Business & Management

Accreditation: National University of Ireland
Place on NFQ: Level 9 (Major Award).
Award: Master of Science in Business and Management.
Interim Award: Postgraduate Diploma in Business and Management.

The MSc in Business and Management is a two-stage programme that will provide students with advanced and significant expertise in the concepts, tools and skills essential to contemporary business strategies and functions. The first stage of the course provides a mixture of quantitative subjects and more general management subjects. On successful completion of this stage, students will specialise in either HRM or Financial Management. In the second stage, they will take three subjects and prepare a minor dissertation.

The six subjects of the first stage cover topics essential to any advanced business and management qualification, including cost-benefit analysis, financial policy, human resource planning, the management of cash and assets, decision-making in organisations, strategic management, leadership and change, and the principles of research. The second stage builds on the knowledge obtained in the first and allows students specialise in an area they are most interested in. The minor dissertation will likely address an issue relevant to the student’s professional formation and will draw upon the theories and principles students have learned. The Research Methods module will be a very useful preparation for the dissertation phase.

Is This Programme For You?
Yes, if you want to obtain a high level of expertise in the contemporary principles and practices that determine business strategies and operations.

On successful completion of the MSc, graduates will be able to:
• Critically appraise advanced business theory and practice
• Demonstrate expertise in key business functions
• Apply quantitative methods and subjects to contemporary theories in the relevant social sciences
• Interrogate common business norms from the perspective of the most current scholarship
• Situate business problems and solutions within a variety of different contexts: economic, financial, statistical, managerial, legal and organisational.

Programme Content
Year One
The first stage of the MSc programme is divided into two semesters and each semester is devoted to the study of three key business and management subjects:

Semester One
• Economics
• Human Resource Management
• Finance

Semester Two
• Organisation and Strategy
• Leadership and Strategy Implementation
• Research Methods

Year Two
The second stage of the course is also divided into two semesters. Students choose to follow the HRM stream or the Financial Management stream.

HRM Stream

Semester One
Human Resource Strategy
This course explores the theory and practice of human resource management from a strategic perspective. Among the topics addressed are frameworks for strategic HR, management development, employee relations, and reward management.

Managing People
This course addresses the organisational and psychological components of managing people. It attends to, among other topics, attitudes and behaviour in work, employee motivation, the management of conflict, and theories of leadership.

Employment Law
A very significant body of law determines contemporary employment. Among the topics that students will examine on this course are the contract of employment, the duties that an employer has to an employee, how an employment contract can be ended, and the laws governing harassment in the workplace.

Semester Two
Students write a minor dissertation on an agreed topic in HRM. Students must successfully complete the taught courses before moving to the dissertation phase.

Financial Management Stream

Semester One
Corporate Finance
This course exposes to students to the key principles, practices and tools in corporate finance. It covers a range of topics, including short- and long-term financing, capital budgeting, company valuation, and the risks that arise from interest and exchange rates.

Governance and Auditing
This course examines governance and audit and the related issue of risk management. It does so in the context of the significant developments that have taken place in corporate accountability and governance over recent decades.

Financial Reporting and Decision Making
This course will teach students how to prepare reports that disclose an organisation’s financial status. It will also address issues in management accounting and financial decision making.

Semester Two
Students write a minor dissertation on an agreed topic in financial management. Students must successfully complete the taught courses before moving to the dissertation phase.

Admission Requirements
Applicants must have a primary degree or equivalent qualification.

Go to www.ipa.ie.

Download the programme application form and complete it in full.

Email that form, along with all the items below, to postgrad@ipa.ie, with the subject heading: Application for: Name of Programme. The items below must be scanned and included as attachments in the email:

A passport-type photograph.
A scan of your degree or relevant qualification.
The semester fee OR a letter from your employer confirming that fees will be paid directly to the IPA.

Places on the programmes are limited and demand for places is likely to exceed the number available. Consequently, you are strongly advised to apply as early as possible.

Delivery Method
In the first year of the programme, students attend seminars/webinars on three weekends in each semester. In the second year, they attend three seminars/webinars in the first semester and then, in the second, prepare, under expert supervision, a minor dissertation. They are supported in their studies by a range of resources, including bespoke course material and module textbooks.

Commences: September 2024