MBA Master of Business Administration (Executive)
Course Overview
The University of Bolton's Executive MBA focuses on helping full-time business professionals transition into senior managers. Whatever sector you currently work in, this enriching MBA programme will help you understand the problems and challenges facing enterprises and organisations – and identify potential solutions.The aim is to stretch your management competencies into new areas of potential responsibility. The syllabus incorporates vital skills that can be applied in almost any business, such as building a thorough knowledge of an organisation and its leadership, developing creative and systematic approaches to underlying business issues, and understanding how business and management practices can be improved.
This part-time three-year programme is designed to dovetail with the demands of a full-time job. The course runs one evening a week from 6pm to 9pm. Learning is supported via interactive in-class sessions and independent study. Course materials are available online, so you can prepare work at home, ensuring that in-class learning is highly interactive.
Highlights
- This MBA course offers you the chance to join a well-established postgraduate community and study alongside fellow professionals aiming for a career in executive management.
- Teaching and supervision are delivered by a dedicated team of experienced and well-qualified staff drawn from business and academia.
- The University's excellent libraries, 24/7 IT facilities, WiFi and learning areas are freely available for your use.
- You'll be given access to a research methods module that will assist in your studies.
- Successful completion of the Executive MBA may entitle you to apply to CMI for their Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership (this is a process separate from the programme and will incur additional costs payable to CMI).
Key Features
- You'll have the opportunity to develop your knowledge and understanding of strategic management issues.
- You'll have the chance to expand your research and analysis skills and use them to prepare your master's level dissertation. This helps to develop your critical evaluation capability, which is essential when moving into more strategic roles.
- Teaching is conducted by a highly-dedicated team with specialist knowledge in a wide range of subject areas and close links to business and industry.
- Course materials are available online, allowing you to prepare work in advance, ensuring that in-class learning is highly interactive.
Entry Requirements
- You should have both of the following: significant work experience in a business or management capacity; and a UK honours degree/postgraduate degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject.
- We’ll consider your application if you don’t possess the above qualifications but have substantial managerial experience.
- We'll consider applications where appropriate work experience can be demonstrated in lieu of, or in addition to, the published academic qualifications in line with the University’s Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning (RPEL) procedures.
- You may be required to attend an interview and/or provide a portfolio of work.
- When applying you must include a reference from your current employer. The reference should clearly state how long you have been employed by them and give a breakdown of your job content and roles and responsibilities.
- Your application form must be accompanied by a reflective overview of the managerial responsibilities you have undertaken to date.
- If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 6.5 with normally no less than 6.0 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.
Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.
Career Opportunities
No matter what part of industry or commerce you work in, the Executive MBA course will assist you in gaining a critical understanding of the problems and challenges facing enterprises and organisations and equip you with the analytical and critical faculties to identify potential solutions.
An MBA is usually undertaken as a means to progress your career. For some, the objective is to become a general manager and leader, while for others, the motivation is to switch sectors, develop a specialism further or prepare for a new business start-up. Businesses, from tiny start-ups to large companies, need someone with experience and the necessary education to support common business processes like accounting, finance, human resources, marketing, public relations, sales, and management.
What can I do with this qualification?
Popular options for Executive MBA graduates include management consultancy, marketing and supply chain management. It can also help you specialise in your current sector or a new industry you want to move into.
Alternative career options
Graduates can also use this qualification as a stepping-stone into various other careers. Some of these roles may require relevant experience and/or postgraduate. Some possibilities include:
- Hotel and leisure management
- Public relations
- Financial management
- Information systems
- Market research analysis
- Product management
- Health policy and information
- Purchasing
- Teaching and education
- Media (TV, film, online, newspaper, magazine)
- Advertising
- Self-employment
- Logistics
- Banking
- Auditing and quality assurance
- Project management
- Risk and insurance
- FMCG
Professional Recognition
Successful completion of the Executive MBA may entitle you to apply to CMI for their Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership (this is a process separate from the programme and will incur additional costs payable to CMI).
Fees & Funding
Home/EU Fees
Home students starting this course in the first year will be required to pay a Home fee of £3,240 per academic credit, for the academic year 2024/25.
International Fees
Overseas students starting this course in the first year will be required to pay a Overseas fee of £5,317 per academic credit, for the academic year 2024/25.
Bursaries
Click here for more information on our Master's Bursaries.
Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2024-25 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.
The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.
How to apply
Home Applicants
You may apply directly to the University using the University's online application form. Please select your chosen start date from the list below:
You should have to hand:
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Details of the educational establishments you attended and dates
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Your certificates for the qualifications you are using to gain entry to the course – you will need to enter the completion date and upload copies
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Details of any employment history including name, address, dates and role
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Personal statement – this can be either input into the relevant field or uploaded separately
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Details including e-mail addresses of two referees, at least one of which should be someone who can provide an academic reference
Please make sure any documents you wish to upload in support of your application are in pdf or jpeg format. Personal statements may be word documents.
Please ensure your data is correct at each stage of the application before you proceed to the next page. If you use the back button at any time during the application, you should check the validity of the data you have already input.
If you experience difficulties during the application process, contact the Admissions Team on 01204 903394 or admissions-team@bolton.ac.uk
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Apply online: University of Bolton Executive MBA-27 January 2025 (Course Full)
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Apply online: University of Bolton Executive MBA - 22 September 2025
International Applicants
International applications are not possible for this course
As an international student you are not allowed to study this course because of the restrictions on your visa.
We offer a wide range of full-time courses in lots of different subjects, many of our courses start in September and January. If you would like to see what courses are available please visit our Course Search.
Teaching & Assessment
We take a blended learning approach, combining face-to-face sessions with online and practical work as appropriate. You can expect a range of learning and teaching methods, including face-to-face or online lectures, seminars, tutorials, discussion groups, guest speakers and master classes. We'll expect you to devote a significant amount of time to guided independent study. This can include, for example, general background reading, online activities, assessment work and preparation for sessions.
The Executive MBA fosters an independent learning culture and offers a rewarding yet challenging learning experience. Our assessment strategy facilitates real-world learning and authentic assessment that serves several functions. The obvious and primary function is to evaluate your achievement. However, assessment also helps you organise and develop your learning. We'll provide feedback to help you understand your strengths and weaknesses.
Assessments fall into two general categories: formative and summative. Formative assessments don't contribute to your overall module grade. However, they are an integral part of a module's learning strategy, so you are required to complete them. They will be marked, and you'll receive feedback on your level of achievement. Summative assessments, on the other hand, are activities for which the marks will contribute to your overall module grade. You'll also receive feedback on these assessments so you can see what you've done well and where you can improve.
We employ many different forms of assessment, such as coursework, reports, case studies, oral presentations, research proposals and an extended project.
Modules
The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.
- Leadership and Management
- Marketing and Operations
- Financial Management and Decision Making
- Strategy
- Organisational Behaviour
- Strategic HRM
- Digital Business and Data Analytics
- Business Ethics, Sustainability and CSR
- Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- Professional Project
Assessment methods
Level | Assessment method |
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Level 1 | Coursework 100% |
Learning Activities
Level | Activity |
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Level 1 | Guided independent study 90% Scheduled learning and teaching activities 10% |
The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.