Hi All! I've a job in Europe but need an MBA for career advancement. Would appreciate your views/comments on "cheaper" MBA distance learning (circa GBP 5,000-9,000) offered by lesser known but UK public universities such as Derby, Northampton, Sunderland and Wales. I think UK MBA is research oriented and a dissertation of 20,000 words is required, whereas US MBA emphasize more on practical application and no research papers needed? How would you compare the above mentioned UK schools to DETC or regionally accredited US schools (in terms of costs, value, EU/international recognition, curriculum, exams)? Any links to online resources or discussion forums on UK DL MBAs?
Yeah, there would be an opportunity for a "best buy" UK degrees list for Europeans... Someone compiled a small list there on MBAs: http://qna.educouncil.org/Universities_and_Colleges/nZxyNXyyZYq.html but it seems to cover only "Colleges". My personal criteria would be: a) TOP School (Cam,Ox,LSE) b) UK League Table Position ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_tables_of_British_universities) c) AACSB Accreditation d) Size of the City (Hypothesis: The bigger the city the more familiar the University with the same name appears) Also Univ of Wales is a bit a double edged sword for beeing known as cheap and with some problems of other instutes they accredited. For me personally this would be enough reasons to pass on them.
How about the Open University MBA http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/qualification/f02.htm AACSB accredited
You might want to look at the EBS MBA from Heriot-Watt (see sig for link.) I think current price is around 8000 GBP. What is also nice about their program is that you can pay per course, rather than having to pay for the entire program at once.
From personal experience, the MBAs available by distance learning can vary widely in quality and content, and a great deal will depend on your own study style. The good news is that there are many options available to you and to offer an alternative resource from previous posters - I came into contact with an organisation called RDI last year who offer a number of MBAs from UK universities. Basically it seems it is the university's course, but delivered by them and they have a range of MBAs on their website at the moment (www.rdi.co.uk) from University of Sunderland, University of Wales (as mentioned above) and University of Bradford. I've heard good things, but the best advice I can give is to talk to the course providers as you'll want to know the details. Good luck!
european MBA How about BTH Sweden? Free. Not Equis or AACSB accredited. http://www.bth.se/mam/internetmba.nsf
cheap MBA Many BTH MBA students are from "undeveloped" countries where textbooks are hard to obtain and expensive, so most of the texts used in the program are posted (unlawfully) on the web by students. Consequently, there's little expense even for textbooks. While this MBA program is not Equis, AACSB, or AMBA accredited, Swedish universities have a good reputation worldwide.
Maybe too late for comment, but BTH's MBA diploma does not contain the MBA title. This is the only the name how BTH presents its degree, but the diploma title what you will get (btw probably you've already got it though) "Degree of Master of Science (60 credits). Main field of study: Industrial management and economics." MBA programme Part time - Blekinge Institute of Technology - in real life But considering the distance option and being free, still great study program in Europe. I have found also this website for European MBAs listing only accredited schools in Europe. MBAs in Europe
Bth mba Unfortunately, the BTH MBA is no longer free. Sweden had a large influx of non-EU foreign students taking advantage of their free graduate schools, many of whom would flaunt their wealth (something which is very un-Swedish). In response, Sweden started charging charging tuition to non-EU students.
I'm trying to choose between the University of Northampton and the University of Derby MBAs. Does anyone have any insights on these? Both seem to be accredited by CMI, although I'm not sure how significant that is.
Entry somewhat restricted. They say the program is aimed at engineers, who have been professionally active for a few years and want to learn more about management. Among the entrance requirements: "The degree of Master of Science in Engineering, or at least a Bachelor's degree within a technical subject area..." If you qualify - it's free, just as long as you're an EU student. J.
