course.

Admissions staff will review your work experience and/or professional qualifications during the assessment of your application to ensure suitability in terms of relevancy, level and appropriate learning outcomes.

General information

The entry grades outlined in this section indicate the typical offer which would be made to candidates, along with any subject specific requirements. This is for general information only. Keele University reserves the right to vary offer conditions depending upon a candidate's application.

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Funding

For our full-time MBA programme, we are pleased to offer scholarships of up to £5,000 based on meeting specific degree qualifications (or equivalent) as detailed below:

£3,000 scholarship offered to students with 2:2 degree classification or equivalent (and meet the additional entry requirements)
£5,000 scholarship offered to students with 2:1 degree or above classification or equivalent (and meet the additional entry requirements)

Your application will be assessed automatically when you apply so there is no need to provide a separate application for this scholarship. You will be notified of your scholarship within your offer letter and your offer will be based on assessment of all admissions criteria.

You may also be eligible for our £1,000 developing countries scholarship which will also be assessed when you apply and will be detailed in your offer letter.

For more information including our terms and conditions, please refer to our postgraduate bursaries and scholarships webpages.

Please note, if your course offers a January start date, the January 2025 start date falls in the 2024/25 academic year. Please see the January 2025 fees for the relevant fees for starting this course in January 2025

Planning your funding

It's important to plan carefully for your funding before you start your course. Please be aware that not all postgraduate courses and not all students are eligible for the UK government postgraduate loans and, in some cases, you would be expected to source alternative funding yourself. If you need support researching your funding options, please contact our Financial Support Team.

For continuing students, fees will increase annually by RPIX, with a maximum cap of 5% per year.

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Your career

As an MBA student you will have access to comprehensive careers guidance through our dedicated careers advisors. This guidance is designed to support you in developing your personal brand and to assist you in navigating your career options beyond the MBA.

You will have the opportunity to work with a range of businesses during the programme which will enable you to apply and refine the diverse skills required to succeed within the modern business world. As a full-time MBA student you will be eligible to apply for paid work alongside an academic expert to help local SMEs bring innovative products and services to market via the the Keele Research and Innovation Support Programme (KRISP).

As an MBA student at Keele you will have the opportunity to undertake a work placement to apply your theory and learning to practice. Placement opportunities not only enable you to refine your skill-set, but allow you the space to establish and foster professional relationships with a variety of business leaders. Previous Keele Business School students have undertaken placements with organisations such as Amazon, JCB, Bellway Homes, Michelin DC and Hewitt & Carr Services Limited.

Students who require a visa to study in the UK may be able to add in a work placement depending upon the programme. The ability to add a work placement is dependent upon the UK Immigration rules at the time of the request. It may be that for some programmes students will not have the option to request a placement period to be added to their programme before they arrive in the UK and would need to apply for a new visa. There is no guarantee that a placement will be provided and that students who have a visa are subject to a number of restrictions on the type of work, including placements they can undertake.

Our Careers and Employability team also conduct workshops covering a range of topics such as job interviews, designing and writing CVs and covering letters, and helping and supporting students to find and secure the work placement projects.

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Teaching, learning and assessment

How you'll be taught

The mode of study is full-time.

Acquisition of knowledge and understanding is through subject specialist and guest lectures, small-group discussions and tutorials, individual consultation, guided reading and self-study, and through the research dissertation, consultancy project or placement module.

These principal learning and teaching methods are assisted by a variety of mixed learning activities, such as group and individual presentations, individual feedback on assignments, the use of real business case studies and both summative and formative assessment.

How you'll be assessed

We use a mix of unique assessments to test students’ attainment of the learning outcomes. For example:

Individual and group-based assignments including those based on case study material. These test the quality and application of subject knowledge. In addition they allow you to demonstrate your ability to carry out basic bibliographic research and to communicate ideas effectively in writing in an appropriate scholarly style using the Harvard, or recognised alternative, system of referencing.
Exercises and online exams test your ability to frame and solve analytical and numerical questions. They demonstrate your competence and familiarity with a range of mathematical techniques that form the everyday tool-kit of the modern economist.
Literature reviews and research reports test your knowledge of different research methodologies and the limits and provisional nature of knowledge. They also enable you to demonstrate their ability to formulate research questions and to answer them using an appropriate strategy.
Presentations and reflective reports to assess your subject knowledge and understanding. They also test your ability to work effectively as a member of a team, to communicate what you know orally and visually, and to reflect on these processes as part of your personal development.
Examinations in different formats to test your core and in-depth knowledge as well as your ability to apply that knowledge responsibly in understanding social problems. Examinations may consist of essay, short answer and/or multiple choice questions.
A dissertation tests your ability to work independently, to formulate a research topic and questions, to develop an appropriate research methodology, and to demonstrate mastery of the topic through a critical engagement with the literature, the quality of its presentation and the ability to draw together all the strands of a particular argument into the approach to the solution to an academic question.
Consultancy project test your ability to work independently and with business clients on a project of benefit to the organisation. In doing so, you will develop an appropriate research methodology and demonstrate mastery of the subject by applying to a business context. Through the final report and presentation, you will demonstrate the ability to draw together all the strands of a particular argument into the approach to the solution to a business problem.
Work Placement report tests your ability to work independently and with business clients on a project of benefit to the organisation. In doing so, you will develop an appropriate research methodology and demonstrate mastery of the subject by applying to a business context. Through the final report and presentation, you will demonstrate the ability to draw together all the strands of a particular argument into the approach to the solution to a business problem.

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Keele Postgraduate Association

Keele University is one of a handful of universities in the UK to have a dedicated students' union for postgraduate students. A fully registered charity, Keele Postgraduate Association serves as a focal point for the social life and welfare needs of all postgraduate students during their time at Keele.

KPA interior

Hugely popular, the KPA Clubhouse (near Horwood Hall) provides a dedicated postgraduate social space and bar on campus, where you can grab a bite to eat and drink, sit quietly and read a book, or switch off from academic life at one of the many regular events organised throughout the year. The KPA also helps to host a variety of conferences, as well as other academic and career sessions, to give you and your fellow postgraduates the opportunities to come together to discuss your research, and develop your skills and networks.

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