Course overview
Hear from Hull's Director of MBA Programmes, Dr Sarah Shaw, as she shares who this innovative and future-facing programme is for, what students will learn, and what it's like to learn online.
Course details
Global MBA
Three start dates per year: January, May and September
Next course start date: May 2023
Next welcome week: May 2023
Application deadline: May 2023
Duration: two years (part-time)
Format: online, with optional face-to-face events
Total fees: £12,000 (payment by instalment and funding options available)
Additional costs: due to the nature of the subject, and copyright restrictions placed on institutional libraries by some publishers, students will need to purchase some core texts.
Support with your application: Contact our course adviser team today for application advice.
This MBA is part of the Hull University Business School, a leading UK business school with internationally recognised accreditations from the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). The Hull Global MBA also aligns with The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) Chartered Manager membership – elite professional recognition for exceptional managers and leaders.
Why this Global MBA?
With the rapid rate of change and disruption across industries, future business leaders will need to be agile and resilient to take on unknown and complex challenges.
Our Global MBA blends leading-edge academic thinking with industry best practice. This postgraduate programme will equip you with the expertise and tools needed to be an impactful leader in a carbon neutral, digitally transformed future.
You’ll learn how to understand the language of numbers, make data-driven decisions, lead people development, and much more. We’ll also explore important societal themes of today and tomorrow, including Industry 4.0, social justice, and sustainability. High profile global industry experts will speak on the modules, helping to bring the theory to life.
Your studies won’t focus purely on the development of knowledge and skills, but the development of soft leadership behaviours and psychologies through self-reflection. With our support, you can look forward to a transformational journey to realising your full potential and to deliver return on investment back to your business.
Plus, as our Global MBA programme is both online and part time, you’ll be able to immediately apply what you learn to your current work, while still earning your qualification in two years.
Read the video transcript 
[upbeat music plays throughout]
Dr Sarah Shaw: So my name is Dr. Sarah Shaw. I'm a senior lecturer and researcher at Hull University Business School.
Our Masters of Business Administration or MBA programme is a leadership development programme, and it's aimed at future leaders, senior managers and executives from all sectors. So that's private, public and third sectors globally. So whether you are leading complex change in your organisation or you're an entrepreneurial business owner that is looking to drive innovation and creativity in your new business or set up your own business, our world class MBA programme is right for you.
It will act as a catalyst and a springboard for you and your career. Be prepared to be stretched. We're going to take you on a transformational leadership journey. We will challenge you to look at different problem solving scenarios, crisis management as this is key to be able to manage in the new world, we need new ways for a new world. You're going to listen and hear from high profile industry speakers as well as our outstanding academics and their cutting edge research.
We recognize that many of you have not been in education for a long time and have been actually working in industry. So we spend a lot of time with you at the beginning of the programme, and during the programme to make sure that you understand how to write academically. So that by the end of the program you really are proficient in terms of conducting and producing an excellent piece of academic work that's grounded in the real world. But you're also able to conduct research and market research and business research effectively as well in your own organisation.
Well, this is a new MBA for a new world. So a seismic change is occurring in the way that we live and work. And as such, we have designed a new MBA programme, which has a really clear vision, and that is about shaping, inspiring and equipping the new generation of responsible leaders to handle disruption and manage the challenges in a digitally transformed and net zero and socially responsible world.
One of the key skills as well that we do tackle on the MBA programme that we are world experts in is systems thinking, and we use systems thinking throughout the program to tackle complexity. And it helps organizations and individuals to understand how to cut through the complexity and embrace disruption.
So our Global MBA online gives you the ultimate flexibility to study for an MBA programme. We have multiple entry points throughout the year to start the program. You've also got an opportunity to be part of a truly global MBA network. So this really plays to the kind of power of the network and inclusivity and diversity. You're going to learn from peers, from different countries about how they manage problems in different country contexts. So how we do something in India might not be how we do something in America. And this is really important. This is a truly global MBA.
Course modules
Our modules have been thoughtfully designed to help you cultivate long-term success as a business professional. You study the following compulsory modules.
MBA Orientation & Leadership Catalyst (15 credits)
No matter who you are or where you’re from – we know you’ve got the potential to be a brilliant leader.
We’ll start with an overview of the programme, but after that, it’s all about you – your experience, your skills, knowledge, behaviours, and your aims.
You’ll reflect on and analyse your journey so far, using academic literature, inspiring case studies, and personal research to pinpoint areas to develop, skills to hone, and measure your growth throughout the course and beyond. This new level of self-awareness will provide a solid footing as you discover your own leadership style and unique place in the business world.
Right from the get-go, you’ll be developing vital study skills and training in essential systems. As well as a strong academic and theoretical approach, you’ll explore fundamental principles of leadership, including growth mindsets, decision-making, and persuasion.
This module won’t just help you get the most out of your course; it will prepare you for your own transformative leadership journey.
The Global Economic Environment (15 credits)
The world has been turned on its head and organisations have been forced to rapidly adapt to survive. Take a look at the wider global economic environment and its impact on business performance.
Equipped with a knowledge of the concepts, tools, and approaches needed to view business through a critical economic lens (micro and macro), explore how global events and trends including AI development, cryptocurrency, the pandemic, and climate change affect decision-making and the way businesses and ventures function.
You’ll develop a global mindset, learn how the market works, and the power individuals and communities have to influence the global economy.
Strategy Making in a Complex World (15 credits)
We might not always be able to predict the future, but we can prepare for it.
Every successful business has a clear strategy. It sets out their vision, their mission, and their direction, ensuring each moving part of the business works towards the common goal.
But what happens when things go wrong? By understanding that organisations function within a far larger context – one where ecological, economic, and social systems interconnect; where disruption and challenges are often out of our immediate control – we can begin to develop a holistic understanding of complex systems to create more informed and effective strategies.
Strategy is only relevant in context, and you’ll be encouraged to relate your studies to your own organisational context throughout.
Not only will you gain a sound theoretical understanding of complexity, and how a systems thinking approach improves planning and decision making, but you’ll pick up the tools and practical techniques to form your own strategies in the real world. And with responsible leadership at our core, you’ll be assessing risk and strategic decision making for ethical and social value each step of the way.
Marketing in a Disruptive Digital Era (15 credits)
In this volatile business landscape, disruption is the norm. Organisations have to be ready and willing to break the status quo. This could mean shaking up their entire business model or revamping their service or product, and it will almost always involve adapting how they reach their customers.
In this highly interactive module, you’ll gain real, hands-on experience. You’ll get to grips with the marketing platforms and analytic tools to understand how organisations use the very latest data and harness the most disruptive digital trends to build sustainable growth for stakeholders.
You’ll learn how to critically evaluate an increasingly competitive, online, and distraction-filled marketplace and identify key trends. You’ll understand the importance of reaching customers with the right product at the right price, at the right time, and through the right channels. By combining insight into the complete brand planning process with the University’s vision for a ‘fairer, brighter, carbon neutral future’, this module will inspire sustainable marketing plans that meet the needs of the organisation, the customers, and the environment – we call this Total Marketing.
Accounting, Finance & Corporate Social Responsibility (15 credits)
Accounting impacts every single aspect of a business.
In this module, you will learn to understand, interpret, and communicate in the language of numbers. Get to grips with the fundamentals of accounting and finance, and learn how to apply these principles ethically. You will explore the pivotal role they play in planning and commercial decision making, culminating in the ultimate success of an organisation or venture.
You’ll pick up the practical skills needed to work as an effective manager. Learn to think critically and make complex data-driven decisions, including understanding and analysing financial statements and business cases, appraising investment opportunities, and benchmarking, to inform your future leadership and strategic decisions.
Leadership Behaviours and Psychology (15 credits)
Take a step back to reflect on your leadership behaviours and style. Look inwards, and explore what it takes to become an ethical and socially responsible role model, shaping internal cultures and promoting sustainable development, inclusivity, and diversity.
Examine new ways of working to become a transformational leader in an increasingly volatile and ambiguous business world, where developments such as new technologies and shifting customer demands continually shape the decisions we make as leaders. Discover how to respond to these changes with confidence and integrity, and learn to identify innovation opportunities amongst the chaos.
Global Talent Management and Human Resource Management (15 credits)
People: your business’s most valuable resource.
In this module you’ll gain a profound understanding of people management within a complex, shifting, and increasingly globalised context.
Split into three main parts, it covers the principles of human resources management, global talent management, and organisational culture. From this, you’ll develop helpful people management strategies to apply to your own real-life experiences – giving you the tools to become a responsible and ethical leader.
From recruiting and managing talent in a global market, to committing to corporate social responsibility; from creating diverse and supportive cultures, to the implications of the psychological contract; and from workforce health and wellbeing to the global paradox; this module covers the full breadth of theories and practices relating to talent and human resource management.
Sustainable Supply Chain Management (15 credits)
Never before has responsible and ethical supply chain leadership been so crucial to organisations and the world economy. Recent events such as the global pandemic, modern day slavery, the energy crisis and climate change have shone a spotlight on the importance and impact of supply chains.
Learn from academics and high-profile speakers to gain an in-depth understanding of: supply chain strategy and design; sustainability; how to analyse and design effective supply chain operations; how to use data models and simulation games to solve problems and inform decisions and scenarios; the role of warehousing and transport in modern supply chains; procurement; operations management; risk, resilience and project management.
You will become an ethical role model with a reputation for sustainable development in a global supply chain community, acting with integrity and promoting an ethical, inclusive and supportive culture.
Digital Transformation and Information Security (15 credits)
The emergence of Industry 4.0 has meant businesses need to rely on technology now more than ever.
Explore themes in pioneering technologies and learn to think critically about how technology can be used – and abused – in an organisation or project.
No previous technical experience is required as you’ll be introduced to cybersecurity from a management perspective, discovering the methodologies used to protect businesses from insider and outsider information security threats.
Developing an Entrepreneurial Organisation (15 credits)
How do you build an entrepreneurial business?
Learn from leading innovators themselves to discover the importance of entrepreneurship and adaptability in a rapidly changing, technology-driven environment.
You’ll gain the knowledge and framework to create solid entrepreneurial strategies to help businesses thrive in the real world. You’ll develop the confidence to lead by example, encouraging a company-wide entrepreneurial mindset and culture of creativity and innovation.
You will be able to identify opportunities for growth and change, how to adapt and build a more dynamic business, and how to evaluate risk and measure entrepreneurial success.
MBA Project and Consultancy (30 credits)
Put everything you’ve learnt to the test.
This is an exciting opportunity to apply your learnings to a true-to-life consultancy project for an existing client in a supportive, low-stakes setting or lead a project within your own organisation.
Now fully equipped with the advanced tools and knowledge, you’ll carry out high impact, relevant practitioner-based research and use your findings to generate solutions.
Harness your ability as a manager and develop valuable consultancy skills as you design, deliver and manage each aspect of your project; from research, analysis and diagnosis, to presenting your proposals and reporting.
Aiming to be as realistic as possible, this project will prepare you for the real-life challenges you’ll face as a professional and will help deliver return on investment back to your organisation or client.
What are the entry requirements?
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Three years’ appropriate and relevant postgraduate work experience and a good undergraduate degree (normally 2.1 or above) awarded by a UK university or comparable overseas institution, or an equivalent qualification
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If you don't have a degree or equivalent professional qualification but meet the other eligibility criteria, you may still apply. To do this, you must submit a portfolio of evidence to demonstrate that you can benefit from, contribute to and succeed on the MBA programme. You should have completed approximately seven years of full-time appropriate work experience
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An IELTS 6.5 score (with minimum 6.0 in each skill) if your first language isn’t English (or other English language proficiency qualifications accepted by the University of Hull)
If you're unsure whether you're eligible to apply, please get in touch with our friendly course adviser team for advice:
