Business Administration

EMBA

Location

Stoke-on-Trent campus

Start dates available

  • October 2026

Learn how to become an effective senior leader and put innovation and strategic thinking at the heart of your day-to-day practice.

Our Executive MBA is designed for professionals who are already part of a senior management team or aspire to take on a high level position. With flexible, part-time delivery, you can fit the course round your busy schedule and tailor your assignments to your own workplace.

You will be able to draw on the wide expertise of our well-established Business School. And as key employers across the public and private sectors will be in the same room, it will be an ideal opportunity for you to network and share perspectives. As well as learning alongside top minds and influential peers, you’ll look inwards to consider how you will lead and succeed.

The Executive MBA covers strategic decision-making, managing people and culture, project management, organisational performance and how to harness creativity and innovation to achieve competitive advantage.

You will spend three days each semester attending face-to-face sessions on campus. The rest of the time involves structured online learning, independent study and work-based reflection. There will also be a dissertation focusing on an aspect of your own leadership and management, such as researching a business problem and coming up with a solution.

On successful completion of study, we will issue the following award: EMBA Business Administration

Duration

University of Staffordshire postgraduate courses are usually 1 academic year duration when studying full-time and 2-3 academic years duration for part-time.

Course content

The course will develop your knowledge, skills, and behaviours similar to an apprenticeship, helping you to upskill and gain confidence for senior leadership roles. The course combines online flexibility with face-to-face on-campus sessions, and would be ideal for mature professionals and part-time students with busy schedules. It will also appeal to those not eligible for apprenticeship funding, and MOD personnel seeking global access to education during deployments.

Overall, this MBA is tailored to meet the needs of mature professionals and part-time students, providing a flexible, practical, and career-focused learning experience.

Modules

The tables provide an indicative list of the modules that make up the course for the current academic year. Each module is worth a specified number of credits. Our teaching is informed by research, and modules change periodically to reflect developments in the discipline. We aim to ensure that all modules run as scheduled. If for any reason a module cannot be run we will advise you as soon as possible and will provide guidance on selecting an appropriate alternative module.

Year 1 compulsory modules
Innovation And Change 30 credits
People And Culture 30 credits
Show 2 optional modules
Year 2 compulsory modules
Organisational Performance 30 credits
Work Based Dissertation 60 credits

Entry requirements

  • An undergraduate honours degree (minimum 2:2 in any discipline).
  • Applicants with non-business discipline degree must have at least 1 year of full-time relevant leadership experience.
  • Applicants (e.g. mature students) with a lower-level qualification, or without a degree, but with substantial business or leadership experience may be considered on a case-by-case basis.
  • English Language Requirement: IELTS 6.0 overall, with no component lower than 5.5, or equivalent. Please see the English Language requirements page for further information.

Facilities

The Catalyst

The building will combine business, networking and apprenticeship opportunities with dynamic teaching spaces and state-of-the-art digital facilities – the perfect launchpad for you future career. Read more

The Catalyst brings together the delivery of apprenticeships and skills, in a flexible, high-quality, digitally enabled space. It offers open, social and flexible learning spaces, emulating real world working environments and opportunities for digital engagement. The Catalyst is a unified building, bringing together social, study, teaching and support functions, where students can browse digital and physical resources, including books and a number of special collections. 
Watch video

Careers

All students have access to Careers, Placements & Employability, our dedicated careers team.

Teaching and assessment

Learning support

Your course tutors will provide lots of support. But you can also take advantage of our Academic Skills team, who can help you with:

  • Study skills (including reading, note-taking and presentation skills)
  • Written English (including punctuation, grammar)
  • Academic writing (including how to reference)
  • Research skills
  • Critical thinking
  • Revision, assessment and exam skills (including time management)

Additional support

If you have additional needs like dyslexia or a sensory impairment, then our Student Inclusion Services are here to help make sure nothing stands in your way.

Fees

For the course starting on 19 October 2026 the tuition fees are:

Study option UK / Channel Islands International
Part-time £10,980 per course £17,460 per course

If you would like to know more about the fees listed and what this means to you then please get in touch with our Enquiries Team.

Alumni discount

If you have previously completed an undergraduate degree with us, you may be entitled to an alumni discount off your course fee for any subsequent postgraduate taught course. For further information please contact feesandbursaries@staffs.ac.uk.

Accommodation and living costs

Accommodation and living costs are not included in our fees. 

For more information on accommodation and living costs, please see: Accommodation

Sources of financial support

Providing you are studying towards a full Masters qualification you may be able to apply for a postgraduate loan to help with tuition fees, maintenance and other associated costs. Student loans are available for many of our postgraduate degrees and are provided by the Student Loans Company (SLC). The loan can cover a wide range of postgraduate study options; part-time, full-time and distance learning. 

For more information and how to apply visit masters loan.

Apply now to Business Administration

Location Award Study option Start date
Stoke-on-Trent campus EMBA Part-time, distance learning 19 October 2026 Apply now

Rules and regulations

If you are offered a place at University of Staffordshire, your offer will be subject to our rules, regulations and enrolment conditions, which may vary from time to time.

Students of University of Staffordshire enter into a contract with us and are bound by these rules and regulations, which are subject to change. For more information, please see: University Policies and Regulations. 

Have you considered?

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Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2025

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Rookies Games Design and Development 2023, 2025

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of Research is “Internationally Excellent” or “World Leading”

Research Excellence Framework 2021

of Research Impact is ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Very Considerable’

Research Excellence Framework 2021