The Queen’s MBA brings together the academic excellence of one of the UK’s leading research Universities, with the innovative spirit of Belfast. The programme is aimed at professionals looking to take the next step in transforming their careers.
The Queen’s MBA challenges you to develop as a leader with the adaptive skills and lateral, entrepreneurial thinking you need to shape your future. Progressing through the programme you integrate core business and management concepts including strategy, marketing, operations, corporate finance, economics and accounting, whilst the programme also offers you the chance to deepen your knowledge in the emerging areas of business analytics, technology and social innovation. There is a strong emphasis on integrating theory and practice developing ‘mindsets’ and experiential learning. Through a series of leadership development workshops you will develop the insight and self-awareness required for effective leadership in a local and global context.
The Queen’s MBA is AMBA accredited. Fewer than 300 business schools globally hold this prestigious award. AMBA accreditation denotes the highest standard of achievement in postgraduate business education. The School is also EQUIS accredited, indicating the high-standard of business education that our students will receive.
Master of Business Administration highlights
Industry Links
Real-world consultancy project option. Students can choose an MBA project tailored to their interests. Students spend time working with the client organisation to deliver effective solutions. Full training and academic supervision are provided.
Consulting Challenge: As part of a team students work with partners from industry to solve practical business challenges incorporating ideas from class, preparing an Executive Board presentation at the end.
Career Development
Integrated career development: one-on-one coaching, personal CV analysis, career advice and interview skills training.
Leadership Skills: A year-long programme of workshops provides training in personal development, emotional intelligence, challenging conversations, coaching and conflict resolution. Individual coaching to help students identify and work on their career / personal development challenges.
William J. Clinton Leadership Institute: Our team at Riddel Hall, Belfast brings world-class facilities, leading academics and industry experts together to deliver a high end portfolio of executive education and leadership programmes.
Student Experience
A world-class environment: Belfast and her surrounds boast many cultural and sightseeing gems, offering an easy base for exploring Ireland and the UK.
A recognised postgraduate degree from a top UK university: Dubbed Ireland’s Oxbridge, Queen’s is the UK’s 9th oldest university and forms part of the elite Russell Group – the UK’s Ivy League.
Integrated teaching: Research-led teaching by key faculty with real-world business experience and international research reputations. The Queen's MBA offers an innovative teaching style in line with international best practice. Academic topics are integrated through experiential learning, developmental ‘mindsets’ and the latest insights from external speakers and leaders in residence.
World Class Facilities
The Queen’s MBA is delivered in the beautiful setting of Queen's Business School (QBS) at Riddel Hall which features excellent facilities. QBS has recently undergone an innovative expansion that establishes a benchmark of global excellence for one of the top business schools in the UK and Ireland. A stunning new 6,000 square metre building, adjacent to the listed red-brick Riddel Hall has been designed with the latest digital infrastructure for media lecture capture, TED Talk provision and collaborative breakout sessions.
Fostering an enhanced social and educational experience the new state-of-the-art QBS venue boasts a 250-seat tiered educational space; 120-seat Harvard style lecture theatre; 150-seat computer laboratory; breakout study spaces; FinTrU Trading Room; a café, and a Business Engagement and Employability Hub.
Career Development
We give students opportunities to develop their career and enhance their network through regular networking events with classmates, alumni, academics and industry leaders.
There is a Leaders in Residence series of lectures, delivered by leading international academic and business experts which enables students to network and develop links with organisations from the private, not-for-profit and public sector. Students are also invited to attend Catalyst Inc meetings and gain automatic membership of the MBA Association of Ireland granting access to a range of additional networking opportunities, events and inter-university competitions.
Students will have an opportunity to network and engage with our MBA alumni at various events.
Student Experience
Students choose a path through the programme that allows them to gain strong generalist knowledge of core areas including Strategy, Leadership, Finance, Accounting, Marketing and Operations Management, plus a targeted and practical specialism in their chosen area of expertise: Sustainability and Social Innovation, Global Technology Innovations, International Business Negotiations or International Study option.
As part of your everyday education at Queen’s, you’ll put theory into practice and gain hands-on experience via team projects and live client challenges. You will develop and enhance your skills in relation to collaboration, communication, leadership, problem-solving, creativity, critical thinking and reflective learning.
Student Testimonials
"The MBA has empowered me with the tools and knowledge to create a new path in the business world. It allowed me to meet and interact with people from different sectors and places in the world that I would never have had a chance to meet. Doing the MBA, I discovered new versions of myself - it made me look at how I would handle certain situations and how I could find the opportunities in every situation. It was an eye-opening experience that I got to share with great people."- Ryan McCavigan
Head of New Product Development, EAAA - Interface https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-mccavigan-64964a84/
During the year, modules build upon each other with each focused on developing a distinct mindset.
Semester 1
Leading Transformation in a Digital World (Core)
Accounting for Managers (Core)
Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century (Core)
Marketing Management (Core)
Operations Management (Core)
Academic Skills (Core)
Semester 2
Global Economic Environment (Core)
People Management and the Future of Work (Core)
Leading and Influencing in Organisations (Core)
Corporate Finance (Core)
Strategic Management Research Project (Core) (Semester 2 & 3)
Semester 3
Sustainability and Social Innovations (Elective)
Global Technology Innovations (Elective)
International Business Negotiations (Elective)
International Study (Elective)*
*Please Note: Students who wish to pick the International Study elective will be required to apply for a place and there will be an additional cost to participate in this particular elective.
In a typical week for a full time student you will have between 15-22 contact hours of teaching. Part time students will have between 5-12 hours.
Learning and Teaching
The teaching and learning methods aim to achieve a balance between theory and practice. These methods include lectures, tutorials, seminars, problem- centred techniques such as case studies, computer/software practical demonstrations and applications, non-book media (videos and podcasts), individual research, oral presentations, group projects, online discussion forums, industry visits and practitioner workshops.
This combination allows students to have a high degree of involvement and participation in the learning process. Specific details are provided in the Programme Specification, including details on assessments.
E-Learning technologies
Information associated with lectures and assignments is communicated via a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) called Canvas. A range of e-learning experiences are also embedded in the degree programme through the use of, for example, interactive support materials, podcasts and web-based learning activities.
Assessment
Assessments associated with the course are outlined below:
A combination of written examinations, continuous assessment and an MBA project. Continuous assessment methods include: individual and group essays, reflective essays on problem-solving within professional experience, case study reports, presentations and assessed challenges incorporating ‘board level’ presentations.
The information below is intended as an example only, featuring module details for the current year of study (2024/25). Modules are reviewed on an annual basis and may be subject to future changes – revised details will be published through Programme Specifications ahead of each academic year.
Strategic Management Research Project B - Business Analytics
Overview
Objectives
The Strategic Management Research project (SMRP) provides students with the opportunity to
utilise the knowledge and skills acquired over the previous two semesters to plan, develop and
produce a substantial piece of original, independent applied research.
The SMRP comprises three inter-related elements, the first two of which help to prepare the
students for the third element, the MBA project.
The module aims to develop the student’s knowledge and skills to better enable them to
identify, understand, evaluate, synthesise and apply research knowledge to diagnose, structure
and gain insight into a challenging organisational / management issue or problem. It culminates
in an individual and independent MBA project.
In component 1, Strategy for Managers (20 CATS), students explore fundamental questions
about why organizations need strategy and the importance of strategic management processes
in designing and implementing strategies. This will enable participants to understand,
participate in, and shape strategy design processes and strategy implementation in their postMBA careers .
In component 2, Business Analytics (10 CATS), students will focus on how to use data to develop
descriptive, predictive and prescriptive analyses. The aims here is to help students to develop a
critical approach to data and decision-making and to enable students to identify opportunities
for creating value and improve the speed, reliability, and quality of decisions.
Finally, Component 3, MBA Project (30 CATS), is where students can bring together all their
learning on the programme to help solve a chosen organisational problem or challenge.
Strategy for Managers
Indicative Content
• What is Strategy?
• Understanding the External Environment
• Resources and Capabilities
• Sources of Competitive Advantage (cost strategies, differentiation strategies, competitive
dynamics)
• Growth (strategic alliances, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions)
• Vertical integration and Diversification
• Technology and Innovation in Strategy
• Strategy, Structure and Implementation
Business Analytics
Indicative Content
• Data sources and management.
• Data visualisation;
• Descriptive, predicative and prescriptive analysis;
• Data-driven strategy and decision-making
MBA Project
Indicative Content
• The nature of management research;
• Alternative approaches / methods to research;
• Designing and executing a research project;
• Research ethics;
• Writing an MBA research project.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate an ability to design and manage a piece of individual and group-based research;
2. Critically apply knowledge and skills developed in previous modules to contemporary issues in organisations and management;
3. Undertake theoretically and applied discussions of how and why strategy matters to organizations;
4. Critically appraise how firms create value and achieve sustainable competitive advantage, through strategies such as vertical integration, diversification, alliances and mergers;
5. Critically apply strategic tools and frameworks in a real-world company environment;
6. Critically apply and evaluate business analytics tools and techniques to analyse business problems relevant to management decision-making and recommend courses of action;
7. Identify the appropriate empirical technique to address an organizational problem;
8. Critically evaluate the current management / leadership theoretical frameworks and models;
9. Appraise the different research philosophies and methodologies for investigating a management issue or problem; and
10. Critically evaluate, a specific business-related subject chosen by the student that integrates and further develops aspects of the MBA taught programme.
Skills
These include the ability to:
1. Search and critically review relevant literature
2. Creative thinking and problem solving
3. Enhance analytical, decision-making, and written skills by applying theoretically grounded frameworks to a range of sources and data.
4. Enhance communication skills and the ability to make evidence-based arguments through presentations, class interaction and debate.
5. Enhance ability to apply learning through the consulting challenge.
6. Locate and collect relevant data from multiple sources;
7. Apply ethically appropriate data gathering approaches;
8. Implement best practices in relation to data management;
9. Perform statistical analysis and visualise the results in an informative manner; and
10. Identify and critically evaluate research (academic and practice based) relevant to a specific management issue or problem;
11. Organise and prioritise work and manage time.
12. Engage in reflection and professional development and work independently with self-confidence;
Strategic Management Research Project A - Strategy for Managers
Overview
Objectives
The Strategic Management Research project (SMRP) provides students with the opportunity to
utilise the knowledge and skills acquired over the previous two semesters to plan, develop and
produce a substantial piece of original, independent applied research.
The SMRP comprises three inter-related elements, the first two of which help to prepare the
students for the third element, the MBA project.
The module aims to develop the student’s knowledge and skills to better enable them to
identify, understand, evaluate, synthesise and apply research knowledge to diagnose, structure
and gain insight into a challenging organisational / management issue or problem. It culminates
in an individual and independent MBA project.
In component 1, Strategy for Managers (20 CATS), students explore fundamental questions
about why organizations need strategy and the importance of strategic management processes
in designing and implementing strategies. This will enable participants to understand,
participate in, and shape strategy design processes and strategy implementation in their postMBA careers .
In component 2, Business Analytics (10 CATS), students will focus on how to use data to develop
descriptive, predictive and prescriptive analyses. The aims here is to help students to develop a
critical approach to data and decision-making and to enable students to identify opportunities
for creating value and improve the speed, reliability, and quality of decisions.
Finally, Component 3, MBA Project (30 CATS), is where students can bring together all their
learning on the programme to help solve a chosen organisational problem or challenge.
Strategy for Managers
Indicative Content
• What is Strategy?
• Understanding the External Environment
• Resources and Capabilities
• Sources of Competitive Advantage (cost strategies, differentiation strategies, competitive
dynamics)
• Growth (strategic alliances, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions)
• Vertical integration and Diversification
• Technology and Innovation in Strategy
• Strategy, Structure and Implementation
Business Analytics
Indicative Content
• Data sources and management.
• Data visualisation;
• Descriptive, predicative and prescriptive analysis;
• Data-driven strategy and decision-making
MBA Project
Indicative Content
• The nature of management research;
• Alternative approaches / methods to research;
• Designing and executing a research project;
• Research ethics;
• Writing an MBA research project.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate an ability to design and manage a piece of individual and group-based research;
2. Critically apply knowledge and skills developed in previous modules to contemporary issues in organisations and management;
3. Undertake theoretically and applied discussions of how and why strategy matters to organizations;
4. Critically appraise how firms create value and achieve sustainable competitive advantage, through strategies such as vertical integration, diversification, alliances and mergers;
5. Critically apply strategic tools and frameworks in a real-world company environment;
6. Critically apply and evaluate business analytics tools and techniques to analyse business problems relevant to management decision-making and recommend courses of action;
7. Identify the appropriate empirical technique to address an organizational problem;
8. Critically evaluate the current management / leadership theoretical frameworks and models;
9. Appraise the different research philosophies and methodologies for investigating a management issue or problem; and
10. Critically evaluate, a specific business-related subject chosen by the student that integrates and further develops aspects of the MBA taught programme
Skills
These include the ability to:
1. Search and critically review relevant literature
2. Creative thinking and problem solving
3. Enhance analytical, decision-making, and written skills by applying theoretically grounded frameworks to a range of sources and data.
4. Enhance communication skills and the ability to make evidence-based arguments through presentations, class interaction and debate.
5. Enhance ability to apply learning through the consulting challenge.
6. Locate and collect relevant data from multiple sources;
7. Apply ethically appropriate data gathering approaches;
8. Implement best practices in relation to data management;
9. Perform statistical analysis and visualise the results in an informative manner; and
10. Identify and critically evaluate research (academic and practice based) relevant to a specific management issue or problem;
11. Organise and prioritise work and manage time.
12. Engage in reflection and professional development and work independently with self-confidence;
Objectives
This module introduces the concept of entrepreneurship. It is designed to enable students to
understand the processes involved in entrepreneurial activity and to engage in entrepreneurial
thinking. The subject introduces key concepts and techniques to stimulate entrepreneurial ideas
and validate opportunities. It gives students an appreciation of the new venture creation
process and how to finance, launch, market and grow a new business. Drawing on global
perspectives, it will offer students an insight into the realities of entrepreneurial activity and
demonstrate how the entrepreneurial mind-set can help to create and/or transform
organisations in your post-MBA career.
Indicative Content
• What is Entrepreneurship
• The entrepreneurship process
• The concept of innovation and the tools that can be used to create and/or identify
business opportunities
• Building and testing business models
• Launching, financing, marketing and managing a new venture
• Design Thinking principles
• Externally facilitated Design Sprint challenge.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Critically evaluate and reflect upon the concepts underpinning entrepreneurship and new venture creation.
2. Enhance personal capacities for identifying and implementing entrepreneurial opportunities.
3. Critique business models adopted by new ventures.
4. Critically evaluate funding sources for new ventures and how these may vary depending on organisational, economic and political conditions.
5. Critically appraise the nature of the entrepreneurial process in a variety of organisational and international contexts.
Skills
These include the ability to:
1. Effectively apply and communicate complex ideas and arguments using a range of media.
2. Identify, analyse and synthesise data from a range of sources and present reasoned conclusions.
3. Work in diverse teams to analyse challenges facing a live organisation and create viable solutions through entrepreneurial thinking.
4. Present and speak publicly to a range of audiences, including peers and industry professionals.
Strategic Management Research Project C - MBA Project
Overview
Objectives
The Strategic Management Research project (SMRP) provides students with the opportunity to
utilise the knowledge and skills acquired over the previous two semesters to plan, develop and
produce a substantial piece of original, independent applied research.
The SMRP comprises three inter-related elements, the first two of which help to prepare the
students for the third element, the MBA project.
The module aims to develop the student’s knowledge and skills to better enable them to
identify, understand, evaluate, synthesise and apply research knowledge to diagnose, structure
and gain insight into a challenging organisational / management issue or problem. It culminates
in an individual and independent MBA project.
In component 1, Strategy for Managers (20 CATS), students explore fundamental questions
about why organizations need strategy and the importance of strategic management processes
in designing and implementing strategies. This will enable participants to understand,
participate in, and shape strategy design processes and strategy implementation in their postMBA careers .
In component 2, Business Analytics (10 CATS), students will focus on how to use data to develop
descriptive, predictive and prescriptive analyses. The aims here is to help students to develop a
critical approach to data and decision-making and to enable students to identify opportunities
for creating value and improve the speed, reliability, and quality of decisions.
Finally, Component 3, MBA Project (30 CATS), is where students can bring together all their
learning on the programme to help solve a chosen organisational problem or challenge.
Strategy for Managers
Indicative Content
• What is Strategy?
• Understanding the External Environment
• Resources and Capabilities
• Sources of Competitive Advantage (cost strategies, differentiation strategies, competitive
dynamics)
• Growth (strategic alliances, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions)
• Vertical integration and Diversification
• Technology and Innovation in Strategy
• Strategy, Structure and Implementation
Business Analytics
Indicative Content
• Data sources and management.
• Data visualisation;
• Descriptive, predicative and prescriptive analysis;
• Data-driven strategy and decision-making
MBA Project
Indicative Content
• The nature of management research;
• Alternative approaches / methods to research;
• Designing and executing a research project;
• Research ethics;
• Writing an MBA research project.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate an ability to design and manage a piece of individual and group-based research;
2. Critically apply knowledge and skills developed in previous modules to contemporary issues in organisations and management;
3. Undertake theoretically and applied discussions of how and why strategy matters to organizations;
4. Critically appraise how firms create value and achieve sustainable competitive advantage, through strategies such as vertical integration, diversification, alliances and mergers;
5. Critically apply strategic tools and frameworks in a real-world company environment;
6. Critically apply and evaluate business analytics tools and techniques to analyse business problems relevant to management decision-making and recommend courses of action;
7. Identify the appropriate empirical technique to address an organizational problem;
8. Critically evaluate the current management / leadership theoretical frameworks and models;
9. Appraise the different research philosophies and methodologies for investigating a management issue or problem; and
10. Critically evaluate, a specific business-related subject chosen by the student that integrates and further develops aspects of the MBA taught programme
Skills
These include the ability to:
1. Search and critically review relevant literature
2. Creative thinking and problem solving
3. Enhance analytical, decision-making, and written skills by applying theoretically grounded frameworks to a range of sources and data.
4. Enhance communication skills and the ability to make evidence-based arguments through presentations, class interaction and debate.
5. Enhance ability to apply learning through the consulting challenge.
6. Locate and collect relevant data from multiple sources;
7. Apply ethically appropriate data gathering approaches;
8. Implement best practices in relation to data management;
9. Perform statistical analysis and visualise the results in an informative manner; and
10. Identify and critically evaluate research (academic and practice based) relevant to a specific management issue or problem;
11. Organise and prioritise work and manage time.
12. Engage in reflection and professional development and work independently with self-confidence;
Objectives
In a world of increasing global complexity, uncertainty and divisiveness, leadership has never
been so important for bringing people together, for leveraging power toward a common
purpose, and for delivering sustainably and ethically. Considering multiple disciplines and
changing contextual conditions. The module will primarily explore leadership as an interactive
process between leaders and followers
Indicative Content
• Students will explore leadership theory and practice and will be encouraged to critically
appraise a range of leadership approaches.
• Micro processes such as perception, emotions, and cognitions, and macro processes such as
the social-relational and economic context.
• Drawing on concepts of power, politics, control, culture, group dynamics and motivation, it
will consider how leaders act to influence others, directly or indirectly, and how they affect
change towards high- performing and sustainable outcomes.
• Students will be encouraged to use their experience of their own leadership roles to inform
discussions, enquiry and critical thinking.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Critically appraise a range of leadership theories and approaches from multiple disciplinary perspectives.
2. Analyse individual, group, and organisational functioning to understand how leaders construct and use influence.
3. Critically evaluate situational contingencies and formulate leadership strategies.
4. Evaluate the impact of leadership on individual, group, organisational and societal outcomes.
Skills
These include the ability to:
1. Apply understanding of leadership theories to improve personal capacity for effective leadership.
2. Diagnose requirements for effective leadership across differing organisational, cultural and international contexts.
3. Identify sources of power and evaluate how it can be used effectively to influence behaviour.
4. Critically reflect on own leadership qualities and capabilities and your experiences of leadership in the workplace.
Objectives
This module is concerned with the holistic perspective of leading transformation in the context
of digitalisation. Organisations are not meant to be static. In times of increasing competitive
dynamism, market volatility and socio-technological change, companies have to constantly
disrupt and reinvent themselves. The subject introduces key concepts and techniques that
executives need to effectively mitigate the Schumpeterian creative destruction of the digital age
and foster a productive tension between continuity and renewal. Specifically, the module
explains the game-changing effects of technology, sheds light into major dynamics, introduces
change approaches and explores how these rely on organisational leadership. The students
apply frameworks to contemporary cases and analyse their merits and potential shortcomings.
Indicative Content
• The creative destruction of the digital intelligence era and the emergence of big tech.
• The imperative of organisational renewal in a world of turbulence and multi-crisis.
• The concepts of organisational change and transformation leadership in the context of
digitalization.
• The continuum of methodologies: agility versus waterfall.
• The importance of organisational culture in embracing and sustaining change in a
digital world.
• The mandate and key capabilities of transformation leaders.
• The roadmap and instruments for leading a transformation end-to-end, case study
analysis and reflection.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Understand and critically evaluate the impact of the digital intelligence era and technology-driven disruption on social / environmental dynamism (e.g., VUCA) and organisational adaptation.
2. Identify and understand the core concepts of organisational change and transformation leadership including the dynamics and elements to be addressed to overcome resistance to change.
3. Identify and critically discuss the different ways/approaches organisations can transform.
4. Critically evaluate the roles and capabilities of leaders in the transformation process.
5. Practically apply the knowledge and frameworks introduced in the module to cases of pre-eminent organisations.
Skills
These include the ability to:
1. Reflect on and delineate major concepts, methods and literature within the subject area.
2. Utilise the module-specific contents to transform existing and emerging issues relating to the discipline into goal-oriented sustainable solutions.
3. Analyse and discuss case studies as well as articles and apply tools and techniques to real-world organisational contexts.
4. Embrace and lead programmes/projects in the subject area with skill and confidence.
Objectives
This module introduces marketing concepts and strategies, designed to enable students to be
marketing literate and gain understanding of market and consumer decision-making. The
module introduces key marketing concepts that managers can utilize to understand and function
effectively, with respect to market contexts in which consumption decisions are made. It gives
students an appreciation of the tools available to marketing professionals in pursuance of brand
and community-building activities. Drawing on global perspectives, students will be encouraged
to challenge and critique conventional approaches and explore the concept of sustainability
through a marketing lens
Indicative Content
• Introduce various concepts of marketing, from an overview of marketing to marketing
(Mix - 4Ps and 7Ps of marketing).
• Marketing research and segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP).
• Consumer and business buying behaviour.
• Branding and branding strategies, product life cycle (PLC) and product strategy.
• Firm /company pricing strategies.
• Marketing / distribution channels.
• Digital marketing
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Critically appraise the nature, scope and role of marketing management and strategy in an organisational context.
2. Make marketing decisions in the context of broader management functions.
3. Apply key marketing concepts and practices to analyse business problems relevant to management decision making and recommend courses of action.
4. Critically discuss key marketing management and strategy issues.
5. Identify the elements of the marketing mix—product policy, channels of distribution, communication, and pricing—and how they can be used to satisfy customer needs profitably.
6. Critically reflect on the nature, scope and role of the consumer in consumption.
Skills
These include the ability to:
1. Synthesise and evaluate information/data from a variety of sources.
2. Use information technology in acquiring, analysing and communicating information.
3. Work independently and in groups.
4. Organise and time manage.
5. Problem solve and engage in critical analysis.
6. Critically evaluate academic work within the wider subject area.
Objectives
This module introduces operations management concepts and techniques and is designed to
enable students to be confident in participating in operations and supply chain management and
evaluating operational performance. It gives students an appreciation of the perspective and
tools available to operations and supply chain management professionals. This module provides
students with an overview of strategic operations management in today’s globalized markets.
Current developments in the operations and supply chain management discipline including
sustainability and resilience will be discussed alongside social and technical changes that may
affect the future development of operations and supply chain management.
Upon successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Identify and understand the role of operations management in providing decision-making information;
2. Evaluate and apply operations and supply chain management concepts and practices to analyse business problems relevant to management decision-making and recommend courses of action;
3. Critically appraise operational processes and supply chains to aid managerial decision-making;
4. Critically discuss the limitation of operations and supply chain management approaches in the context of social, environmental and sustainability issues; and
5. Present qualitative and quantitative operational information, in a form appropriate to the intended audience.
Skills
These include the ability to:
1. Diagnose complex problems and make decisions using quantitative and/or qualitative methods;
2. Conduct independent learning and enquiry;
3. Identify, extract and analyse data from multiple sources; and
4. Communicate managerial decisions to non-specialist audiences in verbal and written form.
Indicative Content
• Role and function of accounting in organisations / regulatory aspects of accounting;
• Form and content of the main financial statements (statement of profit or loss; statement
of financial position; and statement of cash flow)
• Interpretation and analysis of financial statements;
• Cost and budgeting for managerial decision making
• Performance measurement (including non-financial performance) – balanced scorecards;
and
• Sustainability accounting and reporting.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Have a comprehensive understanding of the role of accounting in providing decision-making information;
2. Critically apply accounting and financial concepts and practices to analyse business problems relevant to management decision making (both short and long term) and recommend courses of action;
3. Analyse, understand, interpret and critically appraise key financial statements to aid managerial decision-making;
4. Critically discuss the limitation of conventional accounting approaches in the context of social, environmental and sustainability issues; and
5. Present qualitative and quantitative accounting information, in a form appropriate to the intended audience.
Skills
In addition to subject specific skills, participants should also acquire the following nonsubject specific skills. These include the ability to:
1. Critically evaluate and communicate arguments and evidence from a variety of sources;
2. Analyse and draw reasoned conclusions concerning structured and, to a more limited extent, unstructured problems from data;
3. Identify, extract and evaluate data from multiple sources, including the acknowledgement and referencing of sources; and
4. Use information technology in acquiring, analysing and communicating information, including the use of spreadsheets.
Objectives
This module introduces concepts and applications from introductory economics of particular
interest to managers. It is designed to enable students to understand the economic aspect of
real-world business models as well as the management of open and closed economies. Attention
will be focused on both microeconomic concepts - relating to consumers and producers - as well
as macroeconomic topics such as national income accounting and economic growth. In addition,
international issues such as trade and globalisation will be presented. The module hence
introduces threshold concepts that managers need to understand to function more effectively
and to understand the economic environment in which businesses operate.
Indicative Content
• Introduction to the role and aims of economics in society and business.
• Consideration of how economic actors operate in markets in which prices and
quantities are set.
• How profit maximising firms operate within different market structures.
• Consideration of macroeconomic measurement, objectives and tools in both a closed
and open setting.
• How the international context (e.g., comparative advantage, inward investment and
balance of payments) shapes micro and macroeconomic behaviour
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Critically apply the microeconomic theory of consumer and firm choices, and their interaction in markets and hierarchies;
2. Critically discuss how firms operate in both closed and open economic settings;
3. Appraise how macroeconomic phenomena can be measured and better understood with simple models;
4. Evaluate and understand how fiscal and monetary policy have economic impacts, including in the current climate of globalisation;
5. Reflect on the interactions between uncertainty, entrepreneurship and organisational strategy.
Skills
These include the ability to:
1. Critically evaluate and communicate arguments and evidence from a variety of sources;
2. Analyse and draw reasoned conclusions concerning structured and, to a more limited extent, unstructured problems from data;
3. Identify, extract and analyse data from multiple sources, including the acknowledgement and referencing of sources; and
4. Use information technology in acquiring, analysing and communicating information, including the use of spreadsheets.
Objectives
People management skills are key to a successful business and to successfully engaging with
actors within and outside of an organisation. This is not only relevant for HRM managers and
experts but for any employee with line management responsibility regardless of business area.
People management skills include strategic Human Resource Management such as the
development of best practice recruitment, staffing, training and development, performance
management and compensation strategies as well as employment relations that align with and
support the strategic orientation of the organisation with its local and global business context. In
addition to understanding the tools used to managing people and to being able to align these
with organisational strategy, it is also imperative to understand how social and economic
transformations are disrupting established work systems as well as traditional policies and
practices for managing people and how new people management policies are being designed
and implemented.
The aim of this module is to create understanding of people management in a fast changing
organisational, economic, and social environment by introducing students to new thinking and
practices about how to manage the employment relationship in the context of digital
transformation and virtual (team) work; employee health and wellbeing; green HRM as well as
diversity and social responsibilities.
Indicative Content
• The importance of people management for organisational success
• Strategic Human Resource Management and its alignment with organisational strategy
• HRM functions
• HRM implementation and the role of line managers
• Global trends in work and employment, including digital and virtual (team) work;
employee health and wellbeing; green HRM as well as diversity and social
responsibilities.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Analyse the main principles and practices associated with managing people in organisations;
2. Critically evaluate the importance of aligning people management strategies with an organisation’s strategy;
3. Critically evaluate how economic and social transformations are affecting people and organisations;
4. Identify and reflect upon how people management strategies can respond to economic and social change
5. Understand how people management strategies be implemented and communicated throughout the organisation to a range of stakeholders.
Skills
These include the ability to:
1. Professionally manage inter-personal and inter-group differences and conflict;
2. Craft, orally and in writing, balanced, clear and well-reasoned arguments based on a range of academic and non-academic sources;
3. Work in and manage teams;
4. Develop a critical mindset to identify emerging topics that will affect the world of work as well as an organisation’s people management strategy;
5. Cultivate a sensitivity to cultural and societal differences and learn how to manage these in respectful and non-antagonistic ways.
Objectives
The aim of this module is to provide students with an intuitive understanding of key concepts
and analytical tools in finance, corporate finance and financial management, along with an
appreciation of how these concepts and tools can help to illuminate a range of contemporary
business issues. Students will develop a modern take on contemporary questions surrounding
topic such as corporate financing structures, dividend policy, investment decisions and corporate
social responsibility.
Indicative Content
• Principles of finance
• Industry analysis and industrial organisation for finance
• Investment analysis
• Capital structure decisions
• Dividend decisions
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Corporate Social Responsibility / ESG
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Critically appraise the various concepts of risk
2. Analyse and understand how to choose between different investment projects
3. Identify and evaluate different sources of funding for company
4. Critically Identify corporate risk factors and value drivers
5. Demonstrate an ability to make independent investment recommendations
Skills
These include the ability to:
1. Critically evaluate and communicate arguments regarding strategy and subsequent financial outcomes;
2. Conduct independent research consulting a wide variety of data sources;
3. Analyse and draw reasoned conclusions from financial data; and
4. Present and convey financial recommendations in a professional manner using a wide variety of delivery methods
Objectives
Students will have the option to attend the European Summer School for Advanced
Management (ESSAM). This elective provides our MBA students with a unique opportunity to
study abroad and become immersed in a new culture and grow their professional network.
ESSAM is organised by an international consortium of business schools and students will benefit
from an international teaching experience. The two-week programme is equivalent to 10 ECTS
(or 20 CATS). The ESSAM is hosted by University of Glasgow, a triple-accredited business school.
There is also the possibility of MBA students selecting to do summer modules at Rennes
Business School in France. Queen’s currently has a partnership agreement with Rennes, a tripleaccredited business school. They currently offer modules in cross-cultural management, AI
Business and Sustainable Business.
Indicative Content
This will vary. For example, the ESSAM theme for summer 2023 participants is “Extreme Events
Challenge – Development and Growth Opportunities”.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Appraise the importance of developing professional knowledge and leadership experience.
2. Become immersed in new culture and grow international professional network.
3. Critically understand, evaluate and apply key business concepts.
4. Be sensitive to inter-cultural and international differences in styles, practices and expectations.
5. Effectively work within teams and participate in consulting projects.
Skills
These include the ability to:
1. Craft, orally and in writing, balanced, clear and well-reasoned arguments;
2. Work and manage within a team.
3. Cultivate a sensitivity to cultural and societal differences and learn how to manage these in respectful and non-antagonistic ways.
4. Grow professional network.
Objectives
This elective module draws upon cutting edge research to introduce students to the concepts of
social innovation and sustainability, and to the tactics and techniques of framing and
constructing imaginary futures which can be used to shape contemporary processes of social
change. Experiential approaches to learning will encourage students to apply and critically
reflect on these techniques in the classroom. The aim is for students to develop understanding
of the potentials and limitations of different organisational approaches to social change, and to
develop the skills to motivate others to shape a more just and sustainable world.
Indicative Content
• Genealogies of social innovation
• Conceptions of sustainability
• Developing imaginary futures
• Framing and counterframing as social change
• Pitching social venture ideas and persuading others
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Critically evaluate the concepts of social innovation and sustainability.
2. Critically reflect upon why these concepts are popular now.
3. Develop understanding of how the tools of storytelling and framing can shape the future.
4. Critically apply these tools to develop and pitch ideas for new social ventures.
5. Develop communication skills to motivate others and effect change.
Skills
In addition to subject specific skills, participants should also acquire the following non-subject
specific skills. These include the ability to:
1. The ability to synthesise and evaluate information/data from a variety of sources.
2. Responsible leadership.
3. Logical reasoning.
4. Independent enquiry.
5. Preparation and communication of ideas.
Objectives
Negotiation is a crucial people management skill in which actors with potentially different but
interdependent interests secure agreements. It is a valued leadership and management
competence utilised in various contexts, from agreeing on contracts, making business deals, pay
bargaining, building high-performing teams and resolving disputes. Negotiation is an art relevant
to multiple sectors and organisational types. Developing skills in negotiation has become ever
more vital as individuals, groups and organisations work globally across international boundaries
and interact with many different national cultures.
Consequently, the module aims to immerse MBA students in the conduct of successful
negotiation by drawing on the relevant body of expertise, knowledge and best-practice in this
area. Students will be introduced to the theory and practice of negotiation and have
opportunities by the means of in-class role plays to put their learning into practice. Participation
in the module will help promote the skills necessary for successfully concluding negotiations.
Indicative Content
• The fundamentals of negotiation and negotiation styles incorporating distributive and
integrative bargaining strategies/tactics;
• The distinction between ‘interests’ and ‘positions’;
• Inter-cultural dynamics as they relate to negotiation preparation, processes and
outcomes in global settings;
• Ethical issues that arise in negotiations;
• The concept of ‘principled negotiation’;
• Negotiation planning and preparation, including the organisation of negotiating teams
• The concepts of BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) and ZoPA (zone
of Possible Agreement);
The process of negotiation including bargaining conventions; negotiation phases;
reaching common ground; building relationships; ‘active listening’; persuasion; how to
conclude agreements; and
• The use of power in negotiations; ‘hardball’ negotiators; breakdown and the role of
third-party intervention via conciliation and mediation.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Manage conflict resolution within or across individuals, groups and organisations.
2. Synthesise and critically valuate the existing research on international negotiation practice.
3. Demonstrate the competencies of active listening, teamwork, presentation, persuasion.
4. Critically appraise negotiation outcomes.
5. Evaluate the importance of working effectively within teams when participating in negotiations.
6. Adhere to the ethics of good negotiation conduct.
7. Be sensitive to inter-cultural and international differences in negotiation styles, practices and expectations.
Skills
In addition to subject specific skills, participants should also acquire the following non-subject
specific skills. These include the ability to:
1. Professionally manage inter-personal and inter-group differences and conflict.
2. Craft, orally and in writing, balanced, clear and well-reasoned arguments, as well as learn the art of persuasion.
3. Work and manage teams.
4. Cultivate a sensitivity to cultural and societal differences and learn how to manage these in respectful and non-antagonistic ways.
Objectives
Global Technology Innovations have changed the nature of organisations and markets. This
module aims to unpack these impactful changes and consider their implications for
contemporary businesses and enabling students to harness opportunities that accompany these
changes. This course is based on three pillars i) technology, ii) innovation and iii) strategic agility
and the interplay between the three which provides routes to organisational advantages.
Students will consider the type and nature of technologies available to organisations and
fundamentally, building on Leading Transformation in a Digital World module, technology, in
turn, enables new innovative capabilities. The interplay of technology and innovation is
explored. Finally, the module examines new demands on thinking and acting strategically in such
a digital landscape.
Indicative Content
• The technologies behind digital transformation
• Competing in the Age of AI
• Goodbye IT Department? Organisations, structure and control
• Global innovation/open innovation
• Making good decisions/making the right decisions; algorithmic decision making.
• Open Strategy in organisations
• Global technology innovation
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Critically Identify and appraise different the numerous technologies that underpin the digital transformation of organisations.
2. Critically reflect on the implications for the competitiveness of organisation from new technologies.
3. Appraise the pressures on conventional organisational structures and routines that digitization brings.
4. Critically evaluate innovation as the basis of competitive firms and appreciate co-dependencies between digital transformation and innovativeness of organisations.
5. Introduce alternative strategy lenses; fast strategy, open strategy, digital strategy and synthesise the implications for organisational strategy from global technology innovations.
Skills
These include the ability to:
1. Search, critically evaluate and communicate arguments and evidence from a variety of sources.
2. Draw reasoned conclusions from a broad evidence base.
3. Identify and develop strategic insights for organisations operating in a digital landscape.
4. Evaluate moral and ethical dilemmas in the digital landscape.
5. Enhance and enrich presentation and communication skills.
Normally a 2.1 Honours degree or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University in any discipline. Applicants with qualifications below 2.1 Honours degree standard may be considered on a case-by-case basis if they can demonstrate appropriate relevant professional experience.
Applicants should have a minimum of three years’ quality professional experience. Internships, a sandwich year, part-time or temporary work will not be considered.
Applicants must provide a full and up-to-date Curriculum Vitae including a full work history. The work history should include the employer’s name and address, job title and brief description of duties and responsibilities, as well as the start and end dates for each period of employment.
In addition, applicants are required to submit a video statement of not less than 3 minutes and no more than 5 minutes duration. Your video can be uploaded to any publicly accessible sharing service (e.g. Youtube, Vimeo, Dropbox). Please provide a direct link to the video along with your application. You must ensure the link is working before submitting your application. The applicant must be visible in the video. The video statement should address the 3 questions below in full. Please make sure that all questions are covered in your statement. Generic responses that do not directly address the questions may result in your application being rejected.
1. Why you have chosen Queen’s Belfast for your MBA
2. The skills and knowledge you can offer to peer-learning experiences as an MBA student at Queen’s
3. Your career ambitions and what you expect to do after graduating with an MBA from Queen’s
Admission under the Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning (RPEL) may be considered for this course. The University's Recognition of Prior Learning Policy provides guidance on the assessment of experiential learning (RPEL). Please visit http://go.qub.ac.uk/RPLpolicy for more information.
Applicants are advised to apply as early as possible. In the event that any programme receives a high number of applications, the University reserves the right to close the application portal. Notifications to this effect will appear on the Direct Application Portal against the programme application page.
Please note: international applicants will be required to pay a deposit to secure a place on this course.
International Students
Our country/region pages include information on entry requirements, tuition fees, scholarships, student profiles, upcoming events and contacts for your country/region. Use the dropdown list below for specific information for your country/region.
English Language Requirements
Evidence of an IELTS* score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in any component, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is required (*taken within the last 2 years).
International students wishing to apply to Queen's University Belfast (and for whom English is not their first language), must be able to demonstrate their proficiency in English in order to benefit fully from their course of study or research. Non-EEA nationals must also satisfy UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) immigration requirements for English language for visa purposes.
If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this degree programme, INTO Queen's University Belfast offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for admission to this degree.
Academic English: an intensive English language and study skills course for successful university study at degree level
Pre-sessional English: a short intensive academic English course for students starting a degree programme at Queen's University Belfast and who need to improve their English.
The MBA features a specific year-long career development programme encompassing individual career coaching alongside practical skills such as CV analysis and development, interview skills and networking strategies, to ensure graduate employment potential is maximised. Students from this programme have entered a wide variety of industries including education, finance, insurance, scientific research, transport, manufacturing, and business startups.
Graduates from this programme have secured roles with employers such as Deloitte, Citi, Danske Bank, Aflac, BT, TCT Group, CME, Belfast City Council, RBC, and many more. Typical roles include director, senior manager, management consultant, and founder. https://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/careers/
Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award for extra-curricular skills
In addition to your degree programme, at Queen's you can have the opportunity to gain wider life, academic and employability skills. For example, placements, voluntary work, clubs, societies, sports and lots more. So not only do you graduate with a degree recognised from a world leading university, you'll have practical national and international experience plus a wider exposure to life overall. We call this Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award. It's what makes studying at Queen's University Belfast special.
1EU citizens in the EU Settlement Scheme, with settled status, will be charged the NI or GB tuition fee based on where they are ordinarily resident. Students who are ROI nationals resident in GB will be charged the GB fee.
2 EU students who are ROI nationals resident in ROI are eligible for NI tuition fees.
3 EU Other students (excludes Republic of Ireland nationals living in GB, NI or ROI) are charged tuition fees in line with international fees.
All tuition fees quoted relate to a single year of study unless stated otherwise. Tuition fees will be subject to an annual inflationary increase, unless explicitly stated otherwise.
Students have the option to undertake a consultancy project for their dissertation and are responsible for funding any travel, accommodation and subsistence costs.
Terms and Conditions for Postgraduate applications:
1.1 Due to high demand, there is a deadline for applications.
1.2 You will be required to pay a deposit to secure your place on the course.
1.3 This condition of offer is in addition to any academic or English language requirements.
Depending on the programme of study, there may be extra costs which are not covered by tuition fees, which students will need to consider when planning their studies.
Students can borrow books and access online learning resources from any Queen's library. If students wish to purchase recommended texts, rather than borrow them from the University Library, prices per text can range from £30 to £100. Students should also budget between £30 to £75 per year for photocopying, memory sticks and printing charges.
Students undertaking a period of work placement or study abroad, as either a compulsory or optional part of their programme, should be aware that they will have to fund additional travel and living costs.
If a programme includes a major project or dissertation, there may be costs associated with transport, accommodation and/or materials. The amount will depend on the project chosen. There may also be additional costs for printing and binding.
Students may wish to consider purchasing an electronic device; costs will vary depending on the specification of the model chosen.
There are also additional charges for graduation ceremonies, examination resits and library fines.
How do I fund my study?
The Department for the Economy will provide a tuition fee loan of up to £6,500 per NI / EU student for postgraduate study. Tuition fee loan information.
A postgraduate loans system in the UK offers government-backed student loans of up to £11,836 for taught and research Masters courses in all subject areas (excluding Initial Teacher Education/PGCE, where undergraduate student finance is available). Criteria, eligibility, repayment and application information are available on the UK government website.
