Business Administration Professional Practice

Award

MBA

Study option

Location

University of Staffordshire London

Start dates available

January 2027

Apply now

100% postgraduate student satisfaction

Ranked 1st in the sector for Business and Management for overall satisfaction in the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) 2026

Career Support

Get dedicated support from the University’s Careers, Placements & Employability team to help you prepare for and secure a professional placement aligned with your career ambitions.

Research Excellence Framework 2021

100% of our business and management research impact is recognised as “very considerable” or “outstanding”

Looking to take your business career to the next level? Our MBA Professional Practice combines postgraduate study with a year-long professional placement, giving you the opportunity to put your learning into practice and gain valuable experience in a real business environment.

You’ll develop your knowledge and skills in areas including strategy, leadership, risk management, innovation, entrepreneurship, international marketing and sustainable supply chains. Based at our London campus, you’ll study in a diverse, business-focused environment while developing the practical skills and experience to support your future career.

For the MBA, you will complete a series of taught modules and then spend a year in a professional placement, applying your knowledge to a real business. Our careers team can support you in finding the right placement for your areas of interest. Whether you’re getting hands-on with marketing, finance, supply chains, sustainability or international business, it will help you explore your career ambitions.

The course covers core competencies in strategy, risk management, leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship. It is taught through real-world challenges and practical problem-solving, using dynamic case studies. The aim is to help you navigate the rapidly-changing business environment.

You could be exploring anything from how to expand a company overseas, sell off a loss-making operation or tackle trade issues. You will also develop your understanding of strategic decision-making and how to deliver against key drivers of quality, cost and timescale.

We offer different start dates for the course and you’ll be able to draw on the varied expertise of our well-established Business School. The MBA may particularly appeal to international students looking to gain leadership and management skills within a UK context.

On successful completion of study, we will issue the following award: MBA Business Administration Professional Practice

Duration

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

The Professional Practice MBA will run over 2 years as a full-time course which includes 1 year in Placement.

Course content

You will complete six core modules and a professional placement, which forms an integral part of the MBA. For any students not securing a placement, there is an option to study 60 credits of entrepreneurship modules, plus a dissertation to gain the award of MBA Professional Practice (Entrepreneurship).

You’ll explore entrepreneurship and innovation in practice, how management strategies can improve organisational performance, and how to create a sustained competitive advantage. We also cover how to develop marketing plans across a range of international environments, along with making ethical and socially responsible decisions.

You’ll learn about risk management and sustainable global supply chain management as well.

The professional placement is likely to involve a role equivalent to being a management trainee, where you can apply skills you’ve learnt on the course. You will be expected to keep a reflective journal during the placement, which will inform your final assessments.

Entry requirements

An undergraduate honours degree (minimum 2:2 in business related subject area).
Applicants (e.g. mature students) with a lower-level qualification but with substantial related business work experience of at least 5 years, may also 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.

International entry requirements

For equivalent entry requirements in your home country, please see the information on our country pages.

International entry requirements in your country

Get country-specific details on entry requirements, fees, scholarships and support services. Choose your country to see how University of Staffordshire can support you from application to arrival.

Check your country information

Facilities

The Den

The perfect space to chill out with comfy sofas and booths and food prep spaces if you want to bring your food from home. Read more

The Den includes:

Lockers to store your personal items
Comfy booths to sit, chat and eat in
Electrical sockets to plug in your devices
Wireless pads that charge the latest smartphones
A prep area for food and drinks
Fridges to keep snacks in
Low, soft seating for kicking band and unwinding

The Hall

Integrate yourself with the buzz of digital technologies in The Hall, a space dedicated to discussion and meetings. This flexible space can be configured to suit the needs of up to 30 students, with electrical points and multiple seating areas.

The Stage

The Stage is a 20 person capacity presentation space equipped with conferencing facilities.

Knowledge Exchange 1 & 2

One of the main teaching spaces within the Digital Loft, Knowledge 1 and 2 has banks of dual screen monitors running industry-standard graphics cards.

Careers

The combination of an MBA and professional practice (placement) can help you develop the knowledge, practical experience and professional confidence to progress your career in business and management.

Your placement will give you the opportunity to apply your MBA learning in a real workplace, develop your professional network and gain experience in an area that interests you. Depending on your placement and career goals, this could include roles related to:

Business and management
Marketing
Consultancy
Finance
Human resources
Supply chain management
International business
Entrepreneurship

You’ll also have access to our Careers, Placements & Employability team, who can support you with preparing for and seeking a professional placement.

Graduates from our MBA programmes have gone on to work for organisations including Harley-Davidson, Airbus, Corus Hotels, British Telecoms Global Service, IBM, Expedia, Adelphi Research, Siemens Energy and the ACH Group.

Students on this programme have the opportunity to enhance their studies with a placement year, gain valuable work experience, and take part in international activities—potentially supported by the Turing funding.

Open Day

Saturday 17 October 2026

Experience student life for yourself. It's a fantastic opportunity to explore our career-focused courses, next-level education, industry-standard facilities, and comprehensive student support.

Book now

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.

Staff

Please note, teaching team staff members may change during your studies.

Bharati Singh

Course Director

Bharati is the Course Leader for the MBA and undergraduate Business Management and Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship courses. She teaches across the undergraduate, postgraduate and professional programmes within the Business School.

Bharati's profile

Fees

For the course starting on 25 January 2027 the tuition fees are:

Tuition fees for MBA-Full-time, with a placement year
Study option	UK / Channel Islands	International
Full-time	£13,745 per course	£20,950 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've previously completed a University Staffordshire undergraduate degree (excluding HND and foundation degrees) you may be entitled to a discount of 25% off your course fees for any subsequent postgraduate taught course (terms apply, see the alumni discount page for details). If you have any questions about how this relates to you, please contact feesandbursaries@staffs.ac.uk.

Accommodation and living costs
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 Professional Practice

Location	Award	Study option	Start date	Apply Link
Staffordshire University London	MBA	Full-time, with a placement year	25 January 2027	Apply now

Rules and regulations

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

Students of University 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.