@Duncan As for the accreditations, it looks like the Edinburgh Business School has two out of three of the accreditations that you mentioned. Why do you think that the school is not a strong choice? Do you mean they should have all three accreditations you mentioned?

From https://www.business-school.ed.ac.uk/:

"The University of Edinburgh Business School is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the EFMD Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) and the Association of MBAs (AMBA)."

@Duncan As for the accreditations, it looks like the Edinburgh Business School has two out of three of the accreditations that you mentioned. Why do you think that the school is not a strong choice? Do you mean they should have all three accreditations you mentioned?

From https://www.business-school.ed.ac.uk/:

"The University of Edinburgh Business School is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the EFMD Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) and the Association of MBAs (AMBA)."

Many thanks George. I see it now.

So the Edinburgh Business School Heriot - Watt University states on their website the following:

"The Edinburgh Business School together with the School of Social Sciences has been a member of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) since April of 2017."

So they have one of the accreditations that Duncan mentioned. I am trying to understand why this school is not a a strong choice. I understand it is no quite the prestige that other schools have but they do have an international accreditation. Do you guys think that the MBA programme is poor?

They are not accredited, they are members like they say, and they are in the "process of getting accredited"

The university itself is around the middle of the pack in UK. But the business school is not that great. They are about to do some updates (probably because they seek accreditation) but can't know if those will be any good yet, nor when (or if) they will get the accreditation

Anyone can join, even individuals. That is not accrediation. I struggle to see how they can meet the criteria for it, since many of the faculty are literally dead.

Thank you for all the comments. It all makes sense now.

I think it's worth noting that on campus they call themselves the HWU school of management. Their own premium students are not tainted with the EBS brand.

Hello,

I am interested in iMBA program. May you share your background? I am a bit worried that I am not qualified since I dont have GRE/GMAT and IELTS/TOEFL.

I'm a student in the iMBA program (Illinois)- same degree as on-campus, you can live and travel anywhere while finishing. We have students from 50 countries now. I know we have a few students from the UK. Would recommend it for an online program!

If you're a non-native English speaker you'll need to submit a TOEFL score. They recommend that applicants also take the GMAT, but it's not specifically required.

Yes I am non native English speaker.

You are definitely right about TOEFL and GMAT. I don’t think I will have time for GMAT. And the requirement for TOEFL is quite high (over 102) or IELTS above 7.5.

GMAT can be compensated by working experience etc.

If you're a non-native English speaker you'll need to submit a TOEFL score. They recommend that applicants also take the GMAT, but it's not specifically required.

I really like the modular approach that Edinburgh Business School Heriot - Watt University has in their online MBA and I am convinced that this is the right study mode from me. I do however understand that they lack of accreditation and there are some valid concerns around the quality of their programme. So if I want that flexibility, what other options do I really have apart from EBS and Open University that you would recommend?

In particular, I would like to be able to pay per module rather than per year or per semester even if there is a restriction as for how many years the programme can take.

I think it's worth noting that on campus they call themselves the HWU school of management. Their own premium students are not tainted with the EBS brand.

I really like the modular approach that Edinburgh Business School Heriot - Watt University has in their online MBA and I am convinced that this is the right study mode from me. I do however understand that they lack of accreditation and there are some valid concerns around the quality of their programme. So if I want that flexibility, what other options do I really have apart from EBS and Open University that you would recommend?

In particular, I would like to be able to pay per module rather than per year or per semester even if there is a restriction as for how many years the programme can take.

I think it's worth noting that on campus they call themselves the HWU school of management. Their own premium students are not tainted with the EBS brand.

I think it depends on your purpose getting an MBA. Accreditation is not the only factor. For example, I would choose Heriot Watt over Robert Gordon (AACSB accredited) since it is better in the eyes of my employer. Therefore a lot has to be considered.

[Edited by miszel on Feb 01, 2019]

Obviously, many students do have a loss of earning during the MBA process: the point is that a better MBA will increase your long-term market value. If you think the MBA is only a label for employers then perhaps any Western university will suit you. However, a better MBA will increase your capacity as a manager more than a workplace MBA. And the additional lifetime value of a better MBA is much greater than the greater cost.

PS specifically, an employer that thinks that a HWU MBA is better than one from RGU is simply misinformed about the MBA. If they look a considered look at the course they would see, for example, that some of the "faculty members" have been dead for several years at HWU. Literally the education is reading course packs they have written before they died. Contrast that with the more modern course design at RGU, and the wider range of academic resources available, and the difference in quality is obvious. As far as I can see, a large part of the success of HWU in export markets is people assuming that it's "Edinburgh Business School" is part of the University of Edinburgh. UoE was dumb to partly deepen this confusion by renaming its school of management as a school of business.

[Edited by Duncan on Feb 02, 2019]

I get what you are saying about HWU and I agree with you. I am looking for an alternative.

I am not employed and I am not planning to be. I am not concerned with how much my MBA will costs as long as it gives me enough flexibility. I need this flexibility because I still need to serve my clients and need to be able to respond to their demands.

The purpose of obtaining an MBA is to formalise my self learnt skills and fill in the gaps in my business, managerial and leadership skills. Basically, I want to learn how to run and grow a business better than I can do now. I also would like to have an MBA from a renowned institution that will be respected by my clients..

After doing more research, I really like the online MBA at Durham, UK. I also looked at Oxford Brookes Online MBA but I am not sure what to think about it yet.

I just wonder if there is anything more flexible. It does not have to be a UK university. It can be the US or any other country.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

[Edited by miszel on Feb 02, 2019]

I think it depends on your purpose getting an MBA. Accreditation is not the only factor. For example, I would choose Heriot Watt over Robert Gordon (AACSB accredited) since it is better in the eyes of my employer. Therefore a lot has to be considered.