MBA with Specialism in Professional Practice
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Key information
- Mode of delivery
- Online
- Start date
- Open enrolment
- Duration
- Varies
- Qualification
- MBA
Contact
Contact our enquiries team
Contact usOverview
This programme is 100% online, offering the flexibility to learn at your own pace, start anytime, and immediately apply your learning to your workplace.
This MBA is structured to align with global regulatory frameworks and incorporates a strong research element to support broader international recognition.
Throughout this MBA, you will:
- Develop leadership, strategy, and decision-making skills grounded in real-world application.
- Deliver measurable impact in your organisation through the Business Project, solving real-world challenges spanning sustainability, supply chain resilience or digital transformation.
- Prepare for senior leadership roles with future-ready expertise in areas relevant to your organisation.
- Join a global network of professionals through The Watt Club, Heriot-Watt’s alumni community.
This programme is designed for you to study entirely at your own pace, from anywhere in the world. With our flexible model, you can enrol at any time, begin learning when ready, and structure your studies around your professional and personal commitments.
An MBA with Specialism allows you to enhance your employability in your field or to transition into a new industry or role by gaining specialised skills and credibility in a particular area of interest. Find out more about MBA specialisms from Edinburgh Business School.
Course content
Year 1
During this programme, you’ll progress through seven MBA core courses and a Buisness Project (totalling 190 credits). You are required to successfully complete and pass all courses and the project to be awarded your MBA with a Specialism in Professional Practice.
As the MBA offers a flexible, modular structure, you can select the number of courses you wish to start with and the order in which you study them.
Core courses
- Delivering Successful Projects
- People, Work and Organisations
- Leadership Theory and Practice
- Research Methods for Business
- Financial Decision Making
- Strategic Marketing
- Developing and Executing Strategy
- Business Project
Each individual course requires approximately 200 hours of study. On average, it takes approximately two years to complete the full programme, but it can be completed faster or over a longer period.
Download the MBA with Specialism in Professional Practice prospectus for a full curriculum breakdown.
"This programme supports professionals in applying advanced business thinking directly to workplace challenges. It’s a mechanism for delivering immediate and measurable organisational impact."
Associate Professor, Edinburgh Business School
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
View fees for this course.
Scholarships and bursaries
We aim to encourage well-qualified, ambitious students to study with us and we offer a wide variety of scholarships and bursaries to achieve this. Each year, hundreds of students enhance their educational experience through a variety of Heriot-Watt and externally funded scholarships, including opportunities funded by the University's generous alumni community, based all over the world.
View our full range of postgraduate scholarships.
Entry requirements
Typically, you will hold a recognised first or second-class honours degree, or equivalent professional qualification. Students whose native language is not English and who have not been educated previously in the English language must provide evidence of their English language proficiency.
However, at EBS we are proud to make transformative education accessible to diverse communities and individuals across the world, therefore, we offer a performance-based admissions pathway onto our MSc and MBA programmes. This means that we provide a pathway to entry into our MSc and MBA programmes, even if you don’t meet the suggested entry requirements above. You will simply be required to enrol in and successfully pass one course on your desired MSc or MBA programme (of which one must be a core course) before progressing to complete the full qualification.
What does this mean? No matter your pathway to entry (direct or through performance-based admission), there is no need to complete an application form before enrolling. To begin your journey with us, simply click on 'Enrol Now’, follow the instructions to enter your personal details, select your desired courses, and make your initial payment.
Find more information in the FAQs.
English language requirements
If English isn’t your first language, you’ll need to confirm your ability to meet the English Language Requirements for this programme.
A minimum of IELTS 6.0 or equivalent is required, with all elements passed at 5.5 or above. If you do not have IELTS 6.0, we offer a range of English Language Courses to help you meet the English language requirement for this programme prior to commencing your studies.
Additional information
Rewarding previous study
Edinburgh Business School recognises that some students entering our online MBA or MSc programmes will have completed prior academic study in subjects that align closely to certain EBS courses. Therefore, you may be eligible to be granted exemption for a maximum of 20 credits. Find more information in the FAQs.
Assessment and award
All courses are assessed by a Final Online Assessment. Your final course assessment is designed to help you to critically apply what you’ve learnt.
You are given a 24-hour window to complete the assessment. You are able to sit your assessment in the comfort of your own space, from wherever you are in the world and will be allowed to access to your course materials during the assessment.
Assessments are conducted at three points in the year: April-May, August, December.
Upon successful completion of all three courses and the final online assessments, you will be eligible to receive a Postgraduate Certificate in Business Administration
Employability
Our graduates go on to leadership roles across multiple industries with consultancy-level project expertise through the Business Project and future-ready skills in ESG, innovation, operations, and strategy. With a fully flexible online format, you can apply what you learn immediately while strengthening your CV and accessing over 500 industry credentials through Coursera Career Academy.
Salary
- Median advertised salary for jobs requiring an MBA in the UK in the last 12 months: £65,400
Potential career paths
- Strategy Consultant
- Programme or Project Director
- Department Head
- Operations Director
- Finance Managers
- Chief Financial Officers
- Sales Managers
- Product Managers
- Chief Operating Officer (COO)
- Managing Directors
- Chief Executive Officers
- Business Development Managers
"The one thing I love about the MBA programme is that it is so flexible and is designed to accommodate your busy life. It helps you learn at your own pace."
MBA graduate
"It’s all online, it’s flexible to fit into your own time and you can interact with not just people in your own area and your own business, but internationally, so I highly recommend it to any other people who want to do an MBA programme."
MBA
"The reading materials are relevant and resonate with the practical challenges experienced in organisations. I find the content relevant to the modern challenges I face in my career and business."
MBA Graduate and MSc Business Analytics Student
Why Heriot-Watt?
Flexibility and affordability
Study at a time and pace that suits you, and even while you work. HW Online offers pay-as-you-study courses and fees inclusive of exams and study materials, meaning you can focus on success, not extra costs.
Online tutoring and revision
We offer live tutoring and revision sessions with highly experienced tutors from our global network of teaching partners. You can choose the session which best suits your needs, such as time of day, duration and structure.
Your career
Employers around the world actively seek out our graduates because they are work-ready. All our degrees are career-focused and relevant to the needs of industry. Around 95% of our students are in employment or further study within six months of graduating.
Online events
We host online events throughout the year, giving you the opportunity to speak to our academic teaching staff, meet students, find out what it is like to study using our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and discover how to enrol.
Lifelong connections
Upon completing your studies you will automatically join the UK's oldest alumni association The Watt Club, with 147k members worldwide.