MBA Business Scale Up (Online)
Business growth and scale-up are top priorities in this post-Covid world, with many national governments kickstarting their economy by incentivising business growth. Learn how to maximise business scale-up potential in this flexible online course.
Key facts
- Award MBA
- Start date September 2023, February 2024, September 2024
- Application notes Applications for September 2024 entry will open in September 2023.
- Duration MBA part-time: 24 months
- Mode of study part time
- Delivery online
Overview
MBAs equip managers with a broad and rich understanding of business, enabling them to lead effectively. This online MBA in Business Scale Up focuses on the key areas a business would need to investigate to assess scale up potential. The course combines core management disciplines from the key QAA and CMI benchmark statements with recent national research on the drivers of business scale up.
The course is structured in four phases. The first phase provides an intensive focused range of interventions aimed at realising the potential of growth within businesses. Stages two and three then draw on these to analyse ideas and develop them further to plan and enable accelerated growth. Finally, after these phases, a strategic project builds the evidence base for scale up strategies and addresses a significant and strategic area for your business.
Enhance your employability
You’ll have the chance to undertake a consultancy project with businesses across the public, private and non-profit sectors. This allows you to integrate the knowledge and skills from your course to solve a real business challenge. Places on these projects are competitive and involve interviews with the host company. At the end of the project you’ll be able to present your recommendations and a high-quality piece of research or consultancy.
Supporting business leaders
Postgraduate education at the University of Stirling Management School goes beyond text books and lecture rooms. We also focus on your personal and professional development.
Our unique Flying Start Leadership programme equips you with the awareness, knowledge and techniques essential for building a successful career. These range from practical skills, like effective public speaking, to developing ways to work under pressure in difficult situations and manage conflict. Find out more about Flying Start.
Top reasons to study with us
Course objectives
At the end of this course, graduates will be able to maximise career development opportunities through their enhanced knowledge and understanding of business growth and scale up. They will have developed an integrated and critically aware understanding of management and organisations, and how these can be leveraged when seeking to scale a business or organisation.
Graduates will have gained critical and intellectual skills, research skills as well as personal and interpersonal skills which will support the complex challenges facing a developing business.
Our graduates will support national and regional economic success via the development opportunities offered by the course, including an understanding of international business practices.
Work placements
All assessments are linked to and carried out in partnership with an organisation and there are opportunities to engage with industry at every stage of the course. A variety of opportunities exist to undertake career enhancing development opportunities including the Personal Development and Reflection Challenge, Consultancy Challenge and International Challenge. The final student consultancy project is undertaken with business to demonstrate real world impact.
Research overview
Recent examples of the reach and impact of our research include:
- Bernard Burnes won The Journal of Applied Behavioural Science McGregor Award for the best paper published in 2020. 'The Origins of Lewin's Three-Step Model of Change’ was the journal’s ‘Most Read’ paper with over 23,000 views and downloads between its publication in March 2021 and late July 2021.
- The Financial Times featured David Bell and Danny Blanchflower’s paper on ‘Underemployment and the Lack of Wage Pressure in the UK’ in their table of the top 100 most influential academic papers in a global survey of research geared towards making a positive impact on society in February 2020
- David Comerford ran a study into vaccine hesitation and then ran it again when guidelines around Astra Zeneca changed, recommending alternative vaccines for the under-30s. The cumulative press release (on March 26 and April 24, 2021) readership was 1,599,422,500 people worldwide.
- Oliver Mallett wrote a piece for The Conversation about the future of work post-Covid, which was reproduced in 69 publications worldwide, reaching a total readership of 184,319,000.
Entry requirements
Academic requirements
You’ll need a minimum of a second-class Honours degree in any subject or an equivalent qualification. However, if you don’t have these formal qualifications, but bring significant work experience in a relevant area, you can still apply. Prospective students must also have three years of supervisory or management experience.
Other routes of entry
If you don't currently meet our academic requirements, INTO University of Stirling offers a variety of preparation programmes that can earn you the qualifications and skills you need to progress onto some of our courses. Explore INTO University of Stirling to see the pathway and pre-masters routes available.
International entry requirements
English language requirements
If English is not your first language you must have one of the following qualifications as evidence of your English language skills:
- IELTS Academic or UKVI 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each sub-skill
- Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE) 169 overall with a minimum of 162 in each sub-skill
- Cambridge C2 Proficiency (CPE) 180 overall with a minimum of 162 in each sub-skill
- Pearson Test of English (Academic) 60 overall with a minimum of 59 in each sub-skill
- IBT TOEFL 78 overall with a minimum of 17 in listening, 18 in reading, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing
- IBT TOEFL Special Home Edition Test 78 overall with a minimum of 17 in listening, 18 in reading, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing
- Trinity ISE II Pass overall with a Pass in each sub-skill, ISE III Pass overall and in all sub-skills, ISE IV Pass overall and in all sub-skills
- Aptis (4 skills) CEFR B2 overall and B2 in all sub-skills
- LanguageCert International ESOL B2 Communicator - High Pass overall with minimum 25 in each sub-skill
Last updated: 23 August 2022
For more information on ways that you can meet our English language requirements, including options to waive the requirement, please read our information on English language requirements.
Course details
You will use problem based learning techniques and applied case studies for discussion and assessment. This will encourage independent thinking and support you to acquire subject specific and transferable skills. The course also makes opportunities available for you to reflect on your personal knowledge, experience and practice, and encourages peer interaction. Where appropriate, assignments may include immediate application of knowledge and skills within organisations.
You’ll also benefit from:
- Masterclasses and career talks
- Fireside chats with leading thinkers and business figures
- Practical networking skills
- Advice on how to work with head-hunters
- Virtual vareers fairs
- SimValidate online simulation and learning resource
- Riipen employer/ student project matching platform
- Benefit from the educational features of the Insendi Approach and Platform
- Access to seasoned business mentors, from Scotland's largest independent business advisory firm who are globally connected via membership of PDF network
- Live lounge sessions
Modules
Compulsory modules:
- Operations Management
- Matchmakers in the Digital Economy
- People, Teams and Organisation
- Project Management
- Accounting and Finance
- Digital Business: Strategic Management of Emergent Technologies
- Achieving Business Growth
- New Venture Creation
- Managing Entrepreneurial and Family Business
- Digital Entrepreneurship
- Digital Marketing and Advertising
- Marketing for Impact
- Research Methods and Consultancy Approaches
- Independent Project (3 options: Independent Research Project; Case Study; Consultancy Project)
Modules
The module information below provides an example of the types of course module you may study. The details listed are for the current academic year (September 2022). Modules and start dates are regularly reviewed and may be subject to change in future years.
Course Details
Teaching
Learning and teaching methods includes a combination of lectures, self-directed study and, where appropriate, interactive sessions. This allows you to engage with, practice and demonstrate the new skills and achievements in as wide a variety of contexts as possible. The teaching team encourages you to embrace collaborative learning, recognising that much learning takes place between members of a group and that it is a vehicle for developing softer skills, in online sessions, student chat, e-classroom or discussion boards.
The course aims to ensure you are exposed to cutting edge theory and relevant knowledge through teaching staff engagement with subject research. The course also taps into the expertise and experience of industry and academic contributors from across the globe including Ivey Business School, University of Melbourne, University of Oxford and ESMT Berlin who are invited to share research expertise and practical experience in live case study interactions enabling you to gain a greater understanding of the link between application and theory.
Assessment
Assessments are authentic, applied to real business problems and applied to your professional expertise and practice.
With a variety of methods designed to be relevant to the module aims and learning outcomes, including case studies, essay style coursework, projects, management reports and research-based dissertations. Written coursework is used as the main examination method allowing you to express your knowledge and understanding of the subject area and show subject specific and transferable skills as well as promoting independent learning, problem solving and analysis. Exams are used where appropriate to test your analytical and mathematical skills.
The dissertation or student consultancy project is an important part of overall assessment. It enables you to build on research and other skills attained within the course. Supervision is arranged on a one-to-one basis which allows assessment of the development of subject knowledge and understanding, autonomous learning skills, motivation and transferable skills.
Classroom hours
Five hours of learning each week is usual on each module.
Course director
Fees and funding
Fees and costs
| 2022/23 | 2023/24 | |
|---|---|---|
| Students from the UK | £12,000 | TBC |
| Students from the Republic of Ireland | £12,000 | TBC |
| Overseas (non-EU) students | £12,000 | TBC |
| European Union students | £12,000 | TBC |
Students from the UK
Course fees
Fees shown are for a full-time, one-year Masters course.
If you need to extend your period of study or repeat study, you will be liable for additional fees.
If you are studying part time, the total course fee will be split over the years that you study. The total fee will remain the same and will be held at the rate set in your year of entry.
For more information on courses invoiced on an annual fee basis, please read our tuition fee policy.
Students from the Republic of Ireland
Course fees
Fees shown are for a full-time, one-year Masters course.
If you need to extend your period of study or repeat study, you will be liable for additional fees.
If you are studying part time, the total course fee will be split over the years that you study. The total fee will remain the same and will be held at the rate set in your year of entry.
For more information on courses invoiced on an annual fee basis, please read our tuition fee policy.
European Union students
EU Postgraduate Scholarship
Eligible EU students will automatically receive our EU Postgraduate Scholarship, which provides a 40% fee discount on full-time, on-campus postgraduate degrees at the University of Stirling.
Course fees
Fees shown are for a full-time, one-year Masters course.
If you need to extend your period of study, you will be liable for additional fees.
If you are studying part time, the total course fee will be split over the years that you study. The total fee will remain the same and will be held at the rate set in your year of entry.
For more information on courses invoiced on an annual fee basis, please read our tuition fee policy.
Overseas students (non-EU)
We offer a range of funding options for overseas students.
Course fees
Fees shown are for a full-time, one-year Masters course.
If you need to extend your period of study, you may be liable for additional fees.
If you are studying part time, the total course fee will be split over the years that you study. The total fee will remain the same and will be held at the rate set in your year of entry.
For more information on courses invoiced on an annual fee basis, please read our tuition fee policy.
Additional costs
There are some instances where additional fees may apply. Depending on your chosen course, you may need to pay additional costs, for example for field trips. Learn more about additional fees.
Payment options
We aim to be as flexible as possible, and offer a wide range of payment methods - including the option to pay fees by instalments. Learn more about how to pay
After you graduate
After graduation from the course you will have the capacity to exhibit a significant improvement in your work based performance, confidence and learning in the workplace, as well as the ability to demonstrate new skills learnt during the course. Graduates will be in a position to support businesses as they seek to transform and grow which is highly desirable for ambitious employers.
By combining experience with new management thinking developed over the lifetime of the MBA, you will also have the skills to deliver enhanced decision-making, contributions to idea generation and business improvement.
Core areas and roles where your enhanced skills could be used:
- Business Development Directors / Vice Presidents
- Management Consultancy
- Business Support Managers
- Account Managers
- Sales Director
- Project Director
- General Management
- Innovation Architectures
- Own Business
- Family business succession planning
94.3% of our graduates were in employment or further study 15 months after graduation (Graduate Outcomes 2019/20, HESA)
The University of Stirling achieved five stars for Teaching, Employability, Research, Internationalisation, Facilities and Inclusiveness in the QS Stars University Ratings 2021.
Employability skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Entrepreneurial mindset
- Negotiation skills
- Communication skills
- Networking and collaboration
- Managing performance of others
- Self-confidence