Bradford University School of Management

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What you study

The Bradford-Perugia MBA in Italy is the result of an exciting new partnership between Bradford University School of Management and the University of Perugia. This partnership has enabled us to deliver the Bradford MBA in the beautiful and historic town of Spoleto in the Umbrian region of Italy.

Delivered in three stages by weekly block teaching, the first of these stages covers the core modules which introduce students to the functional disciplines of business and management. Core modules provide the knowledge, skills and techniques that are fundamental to the area of management and provide the foundations for stage 2 of the programme.

In stages two and three of the programme, individuals have the opportunity to either further develop their general business and management knowledge or specialise in specific areas of interest by taking electives with a themed focus on engineering or operations management,  marketing, international business, finance or human resource management..

Electives are delivered by three to five day block attendance. Students wishing to focus on engineering or operations themes will take advantage of the specialist electives delivered by University of Perugia academics in Spoleto, including those on Manufacturing Technology in Product Development, and Quality, Lean and Six Sigma. Alternatively, a range of other, specialist or more generalist MBA electives can be studied in Bradford or at one of our partner institutions in France or Spain.

As we aim to improve our programmes continuously, we may introduce new electives or discontinue others before your programme begins, and electives are offered subject to student demand.  Electives likely to be offered for April - June 2012 are shown below.

The final stage of the programme involves the completion of a management project which will normally reflect the specialisms followed at stage 2 e.g. students following the engineering management pathway would be expected to focus their project on this theme.

The management project requires students to apply their knowledge and expertise to a real and challenging organisational issue. These may be suggested by students themselves, i.e. could be based on previous experience or anticipated future business engagement, or be a project proposed by a local enterprise/organisation.

Stage one (October to December) - Postgraduate Certificate

On completion of 60 credits, students will be eligible for the award of Postgraduate Certificate in Business and Management.  The modules studied will be taught by experienced Bradford academic specialists and are listed below, however, please note these may be subject to change:

Postgraduate Certificate

  • Business Economics
  • Business Accounting
  • Marketing
  • Operations Management
  • Managing People
  • Corporate Finance

During this phase, students will attend a series of compulsory workshops and effective learning sessions that provide essential knowledge and transferable skills in matters such as team working, synthesising information, formulating solutions and presentation skills, etc., as well as inculcating life-long learning, e.g. through personal and professional development. This is considered an essential aspect of developing professional managers capable of maintaining the necessary knowledge and skills to practice.

Stage two (January to April) - Postgraduate Diploma

On completion of 120 credits, students are eligible for the award of Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management. Strategic management and Business Research are mandatory modules delivered by Bradford academic staff. The remaining 40 credits are delivered either by specialist staff of the University of Perugia, Bradford or partner institutions, depending on the electives selected:

Postgraduate Diploma (University of Perugia - Engineering Management)

  • Strategic Management
  • Business Research
  • Project Management
  • Management Information Systems
  • PLUS 2 elective choices
    • IF engineering theme chosen:
      • Manufacturing and Technology Management
      • Quality, Lean and Six Sigma
    • OR Choice from a range of electives offered at Spoleto, Bradford or another partner institution in France or Spain

Stage three (April to June) - Master's

On completion of 180 credits, students will be eligible for the award of Masters in Business Administration (MBA). 20 credits are delivered through 2 additional elective modules to be taken in Spoleto, Bradford or another partner institution; the remaining 40 credits are accrued through completion of the capstone management project.

Students following the Engineering Management theme will be expected to take modules in:

Masters (University of Perugia - Engineering Management)

  • Manufacturing Systems and Supply Chain Management
  • Knowledge Management for Performance Improvements

whilst students choosing to pursue other electives or take a broader approach can elect to take 2 alternative modules in Spoleto, Bradford or another partner institution in France or Spain.

In addition to the assessed components of the programme, there are several skills-based non-assessed courses available to students. All students are encouraged to take advantage of opportunities to attend sessions on study and presentation skills in order to assist with the preparation of assignments, reports and other coursework.

Language courses can be arranged at the University of Perugia on request.

The curriculum may change, subject to the University's course approval, monitoring and review procedures.

Possible elective modules offered in April to June in Bradford include:

Accounting and finance

Capital markets and investment management
Financial risk management in European banking
International financial management
Human resource management
Advanced human resource management
Management of change
Managerial leadership

Human resource management

Advanced human resource management
Management of change
Managerial leadership

Marketing

Corporate marketing
Consumer behaviour
Entrepreneurship
Marketing communications
Product innovation
Services marketing

Operations and information management

E-business
Global supply chain management
Management consulting
Project management
Sustainable operations

Strategy, economics and international business

Corporate social responsibility
Intellectual property in international business
International business strategy
Management of international business in
emerging economies
Mergers and acquisitions
Strategic decision-making