Executive MBA
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DCU is Ireland's 'University of Enterprise' and is consistently recognised in global rankings of young universities. The dynamic and vibrant ethos of these universities of the future specifically influence the design and delivery of the DCU Executive MBA Programme.
The DCU Executive 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 for their organisations through the application of their learning.
The DCU Executive MBA programme, which is internationally accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA), has been graduating MBAs for more than 20 years, developing evidence-based managers, who can identify and analyse the best available data to make better decisions in their organisations. DCU Business School is accredited by AACSB, a standard reached by only 5% of business schools worldwide reflecting its established international reputation for high quality graduates.
We connect theory, scientific research, data and practice through participative teaching approaches, industry speakers, national and international company visits and industry-focused projects.
Find out more: business.dcu.ie/course/executive-mba/
The DCU MBA classes was hugely stimulating with a great combination of academic principle and practical reality. Unlike so many other programmes, we were pushed to try out our newly learned skills in our working lives, which has truly been rewarding
The DCU Executive MBA is a part-time programme, delivered one day per week (Thursdays 2.00-9.00) over 2 years across 4 semesters.
In the first year of the Executive MBA programme, you will develop an understanding of the range of foundation disciplines and their potential contribution to business leadership and organisational effectiveness. 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 and operational excellence.
The design of the programme is underpinned by 4 key pillars:
- Inspiring Future Leaders: Participants will follow a two-year leadership and career development programme. Action-based projects, workshops, team and facilitator feedback, and self-reflection develop self-awareness of own leadership style, deepens emotional intelligence and enhances leader behaviours.
- Transforming Organisations: We seek to develop participants capacity for analysis, assessment, judgement and action; skills that participants can exercise throughout their careers.
- Engaging the Enterprise: Our programme emphasises applied learning in practice. We take a holistic view of the enterprise; integrating across business functions, with industry-oriented assessments that deliver significant business value. It places importance on evidence-based management.
- Influencing Business in Society: We emphasise, through a strong focus on ethical business values, the importance of building businesses that are in harmony with societal needs.
Scholarships
Please click on the following link to view details on available scholarships for this programme.
Click here to view information from our graduates & programme news
Programme Structure
| Year 1 | ||
| Semester 1 - Influencing Business | Semester 2 - Transforming Organisations | Summer - Engaging Enterprises |
| Accounting for Decision Making | Business Economics | Enterprise Engagement - Domestic |
| Marketing | Managing People & Organisations | |
| Organisational Behaviour & Change | Business Strategy | |
| Developing Leaders - Personal, Leadership & Management Skills (Year 1) | ||
| Year 2 | ||
| Semester 1 - Influencing Business | Semester 2 - Transforming Organisations | Summer - Engaging Enterprises |
| Enterprise Engagement - International | Technology Management | Strategic Consultancy Project |
| Innovation & Entrepreneurship | Strategy, Leadership & Transformation | |
| Business Finance | ||
| Strategic Operations | ||
| Developing Leaders - Personal, Leadership & Management Skills (Year 2) |
Find out more here: business.dcu.ie/course/executive-mba/
View the current course structure
DCU’s Executive MBA is accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA), which assesses the quality of MBA programmes worldwide. We are also one of only two business schools in Ireland with AACSB accreditation, placing us among the top 5% worldwide.
MBA participants pursue a programme of action-based projects and workshops over 2 years, which enhance competence to think and act as a leader and people manager.
As Ireland’s ‘University of Enterprise’, our MBA programme includes visits to a number of companies at home and abroad with strong growth strategies.
Participants learn how to read and analyse data more efficiently, identify the best available data and use it for better-informed effective decision making in their roles, developing into evidence-based, data-driven managers.
Learn from academic experts, who are leaders in their field. Their teaching draws on their continuing research and insights gained from their work with organisations in Ireland and overseas.
MBA participants will conduct a strategic consultancy project and other applied real world industry projects, which integrate the knowledge, skills and values of the programme and deliver return on investment for employers and clients.
We believe that an interactive and participative learning environment is best achieved in small classes, drawing heavily on the experiences and insights of participants.
Participants will broaden their perspective on global organisations on the International Study Week. In recent years, participants have attended lectures on leadership, global strategy, innovation and performance management at Harvard, Boston University, Stanford University and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Graduates of the DCU Executive MBA are highly sought after in the jobs market, with many going on to pursue senior management roles.
When you graduate from DCU Business School, you join a dynamic alumni network of 16,000 graduates, who are taking our mission to transform lives and societies through education, research and innovation to the rest of the world.
DCU Executive MBA News
Get a flavour of the DCU MBA by reading more about some of our recent news and events:
DCU hosts Executive MBA Career Skills Development Day 2017. More here
DCU Executive MBAs visit DCU Alpha Innovation Campus. More here
DCU hosts inaugural MBA Alumni Conference. More here
Executive MBA Year In Review. More here
DCU MBA graduate is Fingal Business Person of the Year. More here
DCU Business School Executive MBA International Trip to Hong Kong. More here
The DCU MBA classes was hugely stimulating with a great combination of academic principle and practical reality. Unlike so many other programmes, we were pushed to try out our newly learned skills in our working lives, which has truly been rewarding
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 they are asked to take on, and in how they are perceived as future leaders. Read more here.
Requirements
For admission to the Executive MBA candidates must hold –
A 2:1 Honours degree in a relevant discipline, or equivalent professional qualification
AND
At least 3 years’ relevant managerial experience
Applicants who have achieved a 2.2 Honours degree (and meet the experience requirement) may, based on the Programme Chair's recommendation, still be offered a place. This will depend on availability of places and on obtaining high grades in relevant modules on their undergraduate programme.
Additionally, applicants who do not meet the academic requirements outlined above may be eligible for an offer of a place based on at least 7 years’ relevant managerial/organisational experience based on DCU's Recognition of Prior Learning Policy. The process for approving such an offer involves an application and an interview with the Programme Chair and approval by the School's Teaching & Learning Committee. The number of such places is limited in any given year so it is recommended that applicants considering this option apply early.
Commencement of Programme
The programme has a compulsory Orientation Session which takes place the week before the standard University commencement date.
Please note that the running of the programme is subject to a minimum enrollment number.
Enquiries
The decision to undertake an MBA is a major one. The programme involves a significant investment of time and resources. We would encourage you to take your time in making this decision and consider carefully all aspects of this decision and how it will fit into your life.
We believe that the DCU MBA is a life-transforming experience for participants. We encourage you to contact us for further information or to visit us at DCU. If you would like an information discussion on how the DCU MBA might fit with your career, or if you need any further information about our MBA programme, please contact:
John McMackin - Ph: 01 700 6972