Master of Business Administration
The University of South Wales’s Master of Business Administration (MBA) will develop the knowledge and skills to be a successful strategic business leader.
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Whether you work in a public or private sector organisation, you will learn how to integrate cutting-edge research and practice across all key business areas to achieve business transformation. You’ll also have the option to opt into the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership. This is built into the curriculum, so no additional assessment is needed, you just need complete registration in the required time and successfully pass the required assessments above 40%.
Module Overview
The MBA will expose you to core areas of business with an emphasis on the strategic nature of decision-making through a diverse range of modules.
Leadership and Management Theories and Practice
Develop your knowledge and understanding of a range of leadership and management theories and their contemporary application in a range of organisational settings.
Strategic Financial Management
Gain an understanding of the issues and techniques of strategic financial management from both an internal and external stakeholder viewpoint.
Strategic Analysis Tools and Techniques
Evaluate the strategic environment of an organisation; internally and externally and gain the skills to direct and manage the development of business and corporate strategy.
Project Management and Consultancy Skills
Students will learn to evaluate the strategy and scope of a project while gaining an understanding of the project management process and leadership issues.
Strategic Marketing
Understand and critically evaluate how strategic marketing interfaces with general business strategy. In addition, appraise the difference between good strategic marketing practice and practice that falls short of professional quality.
Strategic Operations Management
Gain an appreciation of operational processes, techniques, planning and control systems with reference to both manufacturing and service industries from a qualitative and quantitative perspective.
Research Methods
Conduct a proper scientific investigation and present it in a written format. This will develop your understanding and research skills in a management and/or professional development context.
Management Project
Explore the concept, theories and practice of project management and consultancy skills and learn how these key skills are vital within a business context to ensure rigorous decision making.
Why USW?
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Why USW?
Top in Wales
Business, Management and Marketing is top 5 in UK and top in Wales for Teaching Quality.
(The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025)ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Typical qualification requirements:
A minimum 2:2 Honours degree from a UK university, or recognised international equivalent qualification.
International applications welcomed:
We welcome international applications with equivalent qualifications of our entry requirements. For more details related to your country of residence, please view our dedicated country pages.
English language requirements
International applicants will need to have achieved an overall of IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component/TOEFL 72 overall and a minimum of 18 in reading, 17 in listening, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing or equivalent.
Equivalents can be located on our English Language pages.
If you have previously studied through the medium of English, IELTS might not be required, please visit our country specific page for further details. If your country is not featured, please contact us.
If you do not meet the English entry criteria, please visit our Pre-Sessional course pages.
Contextual offers
We may make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (where you live and the school or college that you attended, for example), your experiences and individual circumstances (as a care leaver, for example). This is referred to as a contextual offer, and we receive data from UCAS to support us in making these decisions.
USW prides itself on its student experience and we support our students to achieve their goals and become a successful graduate. This approach helps us to support students who have the potential to succeed and who may have faced barriers that make it more difficult to access university.
We're here to help
Whether you a have a question about your course, fees and funding, the application process or anything else, there are plenty of ways you can get in touch, and we'd love to talk to you. You can contact our friendly admissions team by phone, email or chat to us online.
Fees and Funding
£16,900
per year*£1,500
per 20 credits*Additional Costs
As a student of USW, you’ll have access to lots of free resources to support your study and learning, such as textbooks, publications, online journals, laptops, and plenty of remote-access resources. Whilst in most cases these resources are more than sufficient in supporting you with completing your course, additional costs, both obligatory and optional, may be required or requested for the likes of travel, memberships, experience days, stationery, printing, or equipment.
Students have the opportunity to gain the CMI Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership. This is embedded into the MBA curriculum, so requires no additional assessments, but is subject to students successfully completing the required MBA modules. The cost for CMI registration and moderation is £250 (price correct at time of writing).
Cost: £250
University Quality Assurance
At USW, we regularly review our courses in response to changing patterns of employment and skills demand to ensure we offer learning designed to reflect today’s student needs and tomorrow’s employer demands.
If during a review process course content is significantly changed, we’ll write to inform you and talk you through the changes for the coming year. But whatever the outcome, we aim to equip our students with the skillset and the mindset to succeed whatever tomorrow may bring. Your future, future-proofed.
Course Highlights
How you'll learn
Taught sessions are delivered through self-guided study, lectures, seminars, group work, case studies and exercises. You will have the opportunity to strategically analyse organisations, deliver presentations and prepare marketing and business plans. Alongside your MBA studies, you will also be part of a study visit to see first-hand how different companies operate. You are also encouraged to attend the many guest lectures organised by the Business School, to broaden your understanding of important subject areas.
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Accreditation
In addition to your MBA qualification, you will also have the opportunity to gain the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership.
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Assessment
The MBA qualification assessed through written assignments, presentations and project work. The MBA involves the completion of a business research project which will develop your communication and consulting skills.
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Research
Your studies will be underpinned by the latest research undertaken by the South Wales Business School Research Group. This means you will be taught by academics who are at the forefront of their specialist field.
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Studying at USW
Our courses are designed with industry leaders and provide the practical skills and experiences industry demands. Our flexible courses reflect the need for life-long learning. If you value education in practice, not just in theory, then USW is for you.
How to apply
There is an online application process for this course. Please choose the application form for your preferred start date and mode of study (i.e. full-time or part-time).
- September 2026 Part-time
- September 2026 Full-time
- September 2025 Part-time
- September 2025 Full-time
- February 2026 Full-time
International admissions
Please see our international admissions advice for further information about how to apply as a prospective international student.