Course overview

This new and unique programme has been specially designed for students who wish to combine study and work in the UK on an AMBA accredited, internationally recognised MBA programme to improve career prospects and personal development. The programme is intended for students wanting to apply their skills and knowledge of current business practice through a paid business placement where they will complete a project for a UK or international company.

What is an MBA?

An MBA is a globally recognised master's programme that encapsulates the educational requirements of senior and executive level management.

The MBA (with Business Placement) programme is up to two years in duration and the taught element in the first year is similar to the one year full time MBA. The difference being that students on this programme undertake a Professional Development unit designed to prepare individuals for a placement. Students on the MBA (with Business Placement) undertake a Work-based Learning Project, instead of the Research Project (or Dissertation), which is dependent on them securing an appropriately paid placement in the UK  for their second year. Students apply to join their placement company and will need to pass a selection process. Though we cannot guarantee a placement, students will have access to our business contacts and our Placement Office who will support them in finding a suitable position. Should a student not secure a placement, they will transfer to the full-time MBA one year programme. 

What is the Association of MBAs? 

The AMBA accreditation represents the highest standard of achievement in postgraduate business education and demonstrates the quality, reputation and comparability of our programme.Portsmouth Business School is a member of the AMBA Group Membership Scheme, which means that Portsmouth MBA students and alumni are entitled to free extended individual membership of the Association. Membership provides you with exclusive access to a global network of over 5000 AMBA members and to MBA specific careers, networking and knowledge services for support throughout your studies and your career. Further information can be found on the AMBA website here www.mbaworld.com/ourservices.

Why join the Portsmouth MBA (with Business Placement)?

The programme is structured to develop your strategic abilities through a process of applied problem solving. Complex problems and real cases are explored, together with issues of strategy, change and leadership.

• The Business Placement will allow you to work in the UK for up to 12 months and apply existing and new knowledge in a real working environment whilst maintaining links with the Business School and the MBA.
• You will undertake group consultancy projects with local/regional organisations.  The Group Consultancy Project allows you to work in a small team analysing a complex siutation in a real organisation (usually at Board level).
• Your projects can be applied to organisations internationally.
• Evening Hot Topic seminars encourage you to exchange ideas and present you with opportunities to network with managers from outside the University with MBA Alumni.
• There will be talks by visiting speakers on topical themes and organisational visits both of which are particular features of the MBA European residential week.
• A Master Class programme supports your development of highly specific areas of knowledge in a concentrated manner.
• We also have strong ties with the Institute of Directors, the Institute of Leadership and Management and the Chartered Management Institute. 

Who should join us?

This MBA is designed for experienced graduate managers, from any discipline, who aspire to pursue an executive programme which focuses on interdisciplinary perspectives and emphasises the international context. You will need a good bachelors degree from a UK University or equivalent overseas qualification, but not necessarily in a business-related subject. We also welcome applications from managers without a Bachelors degree but with significant managerial experience as we have a limited number of places for non-graduate entry.  As well as UK applicants, Portsmouth Business School's high quality programmes attract a large number of international and EU applicants each year.  If your first language is not English, you will need to demonstrate competency in English to a minimum level of IELTS 6.5 or equivalent (with a minimum of six in all proficiency areas).  If you have a recent degree from a UK university you will normally be considered to meet this requirement.

If your IELTS score (or equivalent) is lower than our requirement, you may be eligible to take pre-sessional English courses at the University of Portsmouth.

What is the commitment?

The high quality standards of an AMBA accredited MBA provides 500 hours of academic contact. In order to make the most of the programme, we would expect you to spend a further 25 hours a week of self-learning. Self-learning might entail reading around the subject, preparing for classes, working on assignments, preparing for exams and thinking and applying knowledge in the workplace.

If you are interested in studying full-time for one year, please visit our Master of Business Administration (one year) web pages, alternatively for part-time students we offer the Executive MBA.

Find out more

For further information, please contact our Admissions Team (details above). We also hold regular postgraduate and part-time open evenings at which you can see our facilities, enjoy a guest lecture and meet the academics and current students over drinks and canapés. Applicants will be interested to know that each year Portsmouth Business School offers a number of scholarships for self-funding students.

Course content

To see when each unit is studied please view the course structure.

The MBA (with Business Placement) programme is designed to provide a general management education that promotes an holistic view of management, organisations and their global environment. It introduces our applied problem-solving and integrated approach to learning. This MBA includes the directly taught, largely discipline-based subjects, such as marketing and finance, along with the opportunity for you to apply and integrate the knowledge gained in seminar-based small group work exercises. 

These exercises are based on relevant case studies, including several requiring application to your own organisation (past or present), to enable you to develop your diagnostic, decision-making and implementation skills.

Whilst all MBA programmes may be expected to reflect the international nature of management and organisations, this programme emphasises the international context and management through selected Master Classes as well as in other units.

The MBA also develops the strategic aspects of management - a facet of organisational life characterised by complexity and uncertainty.  You will learn how to develop and critically review relevant frameworks to enable you to meet these challenges.  This process will allow you to explore the managerial competencies required to lead and facilitate strategic change and to understand contemporary organisational challenges.  Units include:

Developing Organisational Capabilities Unit

This unit explores finance, marketing, operations, innovation, law and corporate social responsibility and how they influence and improve the overall management of an organisation.  It introduces activity based learning (in particular, the case study method and problem-solving) to explore the interdependencies and application of different academic frameworks and concepts to managerial contexts.  Professional/personal development activities and a team building/leadership residential are also included.  

Leadership and Team Building Residential

This involves teams competing in a Business Project, along with other activities to explore the realities of building and leading multi-cultural teams.

Sustaining Organisational Value Unit

Sustaining Organisational Value builds on Developing Organisational Capabilities with further development of finance, operations, quantitative approaches adding decision analysis, information systems, digital marketing and sales management as well as specialised areas of marketing that develop the organisation into its future environment.  This unit continues to use activity based learning to explore the interdependencies and application of different academic frameworks and concepts to managerial contexts.  The learning strategy is again group-based and emphasises the integration of disciplines and themes.

Strategic Management and Master Classes Unit

Strategic Management and Master Classes address key issues that shape organisations, their orientation, transformation and change in complex and uncertain business environments.  Behavioural and economic concepts of organisations and their business contexts are explored.  This subject emphasises group-based activities and includes company visits, external corporate speakers and the European residential.  This pivotal unit adopts a multi-disciplinary perspective and seeks to present and evaluate some of the key components involved in the strategic management of organisations in a complex and chaotic global environment.

You will be expected to complete a minimum of eight Master Classes.  These offer the opportunity to gain specialist knowledge and skills.  The Master Classes involve intensive study and exercises as well as active debate of the issues.  The classes may also include MBA Alumni and invited guests from the business community.  Master Classes will run in a conference that will take place in April/May before the University Exam Period.  These classes are programmed in advance for specific days (including Saturdays).

Strategic Leadership, Culture and Change Unit

Strategic Leadership, Culture and Change aims to develop your analytical and decision-making skills in complex strategic situations.  The unit introduces key aspects of organisation and managing people, emphasising the pivotal role occupied by organisational structure, technology, culture and emotion and their operation across local and international contexts.  The unit prepares you for leadership and deals with issues such as managing diversity, cross-cultural behaviour, human resource management and the management of teams so that you are better placed to cope in an increasingly complex business environment.

Consultancy and Research Methods Unit

The unit operates in two phases; the taught part of the course covers techniques used in management research, quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis and consultancy intervention.  It encourages you to think critically about the nature and value of management research as well as preparing you for the role of a consultant in an organisational setting.  After the taught element you will operate as part of a small team, to apply and develop your consultancy skills with a Group Consultancy Project in a host organisation usually at board level.  This team-based assignment provides an opportunity to directly assist senior management in finding innovative yet realistic solutions to their current and future strategic challenges.

We have been operating these projects since 2001 and they have been highly successful for the organisations involved.  Course members consider this assignment to be one of the most rewarding experiences on the MBA programme.

MBA Professional Development 

MBA Professional Development prepares students to undertake a work placement with an employer based in the UK or elsewhere. Students will explore the nature of different management cultures and investigate potential sponsoring organisations in preparation for interview.  The creation of a personal development plan will be necessary.

MBA Work-based Learning Project

The second year of the programme concentrates on research and project management.  You will be given guidance in research methods, before you carry out the company based project which will be under the supervision of a specialist member of the academic staff.

This Project is a 12 month independent study unit with substantial investigations, within a company trading in the UK, the student’s home country (or another country subject to normal visa requirements). The project develops a significant area of professional practice in the business administration or related area. Students will actively seek an appropriate work placement supported by the Business School Placement Office.

Should students not secure a placement by the required deadline they will be transferred to the MBA (full-time) and will be required to complete the MBA Research Project on the MBA (full-time) programme rather than the MBA Work-based Learning Project.  

The MBA Work-based Learning Project provides a unique opportunity for you to apply the skills learned on the taught part of the programme as well as pre-existting skills in a management environment where you will work on a project agreed with the employer.  This is a chance to demonstrate the subject knowledge you have acquired, as well as your analytical abilities and problem-solving skills which are highly regarded by potential employers. We would normally expect work placements to be full-time paid employment.

Teaching and assessment

The assessment methods used on the programme vary according to the topic content and the way in which the learning has been applied. All course members are given guidance and support to prepare for their assessments.

Current management practice is characterised by team work and the use of presentations to communicate ideas and strategies, consequently we use group work and presentations extensively alongside work related assessments, reports and a dissertation.

Our friendly and supportive environment uses formal lectures and seminars to provide the basis for the development of relevant knowledge, which is further enhanced in activity-based case studies. Our aim is to promote your career prospects by putting you into simulated situations where you have to analyse complex problems, explore the uncertainties involved, evaluate possible solutions and plan their implementation.

You will be assigned a personal tutor and have access to a specialist Academic Skills Unit that offers assistance on a wide range of issues from essay writing to time management and referencing conventions. If English is not your first language, there are free courses available to help familiarise you with the use of English for academic purposes.

Career prospects

The MBA (with Business Placement) programme is ideally suited as a career development step to senior management roles and responsibilities.  Former students of the MBA have reported that undertaking the programme substantially enhanced their career prospects.  The Business Placement furthers your career opportunities by adding the experience of working in the UK to your profile.

You will also be working and learning with fellow students from a variety of backgrounds, industries and disciplines which will broaden your knowledge and experience.

Facilities and features

We offer a wide range of facilities aimed at helping you get the most from your time as a student at the University. The University Library is at the centre of academic life providing an abundance of information to help with study and research. There are over 10,000 electronic journals available, together with thousands of ebooks, which can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection. The Library has also invested heavily in the purchase of electronic resources. All students have a network account giving access to a range of course-specific resources.

As you would expect from a large and vibrant business school we offer modern facilities, a Virtual Learning Environment and support to help students in their studies and settling into Portsmouth. Above all you will find that our approach to learning is friendly, supportive and participative. The programme encourages active involvement and debate with a lively exchange of ideas and knowledge.

The International Office is here to help students from overseas to find all the information they need while making their choice and to provide advice and support when they arrive at the University of Portsmouth.

Entry requirements

The entry requirements for Master of Business Administration (with Business Placement) are shown above, for more detailed information please contact:

Department: Portsmouth Business School
Tel: +44 (0)23 9284 4888
Email: mba.admissions@port.ac.uk