Master of Business Administration MBA, by distance learning

2.5 years

This is for you if... you want to be a global business leader. The Leicester Global MBA provides the knowledge, skills and internationally recognised qualification to advance your career in management.

Master of Business Administration MBA, by distance learning, 2.5 years

This is for you if... you want to be a global business leader. The Leicester Global MBA provides the knowledge, skills and internationally recognised qualification to advance your career in management.

Course information

Taught by School of Business

association of mbas

Accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA)

chartered management institute

Dual awarded by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI)

Admissions enquiries
+44 (0)116 252 5281
dladmissions@le.ac.uk

Course enquiries
+44 (0)116 252 2041
ulsb@le.ac.uk

School of Business website

 

Course description

Course description

Launched in 1989, the AMBA-accredited Leicester Master of Business Administration (MBA) is an inspiration and pioneering global executive-education programme. Our flexible, part-time distance learning course allows you to gain an MBA degree in two and a half years without having to take a break from your career. Subject to final approval is our new accelerated route where you can gain your degree in two years.

The Leicester MBA has a rich heritage of innovation and digital technology implementation.  It is one of the oldest AMBA-accredited distance learning MBA programmes in the world, with a strong international reputation. With over 12,000 graduates we have truly global MBA alumni network of professionals and business leaders working in a wide range of sectors.

With the Leicester Global MBA you can study fully online and can supplement your studies with residential learning. Your online study will include viewing recorded lectures, taking part in live online seminars and workshops, interacting with tutors and fellow students in online discussion boards and learning from our online study guides. You also have the option to attend our residential Leicester Masterclass that takes place at the School of Business' new £16m campus. 

All teaching is delivered by School of Business staff who combine cutting-edge teaching techniques with innovative and forward-thinking research to help you develop your expertise. Your studies will be in small groups (up to 20 students) with extensive opportunities for teamwork and networking (in teams of 3-5) between students and tutors.

Each cohort comprises of students from both the UK and overseas offering you unparalleled opportunities for cross-cultural learning.

The Leicester MBA gives you an opportunity to specialise in one of three functional areas:

  • Business Analytics *subject to final approval
  • Finance
  • Human Resource Management
  • Marketing

The course is competitively priced with a number of payment options and offers you a great return on investment.   

In addition to being AMBA-accredited, the Leicester MBA is also accredited by, and enables you to gain professional qualifications from:

Entry requirements

Entry requirements

You will need to have at least one of the following academic or professional qualifications:

  • First or second class honours degree from a UK university, or
  • Equivalent degree from a non-UK university or academic institution, or
  • Postgraduate degree or diploma from a recognised institution, or
  • Equivalent graduate level professional qualification, such as the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Chartered Certified Accountant qualification or Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) Professional Qualification.

You will also need a minimum of three years' appropriate and relevant postgraduate work experience (defined as having worked in a supervisory, managerial or professional role). 

All unconditional offer holders will have the opportunity to benefit from a 20 minute online welcome conversation with the Leicester Global MBA  Deputy Director before starting their studies.

Reference

Your application must include a signed and dated reference (or contact details for someone who will provide a reference). Your referee could be a manager, supervisor, mentor or work colleague. They should be able to confirm your professional or managerial work experience and your suitability for this degree.

English Language Requirements

IELTS 6.5 or equivalent. If your first language is not English, you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability.

International Qualifications

Find your country in this list to check equivalent qualifications, scholarships and additional requirements.

Countries lists

Fees and funding

Fees and funding

UK Students

This is the total course fee for the MBA.

Starting in October 2023 or April 2024

Tuition fees for 2023/24 are yet to be confirmed. As an indication of what you might pay, the fees for students who started in October 2022 or April 2023 were:

  • £16,850

As a distance learning student you can pay:

  • in full by the payment deadline stated on your offer, or
  • in two equal instalments: the first by the payment date stated on your offer and the second one year later, or
  • in six equal instalments over your first two years of study.

If you are starting your course in the 2021/22 academic year and you pay the full fee on prior to the start of your course, you will be eligible for a 5% discount on your total course fee.

Additional costs

Additional costs for the 2023/24 academic year are yet to be confirmed. As an indication, the following applied for students starting in 2022/23:

  • Your course fee includes residential workshops, exams and study materials. There is a separate charge for the Leicester Masterclass.
  • The fee does not include travel to, or accommodation at, residential workshops or the Leicester Masterclass.

Scholarships and funding

International Students

This is the total course fee for the MBA.

Starting in October 2023 or April 2024

Tuition fees for 2023/24 are yet to be confirmed. As an indication of what you might pay, the fees for students who started in October 2022 or April 2023 were:

  • £16,850

As a distance learning student you can pay:

  • in full by the payment deadline stated on your offer, or
  • in two equal instalments: the first by the payment date stated on your offer and the second one year later, or
  • in six equal instalments over your first two years of study.

If you are starting your course in the 2021/22 academic year and you pay the full fee on prior to the start of your course, you will be eligible for a 5% discount on your total course fee.

Additional costs

Additional costs for the 2023/24 academic year are yet to be confirmed. As an indication, the following applied for students starting in 2022/23:

  • Your course fee includes residential workshops, exams and study materials. There is a separate charge for the Leicester Masterclass.
  • The fee does not include travel to, or accommodation at, residential workshops or the Leicester Masterclass.

Scholarships and funding

  • Find out more about how to pay and scholarships and funding.
  • The School of Business also offers the Global Networks Incentive - 15% off the course fee for applicants who are residents of certain eligible countries.

Accreditation

Accreditation

Association of MBAs (AMBA)

The Leicester Global MBA is accredited by AMBA, seen as the global standard for all MBAs.  Our MBA was one of the first distance learning MBAs to achieve MBA accreditation.

AMBA are the only professional membership association connecting MBA students and graduates, accredited business schools and MBA employers in more than 110 countries.

Chartered Management Institute (CMI)

We offer a dual award from CMI whereby upon successful completion of the Leicester Global MBA you will be awarded CMI’s Level 7 Certificate or Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership Practice (subject to moderation). In addition, upon completion of the qualification, you will also be awarded CMI’s Foundation Chartered Manager status.

CMI are the only chartered professional body in the UK dedicated to promoting the highest standards in management and leadership excellence. It is the only organisation awarding Chartered Manager status, the hallmark of any professional manager, and encompasses a membership community.

Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)

Our course holds exemption accreditation with CIMA on eight of their subjects.

CIMA is the professional body of management accountants. Exemptions are subject to satisfactory completion of the selected modules.

Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)

The University of Leicester School of Business MBA (Marketing) is accredited by the leading professional marketing body, The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).

CIM works alongside universities worldwide, mapping their degree content against CIM's most sought after professional marketing qualifications.

This offers you the opportunity to gain exemptions on modules of the CIM qualifications, reducing the number of module assessments taken.  These exemptions make it more efficient and cost0efective to gain a professional marketing qualification.

CIM's qualifications are based on detailed research and ongoing employer feedback, sharing the skills and knowledge required for today's marketers.  This helps our students to advance into practitioners, stand out from the crowd and increase your chances of securing their first-choice graduate position.

AMBA logoCMI logoCIMA logoCIM Accredited Degree logo

Careers and employability

Careers and employability

We recognise that career development is a major factor in your decision to embark on an MBA programme. With the Leicester Global MBA you will have extensive career support from the start – and after you graduate. As soon as you register on the programme, you get access to both the School of Business Careers Team and the University of Leicester Career Development Team, plus a suite of Professional Development Resources.

The Leicester Global MBA careers support is comprehensive and designed to support your personal and professional development so that you have positive business impact. The structured support will help you build a clearer picture of options and ensures you can confidently articulate your capabilities.

Key themes in our careers support are:

  • Leadership
  • Business immersion
  • Networking
  • Coaching
  • Professional skills development

Our Career Development Service is here to support you – by email, phone or skype – with advice on interviews, CVs, work experience and more. From registration to Graduation and beyond, they are here to help you reach your professional goals.

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Our academics

Our academics

Olga Suhomlinova headshotDr Olga Suhomlinova, Leicester MBA Programme Director

  • Role: Associate Professor in Management, MBA Programme Director.
  • Research interests: Olga’s research interests span the areas of organisational change, gender and diversity, and leadership.
  • Industry links: Olga has conducted research projects in secondary education, healthcare, banking, and the prison service.
  • Other: Olga has twenty years of experience of designing and delivering innovative online learning courses.

Abdul Jabbar headshotDr Abdul Jabbar, Leicester MBA Programme Deputy Director

  • Role: Associate Professor Data Strategy and Analytics, MBA Programme Deputy Director.
    Abdul’s expertise is in data visualisation, data management, organisation, storage, and cleansing. These areas come together well to support managerial decision making with real time business analytics and interpretative decision making.
  • Research interests: His current research interests looks at how technologies such as Smart contracts, Blockchain and AI can change the way business operate to make them efficient and agile.
  • Industry links: Abdul has excellent links across a range of industries from consultancy to manufacturing. Currently Abdul is working with SMEs in the midlands looking at how technology can help organisations achieve net zero sustainability targets.

Alumni

Alumni

Adam Boddison headshotProfessor Adam Boddison, Leicester MBA, 2022

“The Leicester MBA programme is both well-structured and comprehensive, which has enabled me to develop my leadership capacity as well as my ability to think critically.  My decision to enrol on the Leicester MBA programme has paid dividends; it has helped me to develop a significant competitive advantage in my professional life and has undoubtedly had a profound impact on my career trajectory”.

Cardelle Fergusson headshotCardelle Fergusson, Leicester MBA (Marketing), 2020

“I thoroughly appreciated the diversity in my cohort. This afforded me varying opinions based on environmental and situational context. I liked the programme sought to build your network by providing opportunities to interact in both virtual groups and face-to-face at the residentials”

Course structure

MBA modules

MBA specialisms

MBA specialisms

To gain an MBA with a specialism you must successfully complete the core modules, the option module relevant for your chosen specialism (indicated below) and your MBA Project in your specialist area.

MBA (Finance)

MBA (Human Resource Management)

MBA (Marketing)

Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.

Why Leicester?

The Leicester Global MBA is AMBA-accredited and has held this prestigious accreditation since 1998. AMBA is the quality seal of approval for MBA programmes.

The Leicester Global MBA has been offered as a distance learning programme for over 30 years and has the expertise, reputation and credibility that comes with this experience.

Our Leicester MBA students are award-winning holding both the AMBA Best MBA Student of the Year 2021 and CMI Student of the Year 2021.

When graduating with your Leicester MBA your certificate won't state how you studied, so you'll get the same certificate as a campus-based student.

Load the video related to: The Leicester MBA

The Leicester MBA

Find out why the Leicester MBA is the right course for you.

Teaching and learning

You will be taught by academics who have international research and teaching expertise, as well as practical experience in their respective fields. You will also have an academic personal tutor who will provide support and guidance to enable you to make the most of your studies.

Our programme gives you the flexibility to fit your studies around your professional and personal commitments, while ensuring that you meet the learning and progression requirements.

The programme consists of five modules, each taking 6 months and running 1 April to 21 September and 1 October to 21 March, with 9/10-day breaks between modules. When studying a module, each week you will either view a two-hour recorded lecture or participate in a one/two-hour live online seminar.  These will be further supported by our online study guide, additional learning materials, and online forum discussions with your tutors and peers.  Online teaching takes place via our Leicester learning environment, which also houses your learning materials.  Live seminars are undertaken in small groups and scheduled so that they are convenient for different time zones.  As this is a global MBA some of your seminars may be scheduled within what constitutes your normal working hours.

During each module you will have the opportunity to participate in a residential workshop, held in February and August.  Because we know you are doing a distance learning degree for flexibility, the February workshops are held online and the August workshops in person in both Leicester and the UAE.

Each August you will also have an opportunity to attend a Leicester Masterclass, held at the University of Leicester School of Business campus. 

Of the five programme modules, the first three are your core modules, assessed by a mid-term online open-book examination (lasting 72 hours) and an individual assignment, submitted at the end of the module.  The fourth module is an option module, with the choice of three options to correspond with the MBA specialisms offered: human resource management; finance; and, marketing.  This module is assessed by a group assignment and an individual assignment.  in the final module you will provide your MBA Project, which will help you improve your career prospects by allowing you to conduct a live consultancy-style study in your own organisation, undertake a market research for your next start-up, or explore in depth any business or management topic of interest. 

Distance Learning

Online learning is an important feature of this course, therefore it is essential that you have reliable, regular access to the internet (preferably with a broadband connection) in order to participate.

As a distance learning student, you will have access to the University Library's electronic service, the Leicester Digital Library, which includes a large number of e-journals and e-books.

If you live close to Leicester you can, of course, visit the Library in person. For UK-based students who wish to use other libraries, we can issue you with a card which allows you to do so. This is a national scheme which allows distance learning students to borrow material from up to three other participating libraries.

Key dates

Start date: 3 April 2023
Application deadline: 19 March 2023
Payment deadline: 26 March 2023
Registration deadline: 28 March 2023

Start date: 2 October 2023
Application deadline: 18 September 2023
Payment deadline: 25 September 2023
Registration deadline: 27 September 2023

Enquire now

Apply now

Course Qualification Duration Start Dates Availability
Course Business Administration Qualification MBA Duration 2.5 years part-time Start Dates April and October each year Availability Apply Now
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