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MBA (Master of Business Administration)
Management School,
Faculty of Social Sciences
Course description
The Sheffield MBA is our flagship programme, focusing on three core pillars of leadership, entrepreneurship and consultancy. Whether you're aspiring to take on a more challenging role, switch industries, relocate to another country or start your own business, the Sheffield MBA will help you to succeed in your next move. You’ll be able to understand and adapt to complex situations, solve problems, rise to challenges and lead your organisation forward.
Experiential learning is at the heart of the Sheffield MBA. You’ll be part of a close-knit community of talented individuals from diverse industries, backgrounds and cultures. The course is designed to create a unique learning experience that maximises the potential of each individual. Throughout your MBA journey, you will be challenged to work in a group or individually and to apply your learning to live organisational issues, working directly with a range of local and/or international organisations.
At Sheffield, your personal, professional and career development captivates our full attention. A dedicated module supporting this is integrated throughout the Sheffield MBA. You'll take part in interactive workshops, expert speaker events, networking, field trips and more. The module is empowered by world-leading academics, career experts, industry leaders and our robust alumni links. You’ll gain the skill-set, strategy, insights and networks needed for your career success, both locally and internationally.
Your studies are enriched by the opportunity to immerse yourself in a trip to the London Career Safari and an international study trip to Frankfurt and Mannheim in Germany. These trips are designed to expand your worldview and ignite your professional aspirations.
Discover more about The Sheffield MBA
Accreditation
This course is accredited by the Association of MBAs, EQUIS, AACSB, the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).
Modules
Core modules:
- Accounting and Financial Management
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As managers in businesses, social enterprises or governmental organisations, an ability to interpret accounting reports and exercise financial judgment is essential. The aim of the module is to equip non-financial students with an appropriate level of financial competence - and confidence - and hence view accounting and financial management from the perspective of general management: that is, as users of financial information. This means that learning does not take the form of a series of textbook technical exercises, but grasps concepts and applies them to the real world, as demonstrated on the case company. The accounting element of the module is concerned primarily with the usefulness and limitations of accounting and market data in published financial statements, governance and internal reports and controls, business planning, operational decisions, pricing decisions, and performance management. The financial management element of the module examines the role of accounting and market data to support financing decisions, investing decisions and cash and working capital management.
10 credits - Managing Organisational Behaviour
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This unit aims to provide students with an understanding of a systematic set of behavioural science concepts for analysing human behaviour in organisations. The major theories and research findings in this area derive from the academic disciplines of psychology, sociology and anthropology and students will be expected to familiarise themselves as directed. Further, the unit provides the opportunity to relate these theoretical concepts to realistic organisational problems and to consider appropriate managerial responses. In this way, the unit is designed not only to increase the ability to analyse behaviour but also to develop the skill to draw on appropriate concepts to influence and manage others effectively in organisational contexts.
10 credits - Operations Management
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This module is concerned with the effective and efficient marshalling of the organisation's resources to meet its objectives. An understanding of fundamental concepts and techniques will be provided and used by students to tackle cases which apply to manufacturing and service industries in both private and public sectors. The systematic and logical approach of Operational Research to the solution of management problems is also introduced.
10 credits - Global Managerial Economics
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This module focuses on the analysis of factors that affect strategic decisions and performance of firms from an economic perspective. This includes organisation-level factors and issues such as the contractual relationships among the different stakeholders of firms and optimal boundaries of firms, as well as the structure and contestability of markets within which they operate. There is particular emphasis on strategic interactions with competitors, designing of contracts in an environment of imperfect (asymmetric) information, and the role of transactions cost in influencing key strategic decisions involving both domestic and international operations of firms. Finally, there is discussion about the factors that influence the regulatory and macroeconomic contexts in which firms operate, including the relevance of interconnectedness of economies for domestic macroeconomic and regulatory environments. As such, the aim of the module is to provide a coherent picture of application of economic principles to different aspects of managerial decision making.
10 credits - The Intelligent Organisation
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An intelligent organisation strategically harnesses data and disruptive technologies to achieve its overarching objectives. The insights generated from extensive internal and external data pools empower organisations to operate with enhanced effectiveness and efficiency. For example, Big Data Analytics helps organisations to identify new opportunities and predict future scenarios. Simultaneously, disruptive technologies like Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things further strengthen data-driven organisations by automating underlying business processes. This module therefore focuses on how data and disruptive technologies enable organisations to achieve high levels of digital transformation. It also provides insights into how to assess the readiness for digital transformation and the challenges of delivering digital transformation projects. This module uses interactive lectures, hands-on sessions, guest lectures from industry experts, and case studies to introduce core concepts and their uses in the real world.
10 credits - Marketing Consultancy Challenge
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This module integrates consulting with marketing through application on a real company project. You will become familiar with the marketing process, the practice and critical importance of marketing as well as important managerial decisions including those about the choice of the target market, the nature of the offerings and marketing strategies that are aimed at communicating and delivering values. While marketing will provide a set of principles and context, consultancy will provide students with an opportunity to apply theoretically grounded consulting principles into a client based marketing problem. The rationale is that many business consulting projects are driven by the initial need for improvement in markets, products and channels to customers, branding, the design of associated processes etc.
20 credits - Personal, Professional and Career Development
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The Personal, Professional and Career Development (PPCD) module is an integral element in the MBA journey, which runs throughout your MBA programme. It is designed to help you cultivate your self awareness and develop the skills needed to achieve your personal, professional and career development goals. This involves personal development and career planning, and setting objectives and identifying strategies to achieve them. The personal element will encompass, for example, self-awareness, self-care, wellbeing, and defining what success means. The professional element is concerned with development activities linked to professionalism and leadership skills development. The career element of this module involves supporting you in achieving your career aspirations which might extend beyond one particular employer or entrepreneurial venture. These skills include, for example, networking, team working, negotiation, interview skills, etc. The delivery of this module will be through a wide range of in-class learning, interactive sessions led by experts, industry visits and extra-curricular activities.
5 credits
Core modules:
- New Venture Creation Challenge
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This is a project-based module in which, working in small groups, you will research and develop a business plan for a new venture. With facilitation and coaching, you will select an entrepreneurial idea and develop it into a comprehensive and fully detailed written business plan. All aspects of the business must be thoroughly researched and the written plan must include five years of financial projections. The module also considers what it takes to become more entrepreneurial or 'intrapreneurial', by critically considering to what extent it is possible to replicate entrepreneurial DNA. The module considers the importance of organisational leadership, structure, systems, strategies and cultures. The overarching aim is to enable you to assess entrepreneurial orientation and its potential both in theory and practice.
10 credits - Strategic Management
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This module examines what we mean by organisational strategy and how strategy is realised in organisations. Strategy can be conceived as the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term and also as an organizational activity and set of practices to do with, for example, strategic analysis and strategic planning as well as processes of negotiation and persuasion. Strategic management entails making distinctive choices that are consequential for the long-term direction, scope and survival of an organisation - often in a turbulent environment, with rapid economic, regulatory, technological, ecological and social changes. Furthermore, strategy formation, implementation, and change involve not just top management, but a variety of organizational members and external stakeholders. On this module you will engage with this complexity through a set of lectures, class discussion and debate, case analysis, and reflection on your experience, with the aim of developing your ability to critically deploy key theories and frameworks to diagnose strategic issues and make informed strategic decisions.
10 credits - Effective and Responsible Leadership
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The need for effective and responsible leadership has never been greater, with the ethics and sustainability of organisational practices becoming increasingly scrutinised. Consequently, leading ethically and responsibly is crucial for the financial and socio-ecological sustainability of organisations. This module will explore perspectives on leadership to consider the meanings and practices of leading effectively and responsibly in different contexts. By undertaking a range of classroom activities and developing a reflective portfolio, you will learn to critically reflect on your and others' leadership and followership in order to develop your abilities.
10 credits - Internationalisation Challenge
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This module focuses on international business opportunities and the processes, strategies and theories that entrepreneurs, and managers need to follow and apply to pursue them. The primary disciplines for this module are international business, strategy and entrepreneurship which are brought together around the idea that to pursue international opportunities, the firm needs to internationalise, and understand how to do so strategically and effectively. The aim of this module is to enable students to understand and integrate theory and apply it to interpretation and analysis in very specific firm and country contexts, to generate theoretical understanding and practical outcomes for a specified firm.
10 credits - Individual MBA Challenge
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This is an individual project taken towards the end of the Sheffield MBA programme and allows the student to demonstrate the ability to research a management issue within an academic framework and within the context of a specific organisation or industry. It utilises knowledge and skills acquired in the earlier part of the programme, and is executed under the general guidance of a supervisor. The module will also equip students with the frameworks and approaches needed while researching in the field of Management. A dissertation written by the student should be delivered to the School at the conclusion.
45 credits - Personal, Professional and Career Development
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The Personal, Professional and Career Development (PPCD) module is an integral element in the MBA journey, which runs throughout your MBA programme. It is designed to help you cultivate your self awareness and develop the skills needed to achieve your personal, professional and career development goals. This involves personal development and career planning, and setting objectives and identifying strategies to achieve them. The personal element will encompass, for example, self-awareness, self-care, wellbeing, and defining what success means. The professional element is concerned with development activities linked to professionalism and leadership skills development. The career element of this module involves supporting you in achieving your career aspirations which might extend beyond one particular employer or entrepreneurial venture. These skills include, for example, networking, team working, negotiation, interview skills, etc. The delivery of this module will be through a wide range of in-class learning, interactive sessions led by experts, industry visits and extra-curricular activities.
5 credits
You will select 2 of the 4 elective modules:
- Human Resource Management
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This module has three objectives. It is intended to develop an understanding of the international and comparative factors (such as national culture) that shape human resource management. It will also build functional knowledge of the main tools and techniques used in the HRM field. Finally, it will develop an awareness of some of the most pertinent HRM issues in Europe, the Far East and America. Teaching methods for the option will combine the project method, formal lectures, videos, case study analysis, analysis of example HRM tools and techniques and Powerpoint presentations.
10 credits - Strategic Management Accounting
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This module explores the way in which management accounting information can play an important role in the strategic development of organisations. It recognises the need for management accounting to be more externally focussed and for it to provide information that helps organisations face up to strategic uncertainties. The concept of strategic management accounting is relevant for both private and public sector organisations.
10 credits - Corporate Finance
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This module examines how corporate decision-makers determine policies on funding and firm investment choices. It assesses both areas by scrutinizing background theory and real applications. The module addresses some of the pivotal areas of concern for financial decision-makers, including the formulation of recommendations and policies on investment appraisal, corporate leverage, dividend policy, stock buy-backs, risk management, and CSR-engagement. The module will address such issues within the context of perfect (frictionless) and imperfect market settings and will also stress the role of external capital markets (debt and equity) in relation to the growth cycle of a listed firm.
10 credits - Organisational Crisis Management
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Crisis management is an emerging area of management research and practice reflecting the growing scope and scale for organisational disruptions. This module adopts a processual and broad systems perspective to understanding how crises can emerge in organisations and how best managers might prepare for, mitigate and manage these. This is an integrative module which draws upon multi-disciplinary perspectives to provide learners with conceptual insights and analytical tools needed to be effective managers. The teaching strategy is underpinned by case studies developed by the module leader and others. This approach allows students to enhance their critical and analytical skills by evaluating real world management practice and developing their own crisis management abilities through formulating appropriate strategic and operational responses.
10 credits
The content of our courses is reviewed annually to make sure it's up-to-date and relevant. Individual modules are occasionally updated or withdrawn. This is in response to discoveries through our world-leading research; funding changes; professional accreditation requirements; student or employer feedback; outcomes of reviews; and variations in staff or student numbers. In the event of any change we'll consult and inform students in good time and take reasonable steps to minimise disruption.
Upcoming events
MBA events
Throughout the year, there are lots of opportunities to meet our team online, in your home country or in Sheffield.
Postgraduate events
An open day gives you the opportunity to hear first-hand from our current students and staff about our courses.
You may also be able to pre-book a department visit as part of a campus tour.
Duration
1 year full-time
Teaching
You will learn through a wide variety of teaching styles.
You will take part in traditional forms of university teaching, such as lectures, seminars and workshops. Throughout the programme, you will also be challenged to apply your learning to live organisational issues. For example, you'll work in teams with a range of local and international businesses to provide solutions to real business challenges in marketing and internationalisation strategies. You will also have the opportunity to create and pitch a new business venture.
You'll learn from our world leading academics. We also bring experts and business leaders from a range of industries into the classroom, including members of our global MBA alumni community. Our experts will share valuable insights from their careers to inspire you as you prepare for your future.
We ensure you have opportunities to visit companies, both in the UK and internationally. The London Career Safari and the international study trip will broaden your horizons and enable you to explore a diverse range of career options. You'll also have the chance to network with your fellow MBA students and leaders from a range of sectors and businesses.
Assessment
The Sheffield MBA is a transformative academic programme, designed to challenge and stretch you. We'll assess you throughout the programme in a variety of ways. You will have some formal examinations and traditional coursework assignments. You will also work in groups to give presentations and reports, which will help you develop essential skills as a future business leader.
At the culmination of the programme, you will draw together all of your knowledge, skills and experience to complete the Individual MBA Challenge. You can choose to complete a traditional research-based dissertation. Alternatively, you could apply for a company project. This gives you the opportunity to work alongside a company to complete your dissertation, focusing on a real issue that the company is facing.
Your career
Our MBA graduates go on to a wide range of industries and job roles across the world. Throughout your MBA journey, you will have opportunities to network and connect with our global MBA alumni.
School
Management School
We are a leading management school with Triple Crown accreditation (AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS). These awards have been achieved through the outstanding quality of our programmes, research output, support for students and alumni, and links with industry. We have a world-class reputation for high quality teaching, ground-breaking research and cutting-edge thinking.
You’ll be part of a dynamic and engaging management school that puts you and your future at the heart of everything it does. We balance a rigorous academic foundation with practical skills to ensure you are ready for the world of work.
We want you to develop skills so you can apply course content in a company setting. Our close links with organisations keep us in tune with the changing demands of the workplace. We know what employers are looking for.
You'll learn from experts - many are former industry professionals and they work closely with businesses. Because our academics are world-leading researchers, your education will draw on the most current management theories.
We want you to engage with the academic content, be conscientious and take an independent approach to study. We want you to be informed, innovative and proactive and do everything we can to support and enhance your career, steering you in the right direction with all the knowledge and skills you require.
You'll benefit from tailored on-site and online professional careers support, dedicated skills sessions and events with experts from world-leading organisations and professional bodies. These activities will help guide your personal and professional development to help you secure your dream placement, internship or graduate role.
Student profiles
Entry requirements
Minimum 2.1 undergraduate honours degree. At least three years’ full time postgraduate work experience. This should include appropriate management experience and show good career progression.
Your application may be considered if you do not meet the academic requirement but have significant professional and/or management experience.
You will be invited to attend an interview if your application is successful at the initial review stage. If you are unable to attend the interview in person we will arrange with you for this to be online.
Find out more about the MBA application process
English language requirements
IELTS 6.5 (with 6 in each component) or University equivalent
If you have any questions about entry requirements, please contact the school/department.
Fees and funding
Apply
You can apply now using our Postgraduate Online Application Form. It's a quick and easy process.
Any supervisors and research areas listed are indicative and may change before the start of the course.
Recognition of professional qualifications: from 1 January 2021, in order to have any UK professional qualifications recognised for work in an EU country across a number of regulated and other professions you need to apply to the host country for recognition. Read information from the UK government and the EU Regulated Professions Database.