A Guide to Part-Time MBAs

Depending on where you choose to study, you may be able to specialise throughout your degree. This specialisation can have an influence on the way in which your career progresses after you have graduated. Common specialisations can include:

• International Business
• Marketing for Managers
• Business Consulting
• People and Organisations
• Human Resource Management
• Business Law

If your degree requires you to write a dissertation or submit a major research project, this will give you the opportunity to further explore a favoured area of business.

The accreditation of an MBA is internationally standardised. This means that if you choose to take an MBA degree, you will be awarded a Master of Business Administration, no matter your country of study. The only element of your award title that might change is if you study an MBA in a specific area, such as MBA in Marketing.

Some degrees might be accredited or approved by professional bodies of business and management. These might include the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), or the Association of MBAs (AMBA).

The duration of your part-time MBA will depend on where you choose to study, as well as how often you can attend classes. When studied part-time, you can expect an MBA to take between 3 and 8 years to complete. A part-time degree is designed to fit around your busy work and life schedule, so the timeframe is partly decided by you as the student.

An MBA is normally studied as a final degree, so further study is not common. However, you could choose to continue to broaden your studies. This could be in the form of a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA), a different masters degree, or a graduate diploma or certificate.

The entry requirements for an MBA degree will depend on where you choose to study. The nature of the course means that different institutions can have different requirements. Some universities might require you to sit an entrance exam, where others may rely on your previous undergraduate degree results. Some universities may prefer you to have studied certain subjects, such as business or marketing, and others might require you to have a certain amount of work experience. It is possible that you institution will require you to provide results from a GMAT or GRE test. Your institution will be able to provide you with more information about this, as not all universities require all of these things for admission.

You should check each institution to see what entry requirements they have for their part-time MBA programmes.

• UK – 7.0 IELTS, 2:1 undergraduate degree, work experience may be required
• US – 3.0 GPA, GRE/GMAT may be required

Tuition fees for international students are not fixed. This means that they can vary greatly from institution to institution. You should make sure that you are aware of how much your course will cost you.

Sometimes students on MBA courses will have financial help from their workplace to complete their degree. Speak to your employer about this if you think that an MBA would lead to company progression, as well as personal progression.

You may be eligible for a scholarship or funding. This could be awarded by your institution, or by a separate funding body. For more information, visit our scholarships and funding section.

Students of an MBA usually tend to already have a job, or an idea of their career direction. You might choose to progress in your current career, moving into a more senior role. You might also choose to change career altogether, perhaps even moving from one industry to another. Gaining an MBA is a great way to display to global business leaders that you have an advanced expertise in a wide range of business areas, and can be a versatile employee.