Master of Business Administration in Leadership

You’ll be assessed by a variety of methods that may include some or all the following across the various modules on the course:

• Reports
• Case studies
• Business plans
• Proposals for work-based projects / consultancy project
• Reflective learning, professional career development and work-based experience portfolio
• Project evaluations
• Presentations

You will be required to work in your own time to complete research, homework tasks or group work. Self-study is vital to your success on this course and lecturers will give you guidance on how best to approach this throughout the study period.

Assessment methods at GBS are reviewed annually and may be updated based on student feedback, to suit content or based upon feedback from an External Examiner.  An External Examiner is an independent academic expert from an external Higher Education Institution that acts as a safeguard to academic assessment standards.

Subject-specific Skills and Knowledge

• An ability to critically assess how the relationship between leading, managing and developing people is inherently connected to team/organisational dynamics; fostering resilience and high performance in teams and individuals; and strategic workforce planning.
• An extensive understanding of how an organisation’s vision, culture and values intersect with the wider contexts of internal and external environments; diversity and sustainability; new trends and emerging market strategies.
• An ability to analyse the ways in which individual leaders, teams, and organisations understand and are responsive to innovation and change; creativity in enterprise; and new ways of working in relation to shifting internal and external contexts.
• A comprehensive understanding of the relationship between the development of new enterprise and opportunities; corporate social responsibility and ethics; regulatory frameworks and environments; risk management and business continuity; sustainable development and organisational resilience.
• A critical awareness of how financial assumptions, financial strategy, and financial management underpin and intersect with organisational culture, vision, and strategy; and with business continuity, sustainable development and risk appetite.
• An extensive understanding of how key global issues and challenges such as ethics, equality and diversity, sustainability, and social responsibility relate to current theories and practices in leadership and management.
• An ability to conduct and present focused and sector relevant research into leadership and management through research/project conception and design; the collection and analysis of qualitative and quantitative evidence; synthesis, reporting, evaluation and professional reflection.

Cognitive and Intellectual Skills

• To present coherent, concise, engaging and stakeholder appropriate reports, case studies, evaluations, etc., based on evidence from relevant real-world examples and best practice, and on scholarly and sector reading and research.
• To undertake self-directed research across a range of academic disciplines and professional practical areas and use a variety of sources and appropriate methodologies to investigate broad areas and more specific topics.
• To operate effectively in the planning, executing and evaluation of a range of tasks and projects in a logical, knowledgeable and professional manner.
• To plan, complete and evaluate a range of relevant real-world examples, relating these to appropriate research, critical thinking, theoretical and practical contexts and current professional practice.
• To deal creatively and systematically with complex issues.
• To analyse and solve problems, and make evidence-based, well-founded decisions in unpredictable or challenging situations.
• To demonstrate the importance of developing collaborative relationships within teams and organisations, and externally; of establishing, maintaining and expanding professional networks; and of ongoing Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

Skills for Life and Work

• Autonomous learning (including time management) that demonstrates the exercise of initiative, personal responsibility and decision-making in complex and unpredictable situations and the independent learning ability required for continuing professional development.
• Team working skills necessary to succeed in the global workplace, with an ability both to work in and lead teams effectively, as well as the ability to act autonomously in planning and implementing tasks at a professional or equivalent level.
• Communication skills that show the ability to communicate clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences’ knowledge at, or informed by, the forefront of the academic discipline, field of study or area of professional practice, and the conclusions drawn from dealing with complex issues systematically.
• IT skills and digital literacy that demonstrate the ability to develop new skills to a high level and to approach complex issues systematically and creatively.

Education
You’ll usually have a strong undergraduate degree in any academic subject.

Please find the right country from our list of accepted international qualifications for each course level — allowing you to clearly check your qualifications against our requirements.

English Language requirements

An accepted English language test must be taken within 2 years of your start date.

Below are the scores required for our programmes for each of the tests that we accept:

*all test components taken within 3 years of start date

Other requirements
Personal Statement

Work Experience
You’ll also normally be expected to have at least two years work experience after graduation, where you can demonstrate that you have management experience and need to further develop your leadership skills and business and management expertise.