Entry requirements

Central Saint Martins Birkbeck MBA applicants must have a second-class honours degree (2:2) or above and usually at least three years' relevant work and/or professional experience, but we will look at exceptional candidates with less.

Applicants without an honours degree but with a substantial number of years' work experience will also be considered.

Applications are reviewed on their individual merits and your professional qualifications and/or relevant work experience will be taken into consideration positively. We actively support and encourage applications from mature learners.

Months of entry

September

Course content

What happens when you mix an arts school with a business school? The Central Saint Martins Birkbeck Master of Business Administration is a different kind of MBA that places creative approaches and social engagement at the heart of future management and leadership.

This MBA challenges the orthodox business school approach to education, and instead focuses on cross-disciplinary collaboration. You will become a new type of business graduate: one who can combine genuinely creative thinking and innovation with core financial and strategic management skills.

The aim of the course is to develop professional networks and to work collaboratively to make positive change happen. We will devise projects and offer live opportunities with external partners to do this.

Highlights

Our MBA's radical approach lies in its philosophy: deep research and analysis leading to real root-and-branch change.  This course places tools and concepts in context, combining design thinking and creative problem-solving with rigorous academic content.
You will benefit from the combined strengths of two highly regarded institutions, in the central London locations of King’s Cross and Bloomsbury, offering access to an expansive and supportive international network.
The cross-disciplinary approach will prepare you for complex and ever-changing business environments allowing you to develop critical thinking, decision-making, emotional intelligence, negotiation and creative cognitive flexibility.
The MBA embraces the different perspectives of your cohort comprising students from a variety of professional industries and international cultures. Your colleagues will reframe problems and challenge the status quo.

Careers and employability

The World Economic Forum consulted business leaders from major global organisations for its The Future of Jobs Report (2016). It concluded that the ten skills an employee would need by 2020 are:

complex problem solving
critical thinking
creativity
people management
coordinating with others
emotional intelligence
judgement and decision making
service orientation
negotiation
cognitive flexibility.

The MBA embeds these in its curriculum.

The course will prepare you for the next step in your career, whether it be a transformational senior management role within your current industry, or a new role in a completely new field of work. Entrepreneurial students are encouraged to set up their own businesses.

The emphasis on positive transformation and a socially motivated desire to change the world, coupled with a solid understanding of business and management, will create graduates who are keen to bring about fundamental innovation and systemic change.

For details of the wide range of careers support provided for students, please visit:

Information for international students

If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, the requirement for this course is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests.

If you don't meet the minimum IELTS requirement, we offer pre-sessional English courses and foundation programmes to help you improve your English language skills and get your place at Birkbeck.