Degree Information:

Welcome to our MBA website. We hope that you will find our site to be informative and helpful as you consider undertaking an MBA programme.

The DCU Executive MBA is widely recognised as the degree of choice for rising executives with senior management ambitions. DCU Business School is pleased to offer an exciting and innovative programme to reflect and respond to the ever-changing demands of the 21^st century workplace. Our MBA is designed to be professionally and personally transformative, aimed at developing business leaders with ambition, enterprise and leading-edge thinking who can create tangible and sustainable outcomes from the application of their learning.

Reflecting DCU's position as 'University of Enterprise', the MBA places a strong emphasis on engagement with the enterprise sector, both indigenous and international, through its new Enterprise Engagement (Domestic) module which features site visits, seminars and a residential workshop. Also new to the syllabus is the Consultancy Skills Project which brings together all the learning points throughout the course in a 'live' situation undertaken on behalf of an existing Irish enterprise.

DCU Business School draws on strong links with renowned academic institutions in the US in the delivery of its MBA programme. The Enterprise Engagement (International) module, undertaken in Boston, includes presentations from leading experts at Harvard Kennedy School and Boston University as well as site visits to US installations.

Our MBA is accredited by AMBA; the Association of MBA's that assesses the quality of MBAs worldwide. Our programme has been running since 1990.

Through its partnerships with industry and academia, both national and international, DCU Business School is proud to deliver an MBA programme informed by the core principles of developing leaders, transforming organisations, engaging, enterprise and shaping society

The programme includes a number of key modules.

Aims and Objectives:

Key Programme Modules

• Enterprise Engagement (Domestic) This module will focus on organisations operating in Ireland who are developing their business both at home and internationally. It will feature a site visit to an Irish indigenous company and a multi-national organisation operating in Ireland. Participants will attend a 2 day residential workshop with lectures and seminars on current business issues such as competitiveness, globalisation and sustainability. There will also be a number of lectures over the course of the module from experts in particular areas. This module and the following module on Enterprise Engagement (International) will be linked.

• Enterprise Engagement (International) This module focuses on business operations in a global environment and international models of best practice. The centrepiece of the Enterprise Engagement (International) module will be a study visit to Boston during the first semester of second year. This visit will consist of presentations in Leadership and Organisational Change by faculty members from Harvard Kennedy School and Boston University as well as site visits to US companies which provide practical insights into international business practice.

• Capstone Module The capstone module for the programme is a Strategic Consultancy Project, which brings together all the skills developed and knowledge acquired over the course of the programme. Working in teams, students will undertake a substantial project on behalf of an Irish-based organisation. While allowing students to deepen their knowledge of a specific industry or sector, it offers an opportunity to apply their learnings in a live situation and add value to the organisation. The project will be presented to a panel of industry representatives and Business School Faculty in the final semester of the programme.

• Personal Leadership and Management Skills This module will run throughout both years of the programme. It will include topics such as trust, conflict management, consulting skills, coaching and mentoring, ethics and communications as well as a substantial personal development process facilitated and delivered in association with our partner institution, Northeastern University in Boston.

• Strategy, Leadership and TransformationThis module is delivered in Semester 2 of Year 2. The module focuses on the unique roles, tasks and responsibilities of corporate leadership and governance in the overall strategic development, performance and transformation of the enterprise.

• Innovation and Entrepreneurship This module introduces new venture creation process and business planning in the context of new ventures. It explores innovations as they occur through new venture creation. It examines models of new venture creation process and the growth of new ventures. This requires an understanding of how entrepreneurs identify or discover opportunities; how they amass the resources needed to start a new business; and how they manage in the context of a new or growing business. Participants will be required to identify a new business opportunity and to prepare a comprehensive business plan and a 'business pitch' for the new venture opportunity.

If you would like to view our brochure, please click here

Programme Structure:

The programme is a two year part-time programme. It begins in mid-September and finishes at the end of August, two years later. Each year is divided into three semesters with most modules being delivered within a semester and with one module, Personal Leadership and Management Skills, running over the two years.

The programme begins with an intensive two day induction event. The first two semesters of the MBA programme develop an understanding of the range of foundation disciplines and their potential contribution to business leadership and organisational effectiveness. Students will engage in a range of assignments and assessments. During the third semester of Year 1, students will take a Domestic Enterprise Engagement module. This module will allow students to engage with both indigenous companies and foreign companies operating from Ireland. It will assist them to understand the economic and competitive environment in which these companies operate. It will introduce students to the challenges of doing business in the current climate, both domestically and globally. The module will involve site visits and an applied project.

The second year of the programme will be characterised by an integrated approach, which focuses more specifically on the key strategic drivers of sustainable growth, operational excellence, entrepreneurship and innovation, technology management and international enterprise engagement. In the second semester of Year 2, students will take a Strategy, Leadership and Renewal module. This module focuses on the unique roles, tasks and responsibilities of corporate leadership and governance in the overall strategic development, performance and renewal of the enterprise.

The modules on the programme are:

The MBA Faculty at DCU Business School have vast experience in teaching MBA classes. They are research active, widely published and many are recognised internationally as experts in their field. The current teaching faculty on the DCU MBA programme include:

Full profiles for these faculty can be found on http://www.dcu.ie/dcubs

View the subjects currently taught on this course (2012 - 2013)

Why DCU

The main focus of the DCU MBA programme is on Leading, Transforming, Enterprising and Influencing.

The DCU MBA prepares students for the challenges of business leadership. The specific competences that students develop during their MBA programme are:

• The ability to lead and manage independently or as part of a multidisciplinary management team
• The capacity to apply business and management theories, tools and knowledge in tackling complex structured and unstructured management and organisational problems and opportunities. at both a strategic and business functional level
• The expertise to critically evaluate problems and alternative solutions in a variety of undefined and unfamiliar contexts; to appraise, evaluate and prioritise between alternative courses of action; and to exercise judgement in assessing complex organisational and strategic problems.
• The skill to draw upon specific personal, managerial and organisational tools and techniques to address both specific and imprecise problems, and the ability to draw on their own and others' experiences of management practice.
• The confidence to initiate and lead change in organisations. This includes the ability to justify solutions to management and organisational problems, to be accountable for such solutions and to communicate clearly to professional and lay audience.

The programme requires attendance on one day per week (currently Thursday) from 2.00pm to 9.00pm. (The PAC code required is DC951).

The DCU MBA programme is committed to an active, interactive and participative learning experience facilitated by the DCU Business School.

The MBA seeks to engage participants in high-level strategic analysis and to assist them in developing the personal attributes critical to leadership success. The classroom and wider learning experience will be informed by a spirit of inquiry, group learning, and active engagement and participation by all MBA participants. To achieve maximum peer to peer learning, class sizes will be limited.

In recognition of the valuable resource represented by the DCU MBA alumni community of business leaders, DCU Business School encourages and facilitates networking and interaction between current and past students.

Career Prospects:

At DCU Business School, we believe that the MBA should be about much more than just acquiring some useful extra tools for the management toolkit. It should also be a transformative experience at the personal level. Our value proposition is that our MBA is an educational experience that is both professionally and personally transformative, aimed at developing business leaders with the ambition and enterprise to help create a better, more sustainable world and featuring leading edge thinking with tangible application.
Graduates of our programme talk about how they have grown in confidence, how their own self-awareness as leaders has deepened, and how their perspective on business management has been raised to a more strategic level.
Our graduates tell us that these 'personal growth' effects of the MBA become very apparent back in their workplaces, in terms of the issues to which they are invited to contribute, the roles the are asked to take on, and in how they are perceived as future leaders.
The following are some testimonials from our Graduates and Current Students:

"The DCU MBA has been a transformational experience for me. It has helped me develop my personal management and leadership skills and has given me a better understanding of both the strategic and operational issues which drive business success. Working in small groups and debating issues with class mates from a broad range of industries has been hugely informative. Top class lecturers and very supportive DCU staff have made it a thoroughly enjoyable experience that is helping me perform better in my current role and positions me well for further development in my career."
Colin Moran, Manager, Bank of Ireland Corporate Banking &
DCU MBA Ambassador

"The real differentiator for me on this programme has been the leadership skills development modules. The classes were hugely stimulating and a great combination of academic principle and practical reality, especially during international week. Unlike so many other programmes we were pushed to try out newly learned skills in our own day to day working lives, which has been truly rewarding."

Geraldine Freeman, Pharmacy Channel Manager, Johnson & Johnson.

The DCU MBA was invaluable to me as I transitioned into a new role as MD of DEX Europe during the programme. The proven academic theory, practical case methodology and an outstanding MBA network has provided me with all of the knowledge and skills needed to practice effective Leadership, Enterprise and
innovation in my chosen field. Overall, it has been extremely rewarding experience and I would strongly recommend the programme to all Business Professionals, Managers and Leaders.

Seán Keller, Vice President, Managing Director - DEX Europe - Optimal
Solutions for the Technology Supply Chain

"I embarked on the Executive MBA Programme with high expectations. The learning from academics, business leaders and the interaction with fellow students has provided me with essential skills and business insights to develop personally and professionally. Undertaking the MBA has been central to my professional progression within a growing organisation and I now have an enhanced, balanced prospective in business, enabling me to successfully achieve my goals and exceed my MBA expectations and career aspirations.

Declan Wynne, Commercial Director & Head of UK Business. Gaeltec Utilities Ltd

Entry Requirements:

Entry Criteria

Candidates must possess:

• A primary degree at second class honours level or higher or an equivalent professional qualification
• At least 3 years relevant managerial experience
• We may, in some instances, require the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT)
• All candidates must have an adequate standard of mathematical and statistical ability

Exceptional candidates who do not meet these requirements may be considered for entry. In such cases, candidates will be interviewed.

Overseas candidates must have secured an acceptable standard in IELTS (composite score 6.5-7.0, not less than 6.5 in any one component).

International Applications

International candidates are expected to have educational qualifications of a standard equivalent to those outlined above. In addition, where such candidates are non-native speaders of the English language they must satisfy the university of their competency in the English language. For further information on international applications click here.

Dates for Submission of Applications 2013

EU Applicants

Apply online through the Postgraduate Applications Centre (http://www.pac.ie/dcu) by 31st July 2013.

Non-EU Applicants

Apply online through the Postgraduate Applications Centre (http://www.pac.ie/dcu) by 31st July 2013. When applying for this programme use PAC code DC951. Please submit a C.V. along with other supporting documentation to PAC.

Queries on Completed Forms

Queries on completed applications can be made by e-mail to Catherine.Gallagher@dcu.ie.

Full list of degrees >

Fee information

Indicative Timetable
(Weeks 20-31)