MSc
Strategic Quality Management (DL)
Take your career forward in conjunction with achieving workplace goals
Course Overview
Why take this course?
You will gain knowledge of a broad range of modern theory and techniques covering operational, functional and strategic management.
We devise practical ways to sharpen up your existing skills and apply them in both academic and business settings. Ultimately enabling you to make an effective contribution to the implementation of policies in order to meet business targets and achieve results in the workplace.
What will I experience?
On this course you can:
- Make an effective contribution to your workplace, as well as improve your career prospects
- Participate in live web-based chat forums to discuss your work with lecturers and other students
- Tap in to our Library’s vast selection of electronic resources, which can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection
What opportunities might it lead to?
Portsmouth Business School is a member of the European Foundation for Quality Management and our course team are part of this group, holding specific membership for the British Quality Foundation.
Therefore, this course is designed to provide you with the quality, organisational and people management skills, and techniques to enable you to make a significant contribution to an organisation's strategic visions for success.
It is academically rigorous but it's also about applying what you learn to the real world and getting results.
Phillip Down, strategic quality management student
Key Facts
- Duration
- 2 years part time distance learning
- Entry
A good honours degree or equivalent in a relevant subject. Practising managers without an honours degree who have substantial relevant experience and the academic potential to achieve the award will also be considered. Applicants are subject to interview.
English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.5 with a minimum score of 6.0 in all individual components, or equivalent.- Fees
UK/EU/Channel Islands and Isle of Man distance learning students: £2,500 p/a*
International distance learning students: £2,500 p/a*
*Please note that all fees are subject to annual increase.- Contact
- pbs.postgradadmissions@port.ac.uk
+44 (0)23 9284 8200 - Department
- Portsmouth Business School
Structure & Teaching
Our course is very flexible and this distance learning route can be completed over two years. You can also opt to study full time over a one year period.
This is a well-established course that will give you a firm footing in strategic quality management and achieving excellence through customer focus and continuous improvement.
Here are the units you will study:
- Business Transformation through Quality Management: This unit deals with the fundamentals concepts of quality management and organisational behaviour, and focuses on the application of those concepts in the organisation. It complements the Strategic Organisational Excellence unit.
- Quantitative and Research Methods: This unit considers concepts of quantitative methods and their use in aiding decision making within an organisation, and covers the theory and application of research methodologies, to support you with your dissertation writing.
- Business Systems – Concepts, Management and Evaluation: This unit addresses the principles of business management, their encapsulation in management standards and application in the workplace by way of business systems.
- Strategic Organisational Excellence: This unit will look at the links between concepts of excellence and their use in the strategic management of an organisation. It explores issues raised by variations in culture and sector, both within the organisation and in its relationships with its stakeholders.
- Dissertation: This unit will enable you to demonstrate your ability to identify, design, plan and undertake research on a specific quality management issue, and effectively communicate your findings in an individual research project.
Teaching and Assessment
On this distance learning course, you will benefit from comprehensive learning materials including online video, audio and written resources. There will also be staff-led online tutorials with other distance learning students and though study is self-directed, you will have access to all the support you need.
How are you assessed?
Assessment comprises a mixture of individual and group work, case study analyses and reports, essays and presentations. You will also complete a 15,000-word dissertation.
Facilities & Features
Flexible Learning
Benefit from web, email or phone access to many of our facilities and services
Support
Tutors are available to support your studies via online tutorials, email and telephone conferencing
Academic Skills Unit (ASK)
Our workshops are designed to improve a number of essential academic skills
University Library
Our library offers a wealth of information including thousands of online ejournals
Flexible Learning
Although you may not be campus based, you will still benefit from web, email or phone access to many of our facilities and services. Our student website, LookUP, will be your one-stop shop for all news, information and links to other services, and 24/7 online access to the University Library’s vast electronic book, journal and database collections will help you find the right resources for your studies.
Support
Due to the distance-based nature of this course and the potential pressure of juggling your course alongside work life, we aim to provide you with as much support as possible. There are tutors available to support your studies via online tutorials, email and telephone conferencing. You will also be assigned a personal tutor who will offer support and guidance throughout your studies.
Academic Skills Unit (ASK)
The ASK unit will help you become a successful university student. Our workshops are designed to improve a number of essential academic skills from essay writing and understanding plagiarism to revision and exam techniques. This is a great way to refresh yourself on university study ensuring you perform to your full potential.
University Library
Modern, comfortable and a great learning environment, our library offers a wealth of information including 400,000 books, DVDs, maps and thousands of online ejournals and newspapers. Many electronic resources are available anywhere, 24/7 and our friendly staff are always on hand to help.
Careers & Opportunities
Career prospects
The aim of this course is to enable you to improve performance at a professional and organisational level. In turn, this should boost your own career prospects by helping you to take the next step up the managerial ladder.
Our previous graduates have gone on to undertake a variety of roles including quality manager/ director, quality engineer, quality adviser, quality analyst, quality consultant, quality environmental and health and safety manager, amongst others.
On successful completion of the course you are eligible to apply for Associate and Practitioner membership of the Chartered Quality Institute (CQI). You also may qualify for Chartered Quality Professional status through the qualification route, subject to satisfying the work experience criteria – at least five years' quality management or systems experience, two of which should be in a managerial or supervisory capacity (including the management of people, processes or systems).
Career planning
One of the benefits of studying at Portsmouth is the support that we provide to our Master's and Research Degrees students in career planning. Our careers and recruitment service – Purple Door – can assist you in career research and finding employment opportunities. Help is also available if you wish to find a part-time job while studying your degree. We offer our postgraduate students and alumni one-to-one appointments with a careers adviser, or an online service for those not able to travel back to the University. Our alumni can call on our career services for five years after graduation.
In addition, regular employability events offer you the chance to meet employers, find out about different career sectors and improve your applications or CV. The Graduate Summer Programme provides a range of guidance and employability seminars and workshops.