Key information
Accredited by the Chartered Management Institute, this flexible degree gives you the skills you need to become an industry leader in business strategy, leadership, and change.
- Level
- Postgraduate Taught
- Delivery type
- Full Time, Part Time
- Degree qualification
- MSc
- Mode of delivery
- On-Campus
- Duration
- 1 year
- Location
- Edinburgh
- Start date
- September, January
- Next intake
- September
This degree, Business Strategy, Leadership and Change, has been developed by leading academics within the Edinburgh Business School to provide a forward-thinking, cutting-edge programme of study that focuses on key challenges that leaders and managers face in the modern business environment.
You’ll learn to develop a critical understanding of the principal theories, concepts and techniques of business strategy, leadership, and change.
You’ll understand the techniques and practices at the forefront of business and be able to apply theories, concepts, and techniques in a practical context. This will develop your skills in evaluating alternative strategies and adopting different change management programmes and leadership styles.
This is a conversion degree, meaning previous knowledge or study of the subject is not essential. This offers aspiring and less experienced future business leaders the opportunity to gain essential management skills.
We work closely with our industry advisory board of business leaders to identify current skill gaps faced by organisations and ensure that our course content and teaching are aligned with industry needs. As a result, you’ll develop key skills in highly employable areas of management including business strategy, leadership, project management, change management, quality management and inventory planning.
The Future Shapers scholarship
The Future Shapers scholarship is looking for students who want to use research to create solutions to solve major global challenges. This has been established for 2026 by one of our generous donors and is a testament to the talent and world-shaping potential of our University's students and researchers. We are offering 12 scholarships across our 4 research areas, worth 50%, 75% and 100% of your tuition fee respectively.
Apply nowYour student experience
Your learning will be informed by the expertise of our research-active academics whose work covers four key areas:
- Employment, Work and the Professions
- Logistics and Sustainability
- Networks and Enterprise Excellence
- Social and Economic Data Analysis
Course content
September Intake - Edinburgh
Year 1
Mandatory September
- Competitive Strategy
- Strategic Innovation Management
- Leadership
- Strategic Change
Mandatory January
- Research Philosophy and Practice
Optional January
- Managing Diversity in Business
- Hacking for MoD (Ministry of Defence)
- Quality Management
- Project Management
- International Marketing
- Green and Sustainable Logistics
- Systems Thinking and Analysis
- Business Start-up
- Business Economics
Mandatory May
- Strategy Dissertation
January intake -Edinburgh
Year 1
Mandatory January
- Research Philosophy and Practice
Optional January
- Systems Thinking and Analysis
- Managing Diversity in Business
- Business Start-up
- Project Management
- Hacking for MoD (Ministry of Defence)
- Quality Management
- Green and Sustainable Logistics
- International Marketing
- Business Economics
Mandatory September
- Competitive Strategy
- Leadership
- Strategic Change
- Strategic Innovation Management
Mandatory Second January
- Strategy Dissertation
Disclaimer
The courses mentioned above may change between now and the time that you study. For more information, please view our Terms and Conditions.
Fees and funding
| Status | Full Time | Part Time |
|---|---|---|
| UK | £12,744 | £6,372 |
| International | £24,952 | £12,476 |
- Status: Your residency status is usually defined as the country where you have been ordinarily resident for the three years before the start of your course.
- International: 'International' includes applicants from European Union countries who do not hold Pre-Settled or Settled status in UK. (This does not include students from the Republic of Ireland - see above).
Scholarships and bursaries
Postgraduate 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. Over £6 million worth of opportunities are available in fee and stipend scholarships, and more than 400 students benefit from this support.
Entry requirements
We have standard entry requirements for all of our courses that you will have to meet.
Year 1
A minimum of honours degree at 2:2 or non-UK equivalent in any academic subject provided that it includes evidence of essay writing and use of critical thinking.
We welcome applications from international students and accept qualifications from around the world. Please refer to the entry requirements for your country for more details.
English language requirements
If your first language is not English, we'll need to see evidence of your English language ability.
The minimum English language requirement for entry to this programme is IELTS 6.0 (or equivalent) with no score lower than 5.5 except for writing which must be at 6.0 minimum.
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.
Please see our detailed English language requirements.
Why Heriot-Watt
We have been producing career-ready graduates since 1821. With our roots as the world’s first Mechanics Institute, Heriot-Watt is a pioneering university with a global reach.
At Heriot-Watt, learning goes beyond the lecture theatre. We tackle real world challenges through extraordinary research – from climate change to protecting our oceans, to advancing life-saving medical breakthroughs and shaping the next generation of AI. We are also committed to developing forward-thinking design and sustainable business practices that impact industries worldwide. On our campuses you’ll find some of the world’s most advanced facilities, while our strong industry links set you up for career success. This is why almost 90% of our graduates are in employment or further education (Graduate Outcomes Survey 2024).
Student life
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