Full-time MBA programme content and structure
An outline of the Bath full-time MBA’s modules, our Multi-Project Suite and how we teach the programme.
The Bath MBA combines the latest teaching techniques with practical projects. You’ll be able to take what you learn in the classroom and apply it to real business situations.
Leadership and personal development form the backbone of the Bath MBA. You’ll do a series of projects including an individual leadership project. You will also develop your personal skills through our programme of workshops.
You’ll get great opportunities to meet business leaders, network and build relationships through:
- our guest speaker series
- company visits
- the optional international business experience activities
- an optional paid internship
All assessment focuses on practical learning: coursework, presentations and other hands-on methods. We avoid exams because we think it’s more important for you to put what you’ve learned into practice.
Please note that modules and course information below refers to the 2021/22 academic year. 2022/23 content is likely to be similar but is subject to change. Optional module choices are subject to change due to factors like topicality, student demand or faculty availability.
Programme timeline
Discover a year of opportunity with the Bath MBA.
September
Orientation
Meet your new classmates and the MBA team
Big Team Challenge: meet a corporate partner and work on a business challenge
October - December
Core modules and the consulting project
Study the first set of core modules.
Consulting in action project: work with an organisation on a real consulting project
Careers: MBA graduate leadership schemes
January - March
Core modules and the change project
Study the second set of core modules.
Change in action project: Work in groups on different aspects of a complex change initiative
Careers: Recruitment into senior/experienced roles
March - May
Core modules and the entrepreneurship project
Study the third set of core modules.
Entrepreneurship in action project: Work as a team on a new business idea. Pitch it to a panel of experts.
Careers: Recruitment into senior/experienced roles
April - June
Optional modules
Tailor your MBA to your interests with optional modules. You’ll pick four from a choice of over 20.
June - September
Integrated project
Choose from:
- a group project with a corporate client
- an individual project on a topic of your choice
Careers: Recruitment into senior/experienced roles and internships
September
Optional internship
Add to your CV with an optional internship
December
Graduation
Celebrate your success at one of Bath’s historic venues
Multi-Project Suite
With our unique Multi-Project Suite, you’ll complete four different projects instead of doing a final project focusing on one topic.
The Multi-Project Suite lets you work on a range of business problems with a variety of organisations. It includes individual and group work. Immerse yourself in topics like entrepreneurship, change management and consulting.
The Multi–Project Suite lets you apply what you’ve learned from your core and optional modules, and think creatively about solving real business challenges. You will:
- improve your research and consultancy skills
- get exposure to different types and sizes of organisation
- have real-world project work to add to your CV
Entrepreneurship in action
Work as a team on a new business idea which you’ll pitch to a panel of venture capitalists and entrepreneurs.
Consulting in action
A two-week real consulting project, usually for a small local business or third sector organisation.
Change in action
Work in groups on different aspects of a complex change initiative.
Integrated project
Work in a group with a corporate client on a detailed business challenge, or do an individual project related to a business or management topic of your choice.
The Multi-Project Suite is a big differentiator for Bath. Instead of just doing one big dissertation, we do four independent projects, providing a much broader experience. I have worked with three companies, ranging from a large corporate, to a travel start-up and an award-winning app.
Core modules
We’ve designed our eight core modules to give you a solid foundation in the fundamental areas of business.
Business analytics
Learn informed decision-making through collection and analysis of data. Develop your critical skills and learn how to gain insights into decision problems through data.
Contemporary marketing: theory and application
An introduction to the theory and practice of marketing management. Learn to recognise the complexity of buying behaviour in global markets, investigate managerial practices in marketing and develop a contingent approach to markets and managerial options.
Economics of contemporary business issues
Events and developments like Brexit, Covid-19 and blockchain can create both opportunities and threats to business. In this module, you’ll explore contemporary business issues at a macroeconomic level. You’ll learn specialist techniques to help you analyse events and plan for change.
Leadership: self, others and the enterprise
Develop your understanding of leadership, and your strength as a leader. You’ll explore different aspects of leadership in theory and in practice, and how these affect impact. You’ll learn to better understand and improve your own leadership style by reflecting on your own experiences.
Managing operations and supply networks
An introduction to the principles of operations management. This module illustrates how all organisations are essentially defined through their operational capabilities.
Managing people: strategy and practice
You’ll learn about the strategic role of human resource management in organisations. You will gain knowledge of environmental contexts of the sector, technology, legislation, social institutions and cultures.
Strategy
Gain an in-depth appreciation of strategic management thinking and decision-making. You’ll explore strategy issues and how to resolve them. You will also develop your strategic thinking, analysis and judgement skills.
Understanding finance
Gain a knowledge of finance to support the general management function. You’ll learn to appreciate how specialist activities can help meet financial and business objectives.
Optional modules
With almost a quarter of the programme dedicated to options, you can tailor your MBA to your personal interests. You’ll pick four of these modules to study.
Optional module choices are subject to change due to factors like topicality, student demand or faculty availability.
Accounting for decision makers
Explore the uses and limitations of financial and management accounting information. You’ll learn to appreciate how specialist activities can help meet financial and business objectives.
Advanced business analytics
Learn how modern analytics techniques can support and improve business decision making. You’ll gain an understanding of how data can help suggest solutions to complex problems.
Applied microeconomics
Gain an understanding of:
- the economy as an evolving complex adaptive system of information
- the way information is aggregated by price systems
- how asymmetries in the spread of this information affects this process
Behavioural finance
Explore the theory and practice of the emerging area of behavioural finance. You’ll learn how psychology and emotions affect investor and managerial financial decision making. You’ll also explore ethical issues.
Contemporary issues in management
This unit investigates issues (like big data, artificial intelligence etc.) affecting business and enterprise in today’s world. Working in groups, you’ll have detailed discussions on the chosen topic and explore its current and future impact.
Defining your career goals
Deepen your understanding of who you are and who you want to become. You’ll learn to improve your self-reflection skills, and how to articulate a clear and compelling narrative about your career goals.
Giving voice to values
You will learn how to identify values conflicts: situations at work which feel in some way wrong. Working together through roleplay and case studies, you’ll learn how to respond to these conflicts safely and productively.
Innovation management
Gain an understanding of the strategic management of product, service and process innovation. You’ll learn how firms create value from new ideas and explore the experiences of successful and unsuccessful innovators.
International business
Gain exposure to a different international working environment, build cultural awareness and understand the complexities of global business. This module includes company visits and meetings with executives operating internationally. Visits and meetings may be in person, virtual or a combination of both.
International finance
Gain a good understanding of the financial risks involved in international trading. You’ll learn how international financial markets work, the interrelationships and the language involved.
Knowledge leadership in a global economy
Knowledge management deals with the recognition of human and intellectual capital as core resources. You’ll learn about knowledge management processes, and gain an understanding of the importance of knowledge for competitive advantage.
Leadership mindset
An advanced leadership course. You’ll use experiential learning (reflecting on practice) to examine group processes and dynamics. This will allow you to gain insights about leadership and organisations.
Negotiation
Improve your negotiation skills by learning:
- how to better understand people and situations
- negotiation strategies
- influencing techniques
Based on the latest research, the principles you’ll learn will allow you to influence negotiations while maintaining working relationships.
Risk management
Develop your understanding of the risk management function within a company. You’ll learn to define a company’s risk profile and develop an enterprise risk policy.
Service design and innovation
Gain a thorough understanding of frameworks used to design new services. You’ll learn how to identify and answer the needs of your clients and how to make sure you’re creating value efficiently.
Strategic brand management
- Understand the principles of brand management
- Consider the role and significance of brands
- Examine strategies to build, grow and reposition brands
- Examine systems for managing brand portfolios
- Examine strategies for building a brand-driven organisation
Supply chain management
Examine the concepts and approaches used in purchasing and supply operations, management, strategy and policy.
Sustainable business practices
A workshop approach allows you to delve into the key concepts and tools that support sustainability. You’ll be able to debate and ‘try’ concepts within a specific organisation.
The psychology of decision making
You’ll learn about processes that influence choice, and how decisions can shape organisational life. This module uses material from disciplines including:
- cognitive and social psychology
- organisational behaviour
- managerial cognition
Understanding commercial law
Gain an understanding of the implications of law for business. The focus is on common commercial practice and the law in the context of the wider business world.
Venture capital finance
Gain an understanding of venture capital funding of entrepreneurial enterprises.
- financial contracting and control
- relationships between venture capitalists and entrepreneurs
- differences between standard and social financing/entrepreneurship
- ethical issues
Optional internship
Add to your CV with an optional internship at the end of your MBA.
With over 300 business partners, our MBA Careers team will help you find the right placement for your career goals. Recent MBA students have interned at Grey Advertising, Perrigo and Bath-based social enterprise The Genesis Trust.
Internships start in September, after you have finished your studies. They can last from three to six months.
Internships are not guaranteed. Places are competitive and we advertise opportunities to students.
Interact with industry
The Bath MBA brings you together with business leaders and organisations.
Business is at the core of the Bath MBA. You will interact with our business partners from your first week. Get insights into different industries and help build your network.
Guest speakers
Hear insights and experiences from a range of leaders from diverse sectors. Our guest speakers will share their thoughts on topics like current business issues, corporate strategies and complex management situations.
Recent speakers have included experts in:
- digital and social media
- management consulting
- data analytics
- branding
- global trading platforms
- private equity
- entrepreneurship
Company visits
Visit a range of companies and find out how they manage in a competitive global environment. Recent visits include Jaguar Land Rover, Amazon, Wimbledon Tennis and Wessex Water.
Peer-to-peer learning
Our MBA students come from a range of backgrounds and sectors. Enhance your MBA with student-led peer learning. You’ll share:
- your individual experiences
- information about your culture and backgrounds
- thoughts on topical leadership challenges
Further information
Information about how we deliver the Bath MBA and additional costs.
Teaching and learning
Occasionally we make changes to our course in response to, for example, feedback from students, developments in research and the field of studies or the requirements of accrediting bodies.
You will be advised of any significant changes to the advertised course, in accordance with our terms and conditions.
You’ll learn from academics who are experts in the fields of business, management and finance. Your learning experience will be enriched by the research activities and collaborations of academic staff.
The Bath full-time MBA is a campus-based programme. Most modules are taught in-person, on campus. Occasionally, we may offer guest speakers, individual lectures and/or workshops online. If circumstances mean we have to move to blended or remote learning, we will let you know of any changes in advance.
You will experience a variety of teaching methods including:
- lectures
- online resources
- practical sessions
- seminars
- tutorials
- workshops
Methods of assessment
Exams are not a feature of the Bath MBA. Modules are assessed by a combination of coursework/essays, presentations, in-class participation and portfolios.
Additional costs
Your tuition fee covers tuition and academic materials. Other aspects (e.g. social activities, networking and events) are provided at the University’s discretion and are not part of the tuition fee.
The fee includes the cost of:
- essential textbooks
- case material
- journal extracts
We provide all course materials in digital format.
Some modules involve visits away from the University campus, and you may need to pay some or all of the costs of meals on such trips. We will pay for your transport.
If you choose to take part in the optional international business programme, you will have to pay some expenses such as flights or associated travel costs like visas and some meals. You should budget between £1,000 and £1,500 for this.
Regulator
This course is regulated by the Office for Students.
Entry requirements
The academic and professional experience you'll need to apply for our full-time MBA