Alliance Manchester Business School - The University of Manchester
MSc in Business Analysis and Strategic ManagementManchester, United Kingdom
DEGREE TYPE
MSc
DURATION
12 months
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
05 Jul 2026*
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 29,000 / per year **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* Applications received after our final selection deadline will be considered at our discretion if places are still available
** UK students per annum: £19,500 | International, including EU, students per annum: £29,000
Key Summary
Introduction
The MSc Business Analysis and Strategic Management course focus on real international management issues and how to solve them. A key element of the course is our unique client-facing project which allows you to put your learning into practice.
Admissions
Curriculum
Special features
The client-facing project is a unique element of this course that provides an excellent opportunity to test, improve and enhance the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom. This consultancy project, lasting up to three months over the summer, involves you in either supporting a start-up company, finding growth opportunities for a medium-sized firm, or improving the effectiveness and efficiency of a function within a large, blue-chip company.
Course units details
The course consists of both compulsory and optional taught units. The compulsory units are built around the problems of strategic management, the operation of multinational enterprises, comparative business analysis and the skills necessary to work efficiently in an international business environment. The optional courses allow you to specialise in particular aspects of strategic management and business analysis.
During the summer period, you will have the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills learnt during the first two semesters, enhance your skills while working with a major real-life client and work as part of a team. The result of this project is presented as a research report/dissertation. This part of the course is closely related to the Manchester Method that enables you to experience experiential learning and helps you to become a reflective practitioner or manager.
The project is offered if you gain a minimum of 50% in each first-semester course unit. If not, you will be offered a project related to an external client, with no direct contact with the client. For those working on group projects, a group report and an individual report will be produced (both 6,000 words).
Alternatively, you may undertake an academic dissertation of 12,000 words. Your supervisor will help you to define the research and advise, guide and support you throughout.
Program Outcome
You explore the operation of multinational enterprises and undertake comparative business analysis while gaining the practical skills necessary to work efficiently in an international business environment. Alongside a thorough understanding of business analysis and development, you graduate with the key skills of international business consulting, such as framing international business problems, writing business reports and preparing for interviews.
Scholarships and Funding
Funding Opportunities for Master's Degrees
There are several Master's funding options for our courses, and these will vary depending on whether you’re a student from the UK, or EU, or an international student from outside the EU.
AMBS Scholarship
A limited number of partial scholarships are available across all our master’s courses. The value of the scholarships will go towards the cost of the full course tuition fee. All applicants who hold an offer will automatically be considered for the Alliance Manchester Business School Scholarship. There is no application process for this scholarship.
There are also several external awards which you can apply for directly on the Scholarships and Funding page.
Please note: if you are successful in receiving more than one scholarship award, the total scholarship amount must not exceed 50% of your course tuition fees.
Gallery
Accreditations
Career Opportunities
During the summer period, you will have the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills learnt during the first two semesters, enhance your skills while working with a major real-life client and work as part of a team. The result of this project is presented as a research report/dissertation. This part of the course is closely related to the Manchester Method that enables you to experience experiential learning and helps you to become a reflective practitioner or manager.
Examples of recent projects include:
- Exploring the strategic expansion of the volunteer tourism industry into the academic market
- An in-depth analysis of the wholesale market and changing trends towards online shopping
- Strategic positioning in relation to the offshore wind turbine market in northern Europe
- Identification of venture capitalist acquisition targets in the UK software industry
Projects are sourced from a range of small, medium and large businesses, across a wide range of sectors in Manchester and the UK's North West region.
Program Admission Requirements
Demonstrate your commitment and readiness to succeed in business school by taking the GMAT exam – the most widely used exam for admissions that measures your critical thinking and reasoning skills.
Download the GMAT mini quiz to get a flavour of the questions you’ll find in the exam.