Whether you choose to do the MBA or MBA with Exchange, our programme structure is a rigorous tour through organisational fundamentals, along with personal and professional development. All in a compact, 12-month package that gets you back into the workforce quickly and better prepared for the path ahead.

Teaching Model

Our full-time MBA programme follows a Hybrid Teaching Model that provides a blend of face-to-face teaching and online learning. We have developed this model based on past student feedback. The feedback indicated improved student wellbeing, experience, and a feeling of empowerment. Students were able to take a more proactive and accountable approach to balance their own workload.

In practice, for compulsory courses, this means that you will be in the classroom daily for interactive 2-hour tutorial sessions in groups of up to 30 students. Additional content will be delivered through online live sessions, pre-recorded videos, readings, case studies, and so on, enabling you to plan and manage your learning in your own time.

When moving on to option courses, these electives will see you selecting and tailoring your studies according to your career ambitions. These courses will generally be taught in intensive week-long blocks and will see you in the classroom every day for around 8 hours per day.

As these option courses consist of smaller groups, a more personalised teaching approach will be implemented throughout each course. If studying the MBA with international exchange, then this model may vary depending on the delivery model of the partner institution.

Events such as welcome week activities, team building sessions, and community building sessions will also be factored into the programme's in-person teaching structure, which will allow you as a student to discuss opportunities with staff and network among your peers.


Core courses

Between September and March, all students study 11 core courses in major disciplines including strategic leadership, professional development, finance, business transformation, strategic marketing and operations improvement. From April onwards students study from a selection of electives and work on their final management project.

Elective courses or international exchange

Depending on which MBA pathway you choose, you will either undertake electives in Edinburgh, chosen from our diverse catalogue of courses, or embark on courses offered by one of our exchange partners in an international setting.

In both cases, you can tailor your studies towards specific career interests, develop international management skills, and improve your cultural versatility.

MBA Capstone

Towards the end of the MBA programme students write a 7,500 word problem-solving assignment. This is a real-life assignment based on an organisation for which students have previously worked or might wish to in the future. The assignment identifies the problem and offers a critique of why the organisation faces the problem, plus a theory driven solution.

Past dissertations

Find out what topics past students have researched by browsing a selection of dissertation summaries by our postgraduates:

Dissertation executive summaries

Full-time MBA

A typical year of study might look as follows* — the below information details the structure and courses for this programme in 2024/25.

Induction

September

Introduction to the programme

Activities

  • Building High Performance Teams activities
  • Introduction to Strategic Leadership
  • MBA Orientation and Study Skills

Semester 1

September-December

Summer Term

June-August

Capstone

Additional information

In addition to the main programme, a series of practitioner speakers and Masterclasses will be organised on specialised topics in response to contemporary business developments and student interests.

*We will notify you of any changes to your courses at least two months before your programme starts. Occasionally we may need to make changes after this date where there are unforeseen circumstances.

We will give students their preferred option course wherever possible. Where there is high demand we can’t always guarantee this. In addition, we cannot guarantee all options courses will run each year as these are dependent on student interest, scheduling and staff availability.

Finally, we continue to review our course content to ensure it remains relevant and may modify, replace or remove courses.

Core and elective courses

Full programme details, including all available core and elective courses can be found on the University degree programme tables website.

MBA degree programme table

Full-time MBA with Exchange

A typical year of study might look as follows* — the below information details the structure and courses for this programme in 2024/25.

Induction

September

Introduction to the programme

Activities:

  • Building High Performance Teams activities
  • Introduction to Strategic Leadership
  • MBA Orientation and Study Skills

Semester 1

September-December

Context and core business disciplines

Compulsory courses (subject to exchange timetable)

Semester 2a

January-March

Integration and electives

Compulsory courses (subject to exchange timetable)

Semester 2b

March/April - June (exact dates will vary)

International exchange**

Completion of a 10 to 12-week study period with one of our University exchange partners:

  • Aalto University Executive Education (Finland)
  • EADA (Spain)
  • ESSEC Business School (France)
  • IPADE Business School (México)
  • Kellogg School of Management (USA)
  • HKUST (Hong Kong)
  • Macquarie Graduate School of Management (Australia)
  • McCombs School of Business (USA)
  • Schulich School of Business (Canada)
  • Peking University Guanghua School of Management (China)

Details of the international exchange

Options courses (choose 1: subject to exchange timetable)**

Summer Term

June-August

Capstone (subject to exchange timetable)

Additional information

 

In addition to the main programme, a series of practitioner speakers and Masterclasses will be organised on specialised topics in response to contemporary business developments and student interests.

*We continue to review our course content to ensure it remains relevant and may modify, replace or remove courses.

**The number of exchange opportunities at each university will vary each year, and places at USA universities are particularly limited. We cannot, therefore, always guarantee your first choice.

Core and elective courses

Full programme details, including all available core and elective courses can be found on the University degree programme tables website.

MBA with International Exchange degree programme table