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Open University in Ireland

Business Administration

This triple-accredited MBA course is designed for practising managers aspiring to higher positions. The emphasis for your learning is directly rooted in management practice. You will focus on strategic analysis, interdisciplinary skills, intellectual stimulation and independent judgement building on a solid foundation of core disciplines, including human resource management, organisational behaviour, accounting and finance, marketing and operations. You will learn to analyse, synthesise and evaluate a wide range of situations within the broad framework of organisations, their external context and internal management. Among these you will explore economic, environmental, social and technological change issues, corporate governance, markets and customers, managing resources and operations, financing organisations, management and development of people, developing information technologies for application in business and management within a global knowledge-based economy, and development of appropriate business policies and strategies within a changing context to meet stakeholder interests.

Key features of the course
Practice-based learning brings your MBA into life at your workplace
Flexible options enable you to adjust the curriculum to suit your needs
Strong international emphasis essential for developing leaders in a global marketplace
Join an influential network of over 25,000 alumni in 100 countries when you graduate.

Entry requirements

You will need a minimum of three years experience in a managerial, professional or technical role, so that you have a practical business base on which to build your MBA learning. Usually this means that you are at least 25 years old as it is unusual (but not impossible) to be able to satisfy the experience requirement under this age.

Depending on your previous qualifications, there are a variety of routes into the MBA:

If you already hold an honours degree awarded by a recognised UK university, or equivalent you can begin your MBA studies by taking either the MBA stage 1: management: perspectives and practice (B716) or the fast-track version of this module (BXFT716).

Various higher education and professional qualifications are considered equivalent to an honours degree. Please contact us if you hold a qualification that you believe is an equivalent level to a UK degree, to ensure that it meets the requirements for admission.

If you are experienced in managerial work but do not have an honours degree or equivalent you need first to gain our Professional Certificate in Management (S01) (previously coded C31). This is also a valuable qualification in its own right.

If you have the equivalent of a UK bachelors degree without honours you may be permitted to progress on to the MBA course by taking the first part of the Professional Certificate in Management, Managing 1: organisations and people (B628). Alternatively if you have an official Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) score of 640 or above, and the equivalent of a UK undergraduate degree, you will be allowed to progress directly on to the MBA. If you think either of these possibilities may apply to you, please speak to an adviser.

Your spoken and written English must be of an adequate standard for postgraduate study. If English is not your first language, we recommend that you will need a minimum score of 6.5 under the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Please see their website for details.

Duration

2 - 7 years.

Most students study this qualification in three years by studying 60 credits a year. The minimum time to complete is two years, the maximum time to complete is seven years. You can complete within two years if you choose to study BXFT716 instead of B716. Please note this will require you to devote 20-25 hours a week to your studies.

Number of credits

180 credits

Careers or further progression

Career relevance
The Open University Business School is one of an elite group of schools worldwide accredited by the three leading international accrediting bodies - AACSB, AMBA, EQUIS - hallmarks of quality of teaching, learning materials and qualification impact. It is home to more than 25,000 successful MBA graduates in over 100 countries.

Employers value the MBA as an indication of high level business and management skills. These skills are in demand, increasingly so in times of economic uncertainty, and employers want practical experience, a thorough grasp of business, and the ability to lead at a strategic level. Much of the work in this qualification involves an evidenced-based approach, thus ensuring relevance in the workplace. AMBAs careers survey shows that MBA students can expect their salary to increase, and the MBA to have a positive impact on their career progression, as well as bring improvements to their organisation or business.

There is more information about how OU study can improve your employability in the OUs Employability Statement from our Careers Advisory Service. You can also read or download our publication OU study and your career and look at our subject pages to find out about career opportunities.

Further enquiries

Tel: (01) 678 5399
Fax: (01) 678 5442
Email: ireland@open.ac.uk

Subjects taught

Modules
The MBA qualification is in two stages. You must successfully complete Stage 1 before moving on to Stage 2.

To gain this qualification, you need 180 credits as follows:

Stage 1
A 60-credit compulsory module:

Compulsory module

Credits Next start
MBA stage 1: management: perspectives and practice (B716) 60 06 May 2017
MBA stage 1: management: perspectives and practice (fast-track)* (BXFT716) 60 01 Apr 2017

*This version is for the accelerated study route and should only be selected if you intend to complete your MBA in two years. See How long it takes for more information.

Stage 2
45 credits from the following list:

Compulsory modules

Credits Next start
The dynamics of strategy (BB835) 30 06 May 2017
Corporate finance (BB831) 15 06 May 2017

Or the discontinued B831, B835 and a 45-credit examination towards Stage 2.

plus

45 credits from the following list:

Optional modules

Credits Next start
Business, human rights law and corporate social responsibility (W822) 30 04 Nov 2017 FINAL
Entrepreneurship: experience and perspective (BB846) 15 06 May 2017
Leadership and management in intercultural contexts (BB848) 15 06 May 2017
Management beyond the mainstream (BB847) 15 06 May 2017
Managing financial risk (BB841) 15 06 May 2017
Managing in the digital economy (BXM871) 15 01 Jul 2017
Marketing in the 21st century (BB844) 15 06 May 2017
Strategic human resource management (BB845) 15 06 May 2017
Supply chain management (BB849) NEW 15 06 May 2017
Sustainable creative management (BB842) 15 06 May 2017

Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued module T882.

plus
A 30-credit compulsory module:

Compulsory module

Credits Next start
Making a difference: the management initiative (B839) 30 06 May 2017

You should note that the Universitys unique study rule applies to this qualification. This means that you must include at least 60 credits from OU modules that have not been counted in any other OU qualification that has previously been awarded to you.

Comment

On completion
On successful completion of the required modules you can be awarded a Master of Business Administration entitling you to use the letters MBA (Open) after your name. You will have the opportunity of being presented at a degree ceremony.

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