(Master of Business Administration:) Master of Business Administration
The Essex MBA
Current
University of Essex
University of Essex
Essex Business School
Colchester Campus
Masters
Part-time
Business and Management
MBA N20E24
10/05/2023
Details
Professional accreditation
Accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA).
Admission criteria
A 2:1 degree. You are also expected to have an absolute minimum three years of good quality, relevant, professional work experience, post-graduation, at the course start date. You must also evidence that you have experience managing people, projects or budgets, that you have been able to progress in your career so far and/or that you have been involved in additional entrepreneurial or community focused activities. Once you have applied your experience will be assessed individually against these criteria before a decision is made whether your application will be progressed to the interview stage.
If you are a non-standard applicant (which is typically an applicant who has an undergraduate degree below a 2:1, or an applicant who does not have an undergraduate degree at all) we require at least five years of relevant managerial experience. You will also be required to write an essay (2000 words) outlining a range of business situations that you have experienced and identifying what you have learnt from them, linking this to how your MBA studies will support you in similar situations in the future.
All MBA applicants must submit an up-to-date CV. For each professional role, your CV should include: company name, job title, dates of employment, details of your role and responsibilities and an outline of the skills required or learnt in the role. You must also submit a personal statement which is specific to The Essex MBA programme, tells us why you think it the right programme for you and how your work and other experiences will help you to succeed on the MBA.
You don’t need to have completed GMAT to apply for the Essex MBA but we particularly welcome applicants with a GMAT score of 600 and above. If you have completed GMAT, please submit your score as it may strengthen your application and your chances of securing a scholarship.
IELTS (International English Language Testing System) code
IELTS 6.5 overall with a minimum component score of 6.0
If you do not meet our IELTS requirements then you may be able to complete a pre-sessional English pathway that enables you to start your course without retaking IELTS.
Additional Notes
The University uses academic selection criteria to determine an applicant’s ability to successfully complete a course at the University of Essex. Where appropriate, we may ask for specific information relating to previous modules studied or work experience.
Course qualifiers
A course qualifier is a bracketed addition to your course title to denote a specialisation or pathway that you have achieved via the completion of specific modules during your course. The
specific module requirements for each qualifier title are noted below. Eligibility for any selected qualifier will be determined by the department and confirmed by the final year Board of
Examiners. If the required modules are not successfully completed, your course title will remain as described above without any bracketed addition. Selection of a course qualifier is
optional and student can register preferences or opt-out via Online Module Enrolment (eNROL).
None
Rules of assessment
Rules of assessment are the rules, principles and frameworks which the University uses to calculate your course progression and final results.
Additional notes
Please refer to the full time version of this course for information on Core and Compulsory modules.
External examiners
Dr Lorenzo Todorow Di San Giorgio
Lecturer
University College LondonDr Jessica Andrea Chelekis
Senior Lecturer in Sustainability and Global Value Chains
Brunel University LondonDr Jose Eduardo Ibarra-Olivo
Lecturer in International Business and Strategy
Henley Business School
External Examiners provide an independent overview of our courses, offering their expertise and help towards our continual improvement of course content, teaching, learning, and assessment.
External Examiners are normally academics from other higher education institutions, but may be from the industry, business or the profession as appropriate for the course.
They comment on how well courses align with national standards, and on how well the teaching, learning and assessment methods allow students to develop and demonstrate the relevant knowledge and skills needed to achieve their awards.
External Examiners who are responsible for awards are key members of Boards of Examiners. These boards make decisions about student progression within their course and about whether students can receive their final award.
Programme aims
The Essex MBA is a generalist, full-time, career-development programme for applicants with at least three years of managerial experience, post-graduation, whose overall educational aims satisfy the following QAA Benchmark Statements for Masters awards in Business and Management:
- The advanced study of organisations, their management and the changing external context in which they operate;
- preparation for and/or development of a career in business and management by developing skills at a professional or equivalent level, or as preparation for research or further study in the area;
- development of the ability to apply knowledge and understanding of business and management to complex issues, both systematically and creatively to improve business and management practice;
- enhancement of lifelong learning skills and personal development so as to be able to work with self-direction and originality and to contribute to business and society at large.
The programme covers a broad curriculum which aims to give individuals an integrated and critically aware understanding of management and organisations, and to prepare them to take on roles as managers and business specialists within these organisations.
Specifically the course aims of the Essex MBA are:
- To offer students a broad range of modules that cover the principal disciplines and functions of management.
- To provide students with the theories, concepts, tools and techniques to address the burning issues facing organisations in both the private and public sectors.
- To address issues that are fundamental to the relationship between business and community, including ethics, corporate social responsibility and human rights, and the impact of business decisions on the environment and the welfare of society.
- To enable students to understand business decisions and policies in the context of the global economy and the cultural, social and spiritual diversity to be found in communities across the world.
- To offer students an integrated approach to the study of management in organisations that emphasises the interdependence between some of the core disciplines and practices of management and the importance of taking an holistic approach to problem-solving.
- To offer students the opportunity of specialising in one or more core disciplines of management so that their can further develop their career after graduation.
- To engage students, both individually and in groups, in a variety of learning and teaching experiences that will prepare them for the range of managerial asks and activities they will be expected to undertake upon graduation.
- To develop students' transferable skills including: numeracy, literacy, report writing, project work, personal and interpersonal skills, presentation skills, team-working, leadership and an appreciation of working in a multicultural environment.
- To develop students' research skills, including the ability to collect, analyse and evaluate quantitative and qualitative data from primary and secondary sources.
- To develop students analytical, critical and creative skills in addressing business and organisational problems.
- To enhance the employability of our graduates by offering them a relevant and innovative course that directly addresses the major issues confronting businesses in society today.
On completion of the programme successful candidates should be able to demonstrate:
- Knowledge and understanding of the core business and management disciplines at the postgraduate level 7.
- Knowledge, understanding and critical evaluation of the key theories and concepts that underpin management disciplines and practices.
- The ability to research information from both primary and secondary sources to address key problems and issues facing business and other organisations in today's society.
- The ability to analyse and synthesise both quantitative and qualitative data to test current business management theories.
- The ability to present and summarise arguments both verbally through presentations, debates and role-playing and in writing through reports, essays and projects and to reach a conclusion.
- An awareness and understanding of the economic, cultural and ethical context in which businesses and other organisations operate and their relationships with the various stakeholders in society.
- An awareness and understanding of the global environment and the impact that decisions of organisations in one country can have on other countries.
- Undertake independent research into a business management problem or issue.
Learning outcomes and learning, teaching and assessment methods
On successful completion of the programme a graduate should demonstrate knowledge and skills as follows:
A: Knowledge and understanding
A1: Knowledge and understanding of the core business areas (Accounting, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Finance and Management) in theory and practice.
A2: Knowledge and understanding of the issues and problems between business and society.
A3: Knowledge and understanding of the UK and international business environment from a financial, economical, social, political and cultural viewpoint.
A4: Knowledge and understanding of how to critically evaluate ideas, concepts and practices related to business and management.
A5: Understand and evaluate key research in the management disciplines studied.
A6: Acquiring specialist knowledge and understanding in specific areas of the student's choosing (via elective modules).
A7: Knowledge and understanding of the range of strategies available to business organisations to ensure their viability and sustainability.
A8: Knowledge and understanding of how business organisations grow, innovate and acquire entrepreneurial skills.
Learning methods
The course utilises a variety of learning methods to fulfil the learning outcomes, including lectures and classes (A1 to A8), group work (A1 to A8), project work (A2, A3, A4, A7 and A8), case studies (A2, A3, A4, A7, A8), practitioner-led seminars (A2, A3, A6, A7), reflective study (A2, A5, A6), online and web-based learning (A1 to A4, A6 to A8).
Assessment methods
The course utilises a variety of assessment methods to enable students to demonstrate learning outcome achievements, including closed book examinations, (A1, A2, A3, A4, A7, A8), open book examinations (A2, A3, A4, A7, A8), coursework (A1 to A8), in-class tests (A1 to A3, A6 to A8), reports (A2, A3, A6, A7, A8), research projects (A4, A5, A6), oral presentations (A2, A3, A4, A7, A8), case studies (A2, A3, A4, A7, A8), group projects (A2, A3, A4, A7, A8).
B: Intellectual and cognitive skills
B1: Apply problem-solving skills, informed by the application of relevant knowledge and understanding of complex management issues.
B2: Acquire and analyse data.
B3: Critically evaluate information from a wide range of sources.
B4: Demonstrate creativity in the application of knowledge and practical understanding of management issues.
B5: Critically analyse current management issues.
B6: Plan and conduct independent research into management issues.
B7: Demonstrate a reflective approach to management.
Learning methods
The course offers a range of learning methods to enable students to acquire, develop and practice intellectual and cognitive skills.
Lectures can play a role in providing the basic building blocks but additional methods are needed to fully develop these skills, including group work (B1 and B4), case studies (B3 and B5), reflective learning (journals) (B4 and B6), research projects (B1, B2, B3, B7), online and web-based learning (B1 to B3).
Assessment methods
The range of assessment methods matches the variety of learning methods to ensure that students can demonstrate the appropriate achievement level in all the intellectual and cognitive skills.
The types of assessment include: closed book examinations (B1 to B3), case study and open book examinations (B1 to B5), coursework (B1 to B6), in-class tests (B1, B2, B3), group projects (B1 to B6), oral presentations (B1, B3, B4, B5), reflective diaries and journals (B4, B6, B7), independent research projects (B2, B4, B5, B7).
C: Practical skills
C1: The ability to prepare arguments for discussion.
C2: A range of presentation skills (including the use of technology - e.g. Powerpoint presentations etc.).
C3: Demonstrate report-writing skills.
C4: The ability to analyse and evaluate quantitative data.
C5: The ability to analyse and evaluate narrative data.
C6: Collect quantitative and qualitative data for decision-making.
Learning methods
For learning and practicing practical skills the following methods are used: classes and seminars (C1, C2, C3), lectures (C3, C4, C5), case studies (C4, C5), group work C1, C3, C6), online and web-based self-study (C3, C4, C5).
Assessment methods
The course offers a wide range of assessment methods to permit students to demonstrate that they have achieved the necessary practical skills, including: coursework essays (C1, C4, C5, C6), in-class tests (C4 to C6), reports (C1, C3 to C6), oral presentations with audio visual aids (C1, C2), research projects (C4 to C6), group projects (C1 to C5).
D: Key skills
D1: Communicate ideas and arguments in a coherent and effective manner.
D2: Use information technology, such as word processing, spreadsheets, databases, and the web in order to source, download and analyse data.
D3: Manipulate numerical data and apply appropriate arithmetical, mathematical or statistical techniques.
D4: Problem-solving and analytical skills in the context of business and management.
D5: Ability to work in a team and participating in group work in undertaking research and preparing informal presentations.
D6: Reflectively analyse own performance and feedback.
Learning methods
Verbal communication skills (D1) are developed primarily through group discussion in the lectures and classes.
Written communication skills (D1) in individual tasks.
IT skills (D2) are developed as individual tasks require extensive research involving webbased material, internet and various electronic media.
Numeracy and problem solving skills (D3-D4) are developed principally through specific problem based exercises and tasks given to the students.
Working with others and team working (D5) are developed through group work involving the preparation of analytical reports and oral presentations to class colleagues.
Improvements to one's own learning and performance (D7) is developed through reflective learning, for example in the form of work diaries and onetoone tutorials.
Assessment methods
The assessment of the majority of key transferable skills forms an integral part of the overall assessment of the finance degree schemes. However the approach to assessment varies.
Written communication skills, problem solving, numeracy and IT skills are assessed directly through in-class tests, coursework essays, and closed-book examinations throughout the course.
Verbal communication skills are assessed through sole and group presentations in-class.
Team working is assessed through group projects and case studies.
Improving one's own learning and performance is not formally assessed but students are encouraged to keep a reflective journal and participate in the online personal development planning programme available to all students.