Phillip Down – MSc Strategic Quality Management

"One of the best things about studying for my Masters is that I have learned an enormous amount, which I have been able to apply almost instantly in my workplace. The Masters qualification will help me in my career long-term but the benefits are also immediate. The subject is about a total approach to improving the way a business operates; it is about a taking a holistic view and making everything from the top down work better.

"I am only half-way through but already I have been promoted to a management job, partly because I have shown I am capable and partly because doing a Masters on top of your day job shows a real commitment - employers like that.

"From the very first unit I found it much more focussed on the real world than my Bachelor's degree. It is academically rigorous but it's also about applying what you learn to the real world and getting results. I have to read an enormous wealth of information and that generates new ideas and ways of thinking.

"Quality management used to be about conformance of products to defined standards. Now it's about the whole package - everything from the way the finance department runs to understanding customers explicitly. Working for a small organisation means it's easy to discuss ideas with directors immediately. It isn't just about me gaining an education; my employer is getting a consultancy service in effect because 90 per cent of my assignments have been focussed on my organisation."

Gail Grant – MSc Strategic Quality Management

Gail Grant had successfully run a small light engineering company for 20 years and had a wealth of practical skills and knowledge but no academic qualifications to back it up. She returned to work as a town centre manager for Havant Borough Council and was quickly promoted but knew she could do even more; her employer recommended the University of Portsmouth as having a good reputation in Strategic Quality Management.

Gail said: "Like many of my generation I did not have the opportunity to go to university. I left school at 16 and was busy building a small business and having a family but in the back of my mind I always wondered if I had it in me to achieve a university degree. Now I have done it I am over the moon."

Now she has a Masters in Strategic Quality Management from the Portsmouth Business School she manages a £2.5m budget running the council's waste and recycling services.

Ross Harris – MSc Strategic Quality Management

"I am currently an academic at a university in the south-west of England teaching quality and project management, strategic information systems planning and software engineering to both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

"Seeking to further my academic qualifications and my professional career I decided to take an MSc course that was relevant to my teaching and research interests. Having looked at various courses running throughout the country I decided that the most appropriate for my needs and interests was the MSc Strategic Quality Management course running at the University of Portsmouth.

"This turned out to be a good choice as the course was well run, taught and supported by friendly and helpful staff, it was also interesting, enjoyable and extremely useful in my work and career progression."

Hui Li-Candy – MSc Strategic Quality Management

"I graduated from the University of Portsmouth in Business Administration. I chose Portsmouth again for further study, simply because it offers a high quality Masters course in Strategic Quality Management with excellent facilities and career opportunities. The course is only provided by two universities in the UK. The best thing I love about the course is its diversity in students and culture and the friendly atmosphere. Full-timers learned work experience from part-timers. It is an important decision in my life to come to Portsmouth to study and I am so glad that I have made the right choice."

Mohammed Hassan Al-Shehi – MSc Strategic Quality Management

Director General; Audit of Public Companies, State Audit Institution, Sultanate of Oman.

"The MSc Strategic Quality Management takes the participants - using a well structured approach - from the definition of the philosophy of Total Quality Management, the design of quality oriented management systems, tools and knowledge associated with such philosophy until the participants reach a point of realisation of the importance of the strategic orientation of management systems especially when excellence is the acquired destination using Total Quality Management and understanding the importance of continuous improvement.

"The course doesn't stop at the point of collecting knowledge; rather it encourages the participant to use their knowledge to create leaders. Leaders who are able to pave the way for their organisations while striving for excellence, offer a better-structured way of doing business with vision and quality plans in-hand."