Master of Business Administration

A series of units have been designed to integrate traditionally separate business disciplines, aiming to provide a comprehensive and rigorous business course. This approach develops a holistic understanding of the relationships between business areas, ultimately enhancing management effectiveness.

Autumn semester (September - December)

Sprint: Introduction to the programme​. You will be involved in a wide range of activities to build a solid foundation to progress in the new semester.

Core units:

• Change management: This unit will help you develop the skills to lead in today’s fast-changing and complex business world. You'll learn how to manage change effectively and understand the key behaviours, structures, and cultures within organisations. By combining these insights, you'll be better equipped to lead, adapt, and drive successful outcomes in dynamic environments.

Subunits: Leading Change; Organisational Dynamics​

• Mindful Operations: ​This unit provides a comprehensive view of operations management with a focus on sustainability. You'll learn how operations are key to delivering the right products and services that meet customer needs, ensuring quality, timely delivery, and great service. The unit also covers how advanced technologies can optimise processes, make operations more sustainable, and provide real-time data for better decision-making.

Subunits: Operations Management; Sustainability with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)​

• Contemporary business strategies​: You will learn the key concepts, methods and thinking used to develop and deliver effective business and marketing strategies that consider both profitability and responsible business practice.  

Subunits: Strategic Management; Contemporary Marketing​

• Financial decision-making: This unit aims to enhance your understanding and skills in analysing and evaluating accounting and financial data, with a focus on how they relate to organisational strategies. It will explore financial and accounting theories and their practical use in real-world situations, balancing theory with application. By the end, you'll be more confident in your ability to understand and navigate the Finance function as a leader.

Subunits: Financial Data Analytics; Corporate Governance

Spring Semester (late January-June)​

Sprint: Introduction to the programme. You will be involved in a wide range of activities to build a solid foundation to progress in the new semester.

Core units:

• Future of Work: The aim of this unit is to examine a variety of contemporary people-management workplace trends that may shape and disrupt organisations and their workforces. You will critically analyse the opportunities and challenges faced in future workplaces and reflect on the skills and competencies required to lead.

Subunits: People Operations; Reflective leadership development​

• Business Analytics and Risk: ​The unit aims to provide you with a theoretical and conceptual understanding of crisis and risk management and business resilience, alongside equipping you with advanced analytics software to develop critical thinking skills for analysing crisis-related problems. Through this integration, you will learn strategic approaches to effectively manage business risks and enhance organisational resilience in unpredictable environments.

Subunits: Applied Business Analytics; Risk: Crises and Resilience​

• Entrepreneurship: ​This unit focuses on applying entrepreneurial strategies to emerging technologies. You'll learn to design innovative business solutions that use technology to improve user experiences, drive venture growth, and create value in fast-changing, tech-driven markets.

Subunits: Technology Driven Ventures; User-centred Business Solutions​

• Business Research Method: this unit aims to equip you with the skills to tackle complex issues and build strong, analytical arguments for research. It focuses on understanding research paradigms, methodologies, design, and techniques relevant to business and management research. The knowledge gained will provide a solid foundation for planning and conducting business research projects and successfully completing the MBA capstone unit, Project in Applied Research and Industry Insight.

Final Semester​

• Project: Applied Research and Industry Insights: This unit is designed to help you develop the skills needed to independently tackle a significant project in an area that interests you. You'll produce either a research paper or a management report that addresses a real-world business problem or opportunity. This will allow you to apply theoretical knowledge to practical situations, helping you make informed decisions and contribute to strategic development within organisations. Throughout the project, you'll enhance your ability to think critically, analytically, and evaluatively while also developing your independent learning and idea generation skills. Reflective practice will be a key part of the unit, encouraging you to assess your work and its impact.

Choose to complete either a consultancy project or a research project. 

You have the option to undertake a 30-week placement at the end of the course, providing an opportunity to apply your acquired knowledge and skills in the workplace. You are required to find your own placement; however, our Careers & Employability Service and your faculty placements office are on hand to support you.

The placement is intended to foster personal and professional development, and to help you to make a connection between academic learning and the working world.

You should consider how a range of management theories can be used, and if management in industry could be improved. The transferable skills developed will improve your performance in your future career, both as employee and manager.

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry. If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

For Masters of Business Administration we are looking for applicants who:

• Have a passion for business and personal development
• Are looking to focus their knowledge and skills on key business concepts and disciplines
• Can connect theory to practical application to use in day-to-day business operations
• Have current knowledge in concerns and issues facing businesses.

At least two years of relevant work experience is required, however if you do not have the required qualifications we would encourage you to apply as each application will be considered on its individual merit. Applicants with less than two years of work experience may be invited to a Skype or face-to-face interview with the MBA Director. Social enterprise, volunteering or entrepreneurial experience may also be considered. Placement or internship completed during Undergraduate studies can be considered as required work experience if students achieve 2:1 or First in any subject.

We’ll be selecting the candidates for this course by looking at their applications. For that reason, make sure your application really stands out from the crowd, and leave us in no doubt as to why you should be joining BU. 

You could be invited to an interview with that MBA Director that could be via Skype or in person. For more information, take a look at our postgraduate how to apply pages. 

Please see our website for the application deadlines. You should apply as early as possible to be considered for your course of choice. If you require a student visa, apply for the visa as soon as you have an unconditional offer and receive your CAS. There may be delays in visa processing in your country and you need to be in Bournemouth ready to study for the start of term.

Click the green ‘Apply now’ button to submit your application free of charge online through myHub, our application portal. You will create your own myHub account so that you can track the progress of your application. Don’t forget to save your application as you go; you can return to it at as many times as you want before you submit it. For more information visit our How to apply section.

• Marketing
• Project Manager
• Financial Analyst
• HR Assistant

We provide a lot of support for you to help you find work, including a block of seminars, covering topics such as writing a CV and a covering letter, completing an application form, performing well in interviews, and we also provide language support to assist you with the written elements of your applications.

However, it is ultimately your responsibility to find work. The university does not guarantee that you will find a place. 

During your time on placement you will be supported by a unit tutor and a placement development advisor who will visit you on placement and keep in touch by phone and email.

If you choose to do a placement as part of your course:

If you have previously studied in the UK, we will consider any study limit that may apply. We will issue your CAS according to the length of time you are entitled to under UKVI regulations (if you do not have enough time left for a work placement year, we will issue your CAS to cover your course dates only).

If you decide after you have enrolled on your course that you do not want to do a placement, this will be reported to the UKVI when you have successfully completed your course.

If you choose not to do a placement as part of your course:

We will note this on your CAS and your visa will only be granted long enough to cover your taught course, excluding placement.

If you change your mind while you are here and decide you want to do a placement, you will need to leave the UK to make a new Tier 4 visa application for the additional year of study. You would need to pay for your return travel back to your home country, as well as the cost of a new Tier 4 student visa application.

A Bachelors Honours degree with 2:2 in any subject and a minimum of two years relevant full-time work experience. However, applicants with other backgrounds may be invited to interview and are encouraged to discuss their application with the MBA Director.

You can find details of the international qualifications we accept, and what level of study they apply to, on our entry requirements for non-UK students' page.

Please see below some examples of the qualifications for entry:

• India: Bachelor’s degree (three years) from a recognised HE institution with a minimum overall result of 55%  
• Nigeria: Bachelor's degree from a recognised institution with a minimum classification of 2:4  
• China: Chinese Bachelor's (Honours) degree from a recognised higher education institution with 65% or above  
• Turkey: Bachelor’s degree (Lisans Diplomasi - four years) with a minimum overall GPA of 2.3/4.0  
• Ghana: Bachelor's degrees from University of Ghana or Legon with a grade of 2.00 or above, or from Cape Coast with a grade 2.5 or above  
• USA: US Bachelor’s degree (four years), with a 2.5 GPA or above  

All applications will be subject to a minimum grade and your degree may need to be in a relevant subject area.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, you will need to provide evidence that you can understand English to a satisfactory level. English language requirements for this course are normally:

• IELTS (Academic) 6.5 with a minimum of 5.5 in writing, speaking, listening and reading, or equivalent.

View further information about our English language requirements.

Bournemouth University International College offers a number of pre-sessional English and preparatory programmes to prepare international students for postgraduate study at BU. Admission to the degree is guaranteed on successful completion of your course to the required level.

Roles our Masters of Business Administration graduates are in include:

• Director
• Lead Project Manager
• Head of Economic Development Services
• Head of Information and Systems Development

• Business
• Finance
• Marketing
• Human Resources.

If you want to continue your studies after achieving your MBA, you can look into our range of doctoral programmes.

What’s included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

• Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and fieldwork, and non-financial support whilst on placement
• A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service
• The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces
• Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, integrated social media and advanced video features.
• Free software download to your personal device of Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus while you are studying, as well as access to applications provided on AppsAnywhere, subject to licensing and compatibility restrictions.
• IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow
• Disability and additional learning support
• 24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team.

Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

• Laptops, tablets and mobile devices and any software used on personal devices. Access to a personal computer is strongly recommended for your study. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, visit our website for information regarding BU financial support funds. 
• Accommodation and living costs. Our accommodation price guide can be found on our website.
• Travel costs, outdoor wear and footwear for optional field trips.
• Travel costs to and from the university campus. An annual bus pass is included in your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation.
• Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of text books and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shop stocks a wide range of stationery supplies. 
• Travel costs to and from your placement (both in the UK and overseas). Information about funding your placement year can be found on our website.
• SportsBU membership.
• You will need to meet the cost of any Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check if required by your placement setting, including any Post Office or Digital ID verification charges.
• Clothing or equipment costs required for your placement if this is part of your course of study.

While all aspects of the programme, including required field trips, are included in the fee, additional, optional or extra curricula activities may be available for which a student contribution is required.

If you need to repeat one or more units during the course of your studies (with or without attendance) the pricing will be pro-rata of the full time fee.

International (not Rep. of Ireland) students need to pay a non-refundable deposit to secure their place on a postgraduate course. You will need to pay your deposit by the date stated in your offer letter. The remainder of your fee will be payable on registration/enrolment. There are two exceptions to the non-refundable rule on the deposit:

• You fail to meet the academic or English requirements of your offer
• You are refused a visa to enter the UK, provided the reason for the refusal is not a fraudulent application.

We offer a range of scholarships to students who are beginning their studies at BU. Our fees and funding pages also provide details on living costs, budgeting and paying your tuition fees.

Yumei Yang is a MBA Director and a Principal Academic in Human Resource Management and Organizational Behaviour at the Faculty of Management at Bournemouth University. She is also the programme framework lead for Management courses at postgraduate level.

Her current research interests are organizational routines and organizational learning. Particularly, she is interested in evaluating how organizational defensive routines affect organizational life, such as organizational performance, organizational learning and knowledge management. During her PhD, she developed a scale to measure organisational defensive routines. She also co-investigate other various research areas in HRM and OB such as big data, knowledge oriented leadership and work-life balance.

She welcomes anyone who is looking for doing PhD in the above listed areas to contact with her.

Dr. Vincent Marmion is a Lecturer in Leadership and Change at the Bournemouth University Business School. He holds a PhD in Complex Systems and Data Disclosure Decisions from the University of Southampton. His research, which employs simulation methods, provides valuable insights into organisational dynamics and data management.

Deborah is a Senior Lecturer at Bournemouth University. Deborah joined Bournemouth University in 2010, having worked within the Investment banking and the recruitment industry. Her teaching centres on the areas of Organisational Behaviour and Leadership at both postgraduate and undergraduate levels. Research interests include Psychological Ownership, Leadership, Career and Talent Management. 

Gelareh completed her PhD titled: Role of Information Systems Specialists in Business Process Re-engineering. Her industry background is in the financial sector before entering academia. She has over 25 years of experience in the Higher Education, and she has held leadership positions through most of her career. 

Following her previous roles including Deputy Dean for Education and Director of accreditation in the Business Schoo where she led successful AACSB accreditation, Gelareh is Associate Professor in Marketing and has recently been appointed as Bournemouth University’s Head of Centre for Excellence in Learning. Her previous senior posts have included Head of Department, Associate Dean for Education, Head of Programmes and Director of MBA. Her other responsibilities have included, Chair of Technology Enhanced Learning Strategy Forum for the University, Project Sponsor for Vision for Learning and co-Chair of the Race Equality Charter Self-Assessment Team. 

Gelareh has been serving on the Board of United Kingdom Academy for Information Systems for over 12 years, and she also serves as a ‘volunteer’ for AACSB International. She works with other UK universities as External Examiner, including Doctoral examination and programme validation, her responsibilities include Transnational Education. 

Gelareh’s area of research is in Innovation Science, and she has published and presented on digital solutions to meet emerging business and educational requirements for over 20 years. More recently, her area of research has been in Medtech innovation diffusion and development of a new Surgical Innovation Framework, in collaboration with the National Health Service. 

Milena is a key advocate of education innovation through staff-student collaboration and Technology Enhanced Learning. Her subject expertise is multi-disciplinary, with a critical focus on system analysis, business process improvement, blended and e-learning, and performance management. 

For more than 15 years, Milena has actively adopted real-life project-based learning and the use of contemporary information and communication technologies for documenting and marketing the outcomes of student work. Her experience covers both extensive undergraduate (300+students) cohorts and small groups of MBA students. 

The outcomes of working with students as partners in subject-based research, enquiry and consultancy have been reported through a variety of channels, including conference publications, workshops and reports. Milena’s work in supporting student learning has received Bournemouth University awards for outstanding contributions to student learning in 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2014. 

Milena is a Member of the Chartered Management Institute since 2012. In January 2014 she was awarded a fellowship for the Centre for Excellence in Learning and the Centre for Excellence in Media Practice at Bournemouth University. 

Elvira is Associate Professor in Marketing at the Bournemouth University Business School and and Senior Fellow of HEA and Department of Marketing Assurance of Learning (AACSB) Lead. She is Regional President (UK) of IAPNM, on editorial board of Journal of Business to Business Marketing and Deputy Chair for the Academy of Marketing B2B SIG. 

Elvira has gained PhD with thesis titled 'Mobile Technology Capabilities and their role in service innovation practices in creative SMEs' and now is supervising other doctoral students in the fields of marketing and management with the focus on digital/interactive marketing. 

Currently, her research focuses on social media influencing, adoption of technology by businesses, trust repair in online space and responsible online gambling. Her recent consultancy projects have covered digital marketing planning and implementation for Dr Jackson's, Kudu Clothing and Eat Pho Ltd. 

Throughout her academic career, Lois has employed the positive philosophy and practice of continuous improvement; working in collaboration with various organisational stakeholders to develop teams and individuals in the context of organisational vision, mission and goals. 

As a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, People-centred Lean approaches and Appreciative Inquiry, underpin much of her work. 

She has worked with Bournemouth University for almost five years as a Head of Department. She began her role in leading a Human Resources & Organisational Behaviour Department. Subsequently, through consultation and collaboration, Lois built and now leads the multi-disciplinary Leadership, Strategy and Organisations Department. She has also supported wider organisational development through the implementation of a new Academic Career Framework and Workload Planning Framework. 

Lois is active in applied research in various areas including leadership and HRM good practice and has enjoyed collaborating with multiple organisations including IiP Scotland, NHS Lothian, and Dorset and Devon & Cornwall Police Forces. She has supervised PhD and DBA theses in a range of areas including culture change, lean management/continuous improvement, readiness for change, employee engagement, leadership practice, partnership working, and gender equality. 

Before working at BU, Lois was Director of Research Degrees (PhD and DBA) at Edinburgh Napier University with the remit of revitalising the doctoral research community. 

Dr Stefanos Marangos is a Senior Lecturer in Strategy at Bournemouth University Business School and a Programme Leader for the BA (Hons) Global Business Management (Top-up - online). 

Stefanos has a PhD in Open Innovation and an MSc in Management Sciences and Finance from the University of Southampton and BSc in Financial Applications from TEI Kozanis in Greece. 

Current research includes open innovation and innovation management, strategic business models, self-managed learning, inquiry-based learning. 

I am a Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour and Business Ethics at the Business School, Bournemouth University. I hold a BA in philosophy (University of Naples), a MA in philosophy (University of Siena) and an MSc in environmental communication (University of Bologna). I have completed a PhD in Organisation Studies at the University of Portsmouth, with a study on Fairtrade certification and consumer activism in Fairtrade Towns. My research revolves around the sustainability of food systems, ethical consumption, and market-based activism and social movements campaigning for sustainable and equitable food systems. Being very keen on academia-practice synergies, I have collaborated with several NGOs in the UK and abroad, including the Fairtrade Foundation in London and the Fair Trade Advocacy Office in Brussels. Since 2017, I am an active member of the International Fair Trade Symposium Steering Committee.