Strathclyde Business School (SBS) pioneered the first one year MBA in the UK back in 1966 and the first part time MBA in the UK in 1976. This pioneering spirit saw the Business School open centres around the world where, for the first time, those keen to do the Strathclyde MBA could do so in their own country but with the same learning experience as those in Glasgow.
Strathclyde’s first centre opened in 1988 and this international expansion led to SBS receiving the Queen’s Award for Export Achievement back in 1993. SBS currently has centres in Europe, the Middle East and South East Asia with hundreds of Executive MBA students enrolled every year and thousands of alumni all over the world.
The Executive MBA is the main offering at the international centres although some do offer other programmes depending on local demand such as the MSc Strategic FinTech programme in Bahrain.
All MBA students – whether in Glasgow or studying internationally – follow the same study programme which covers all aspects of the modern business world and incudes everything from strategic leadership to sustainability and digital transformation to economics, finance, marketing and entrepreneurial practice.
Students are fully supported by a dedicated online learning resource. This virtual learning environment (VLE) comprises web pages and tools that deliver learning materials and activities designed to enhance and support learning. MBA students use the learning material in advance of any in-person class, making themselves thoroughly acquainted with the high quality digital learning material before classroom participation. Students then use that learning in practice with their peers to maximise learning.
Strathclyde’s Executive MBA is designed for busy executives who need to combine career and family commitments with the demands of MBA studies. The flexibility of the part-time approach enables most participants to graduate within two years. Typically, studies are made up of weekend intensive seminars – around 7 or 8 of these scheduled classes per year if following a two-year timetable – and off-campus learning and support facilitated by our virtual learning environment.
A major strength of the Executive MBA lies in the immediacy of the relationship between managerial practice and the course. Executive MBA students bring to their classes and groups the issues they deal with on a day-to-day basis and in-depth knowledge of current practice in their industry. In return, they can take back to their workplace the insights and learning which they can apply immediately: this dynamic brings great value to course members and employers alike as new possibilities and ways of working are opened up at both an organisational and personal level.
SBS also offers an MBA Summer School where students come together in Glasgow and choose from a range of elective subjects on offer – which can help tailor the MBA programme to the individual’s specific needs – and is a great way to network with international colleagues. All students conclude their programme of study with the capstone MBA project which can be completed as a traditional dissertation, an entrepreneurial business project or a consultancy project.
Our Executive MBA programme has two entry points in April and September, and we are currently accepting applications for our April intake. More information on the programme is available here:
strath.ac.uk/courses/ /mba/mba.parttime
