We have rebuilt the MBA from first principles. Our ground-breaking programme offers you:

• A thorough foundation in management theory – delivered in an innovative format that helps you integrate theory from across the range of management disciplines, in order to analyse issues and suggest solutions
• An opportunity to apply that theory to real problems in real organisations, gaining valuable practical experience in a UK workplace.
• Extensive development of your managerial and leadership capability, through professional leadership training delivered in conjunction with a leading UK provider
• The ability to tailor your learning to the type of organisation you wish to manage in the future.

UEL is has exceptionally strong connections with the East London businesses – including a small business incubator next door to the Business School. This gives us an understanding to what practising managers need, which shows through in the simple structure of the UEL MBA:

The Organisation in its Environment: This is the first module that you will take, and offers the grounding needed to make sense of the way that organisations operate. It combines insights from economics, psychology, organisation theory, marketing, strategic management and other key management disciplines. Ours is one of very few MBAs that integrates the subject areas in this way. You will gain a comprehensive overview of how organisations, industries and markets function and interact. You will acquire a toolkit for developing precise and thorough analyses of your organisation’s situation.

Leading and Managing: You will understand what makes a manager effective as a leader, change agent or entrepreneur. Along with your colleagues, you will learn about your own style of management, strengths and weaknesses, and formulate a plan for your personal development. Our partnership with a leading professional leadership development provider sets us apart from our competitors.

Market Research Project:. You will acquire essential skills in researching markets and trends and assessing customer requirements. These are important because every manager has customers: the buyers of a company’s products, the clients for services provided by public or third sector organisations, or the internal customers of a department in a large firm. You will also learn how to interpret research carried out by other people and appraise its reliability.

The option module: This builds upon the theory and the analytical toolkit that you will acquire from the other modules. It tailors your learning to particular contexts:

• Managing International Businesses focuses on the challenges confronted by managers of established businesses in today’s international business environment
• Managing Small and Growing Businesses concentrates on the challenges of growing smaller businesses – and managing the organisational complexity that such growth entails
• Managing Public Services is intended for managers of public sector organisations.

The modules offer insights into the specific strategies and operational practices that have been found to be effective in these contexts. UEL’s linkages to the local economy mean that, as part of the assessment, you will have the opportunity to apply those insights in a UK workplace or to a complex corporate scenario.

On the MBA, you share your accumulated insights and know-how with your classmates, and learn from one another. In order to apply, you must therefore have at least two full years of work experience during which you have been responsible for professional and/or managerial decisions. In almost all cases, this will have been obtained subsequent to your undergraduate studies.

You should normally have the equivalent of at least a UK second class honours degree from a recognised institution, or have successfully completed a professional (for example an accountancy) qualification.

In the case of applicants whose first language is not English, then IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent), with a minimum of 6.0 in each element, is required. International qualifications will be checked for appropriate matriculation to UK Higher Education postgraduate programmes.

The programme can be studied:

• Full-time: 12 months for participants starting in September, 16 calendar months for those starting in February

Formal lectures on theory will be reinforced with a variety of case study exercises, simulations, business games, role plays, company visits and visiting speakers.

The assessments on the MBA mostly mirror the kinds of challenge that you confront as a practising manager: reports and presentations. There is only one formal written examination. For the Leading and Managing module, there is a different style of assessment, relating to your capacity to reflect upon your own style and capabilities.

For around half of your coursework, you are expected to work as part of a team with your fellow participants; the ability to do this effectively is one of the most important attributes that employers look for when recruiting MBA graduates. Each module is separately assessed, with over 90% of assessment being coursework, evenly divided between group and individual assignments.

You will supplement your existing work experience with at least one project relating to an authentic organisational problem. You will typically work as part of a group in a local organisation. You will also be encouraged to relate your Market Research Project to a live organisational problem.

The MBA is a practical qualification and it favours project work related to real organisational problems over traditional academic dissertations. You will carry out two major projects as part of your MBA – the Market Research Project, undertaken as an individual, and the group assessment for your option module.

The main benefits of the UEL MBA come from the opportunities that it offers for personal development. Alongside the leadership training that is central to the programme, we run a variety of events that give participants a real flavour of important management challenges, such as developing a new business or acting as a consultant to an established one. Well-known firms such as KPMG and Experian have been involved in these events as sponsors and assessors.

Your MBA also provides you with a network of friends and contacts that you can tap for leads and mentoring later in your career.

Participants are eligible for student membership of the Chartered Management Institute, with full access to its resources and events, and would qualify for full membership upon graduation.

The MBA is the recognised qualification for people who are seeking to advance their careers by assuming greater managerial and strategic responsibilities. Many employers see it as a confirmation that you are prepared to invest in yourself and your career. Several studies have shown how it can leads to short term improvements in earnings.

There is no typical career path for MBA graduates, although certain industries, such as financial services and consultancy, are known to be particularly active in hiring them. Often, people take the MBA when they are looking for a change of direction, or to step up from managing themselves to managing other people. For example, an accomplished systems engineer may aim to become Chief Information Officer, or CEO, in a large firm. Our MBA is also designed for people who are intending to assume managerial responsibilities within small, growing firms, possibly those owned by their own families, or to start their own companies, as several of our past graduates have done.

You will benefit from:

• Deep professional scrutiny of your managerial and leadership style
• On-line training in research methods, supplemented by workshops
• Advice from the module team for your Market Research Project
• Mentoring by both an academic and a work-based supervisor during the assignment for your option

You will benefit from our modern and dynamic Business School building at our Docklands Campus, which is within easy reach of the City and very close to the financial centres of the City and Canary Wharf. Most MBA activities will take place in the Molex Suite, a purpose-built postgraduate teaching facility scheduled for completion in Autumn 2009. The campus and UEL are also at the heart of a vibrant and growing area that is preparing for the 2012 Olympics.