Hi there,

I am from Singapore, would appreciate if anyone could shed some light on the quality of the Imperial GMBA programme.

While I know it is highly ranked MBA and accredited by most the bodies, its rather difficult to find actual student feedback on the programs, other than the websites.

If anyone has any feedback on the programs, would be much appreciated. From the entrance point of view for the online MBA, it seems much lower compared to other programs with no GMAT required and second class lower for the degree requirement. I am not sure if this would dampen the prestige of the program.

I do think highly of the Imperial brand but of course there are people who mentioned that the online MBA is not worth the time or money due to the lack of network and Imperial is not perceived as a good business school as it is mainly for STEM.

I am trying to compare the quality with other online MBA programme such as IE / WBS and AGSM.


Also, if anyone has any thought about the Manchester MBA vs Imperial. Also on my radar would be the manchester mba.

 Thanks
Nick

[Edited by nchoish on Jun 04, 2020]

I had a session with a client a few days ago who has been researching DL MBAs. He'd done a really good job, trialling many of their online learning environments and collecting a lot of feedback. His verdict was that the Imperial online MBA was the worst of the programmes he has evaluated and is especially poor in terms of the online platform.

In the end, the choice came down to Boston or Illinois, and he chose Boston. The US universities are much much more engaging educationally, have better online experience and, of course, there's often twice as much educational content in a US MBA than in a UK one, because of the two-year versus one-year full-time MBA format.

PS I think the Manchester Global MBA can't really be compared to the online-only degrees since that is a part-time MBA with a lot of classroom time, projects, groupwork etc. It's much more like a traditional MBA.

[Edited by Duncan on Jun 04, 2020]

HI Duncan,
Thanks for the response.
That's very interesting to note. Imperial have been very proud of their rankings and certainly they rank very high in most of the sources.
How did your friend do at Boston? I never knew Boston had online MBA. I found out that their programme seems a bit different from the traditional MBA. Do shed some light for me, I am very curious to know as well since I think they seem highly reputable (correct me if I am wrong) in the industry and the price is very affordable.
What is your opinion about online MBA's and in your opinion , which is the better school.

I think every University is proud of its rankings but of course that is an independent factor from its ability to build an online learning platform. British universities perform quite well and rankings because our state funding is driven by rankings. However our ability to to perform the criteria that are included in ranking devices exceeds our true performance. And of course British universities are still state funded and have much more modest resources than much richer universities with more powerful resources.
The Boston University MBA is is really distinctive because there are no electives. The whole program is highly integrated and you have to complete the first half before you can move on to the second half that means there's no duplication unlike an MBA which is is organised more like a buffet.

I don't think it's very meaningful to say that one (very good) MBA program is better than the others (which are also very good). There are applicants who have goals and different programs are better for different roles and for different needs. So I think the key task for applicants is really to clarify their goals. After that it's so much easier question to answer which of the programs best meets your specific needs and and best supports that specific career direction.
(Brackets added.)

[Edited by Duncan on Jun 05, 2020]

Thanks Duncan,
You have been great help for me. Appreciate all the responses.

Hi Duncan,

Good day.

Wanted to seek your opinion about the Manchester MBA and their reputation. Do you think its worthwhile doing an MBA from Manchester.

I know they have a campus in Singapore, hence I am asking about them.

Thanks

It's a good programme, and perhaps the part-time MBA that is most like traditional US MBA from a non-US school. Take a look at https://find-mba.com/board?keyword=Manchester%20Duncan 

Naturally, I think most of the schools we discuss here are very good. The question is really: what are your goals? 

Hi Duncan,

Thanks for the response.

To give an overview, and hopefully you can provide with a better insight.


I am 32 y/o from Singapore. I have researched or rather read through loads of schools profile. I am medically trained, doctor by profession but currently playing a regional role in one of the pharmaceutical companies.

I am inclined to do a MBA :

1. To strengthen my business acumen and hopefully I could make a career switch later
2. To strengthen my CV for a move at a later stage, maybe in a year or 2

As I am based in Singapore, naturally the first few schools being researched was NUS , NTU , Insead etc.

NUS /NTU : High ranking, no doubt it will be highly regarded in Asia but most of the cohort are locals, hence less international outlook and exposure. Of course beyond Asia, whicle they are highly ranked, I think they may not be as well regarded- only my opinion. They are also not cheap, costing close to 70K SGD

Insead- the fees are absolutely too high for me

Hence , I found other options , all on part-time basis:

Manchester - slightly cheaper than NUS and NTU , surely not as well regarded in the local context, I am not sure how they conduct their classes in Singapore or how well regarded are they in terms of their MBA

University of Adelaide - not much accreditation, the most affordable, their reputation I am unsure about. I was initally inclined but after hearing much from their open day, I am not sure about the quality of the intake.

Imperial Online MBA- not cheap to me for an online MBA, but imperial brand is probably a big brand in the market. Heard good stuff and negative stuff about their platform. 

Warwick Online- they are big and well known for those who study MBA, but I am not sure if most employers from Asia setting knows about warwick. So while , they do provide maybe more quality than imperial, the perceived brand is not as strong as imperial.

SP Jain- EMBA, Its probably the most odd school to me. It has minimal rankings and not much accreditation yet some perceived to be alright but otherwise it may not be well known out of some countries.

Boston Questrom - after hearing what you mentioned, probably the alternative. Their price seems competitive but unlike Imperial it's a bare minimum. They dont offer a lot of solutions to online student, no career services and basically you get an MBA degree with their study materials.




Of course after evaluating so much, naturally I became disillusioned and confused. I am fine to do a part or online programme, since i do travel a fair bit for work. I know all MBAs are not perfect , there will be flaws.

I am trying to find the best MBA that will probably really open new frontiers and doors for my career. I am climbing up the hierarchy now, but moving forward I do hope to join maybe a consultancy firm or other pharma in the management space. My idea of taking an MBA was definetely to shore up my knowledge and credentials.

While I am may be incline to take Imperial Online MBA, at that price point I am not sure if it's worth my money though Imperial is certainly a big brand. Manchester and Boston is the alternative. If you think , I should go for NTU or NUS, please let me know as well.

I would highly value your input based on my reasoning and understanding of the MBA programmes. I dont have a bottomless pit, or else I would have done it at insead.

Which of these schools has the best network in the markets/sectors you are considering? For example, imagine if the Manchester MBA is the one which meets your educational needs the best but NTU has the best alumni network and is thus most credible in your target space, then NTU is the best choice. 

NUS /NTU : High ranking, no doubt it will be highly regarded in Asia but most of the cohort are locals, hence less international outlook and exposure. Of course beyond Asia, whicle they are highly ranked, I think they may not be as well regarded- only my opinion. They are also not cheap, costing close to 70K SGD

Hi all, 

I am also facing a problem of choosing which online MBA to take. I want I know a program with Finance concentration and Cass said they can offer me a good program with Finance electives and concentration. Do you think that I should choose the Global online MBA of Cass over Manchester? There is also another option, MBAX in Finance from UNSW in Australia. Their program looks good in both curriculum and ranking but the price is higher compared with Manchester and Cass global online ones.

Does anyone have any advice for me? Thank you in advance.

[Edited by Robert176 on Sep 11, 2020]

My last post on this thread is still your advice. I agree that the MBAX in finance seems to have the most finance content, but are you sure you don't need a full time degree to make the transition you are discussing? 

Thank you Duncan for your response. Actually I am in finance industry already and don't plan to change my job or move to a new industry. I just want to strengthen my background in business, especially in finance by doing a good online program.

I am also interested in the online MBA programs offered by Boston University and The University of Manchester. Unfortunately, because these two programs are general MBA, I start considering the program from Cass, as the MBAX is quite expensive.

May I ask what you think about the Cass Global MBA program? The curriculum seems to be great but I really don't know how it really is. I tried to search from internet but many people just discuss about the top programs, such as the ones from Imperial, Warwick, and Manchester, not Cass!

By the way, Cass also offers the online master in finance. Do you have any idea about it, Sir?

[Edited by Robert176 on Sep 12, 2020]

I have lots of ideas, but the way to start is not to gather facts about the designs of the programmes: it's to look at your goals.

I am sorry for not being clear, Sir. I read your posts on this thread so I know the answer is up to my goal. As I only want to strengthen my business and finance background and Cass Global program offers electives in Finance, I consider apply for it.

It's a strong program. Does it have a better alumni network in your target market than AGSM? 

Thank you Sir. I understand from your answers in many threads that a full-time at a ranked school is always better and we should pick up a program based on our goals and the alumni network in our target country/ market/ companies. As I am old enough, I don't think I can switch industry/ territory, I decide to take a good on-line program. In the country where I am living now, there are not so many graduates from both Cass and UNSW. I desire to take the program at Cass as I think it's good especially in Finance. (I prefer a US program to a UK program. I remember you used to share that a program in the US has more content to offer but as I cann't find a good program with good price, I end up considering a UK one..)

Hi there,

I am from Singapore, would appreciate if anyone could shed some light on the quality of the Imperial GMBA programme.

While I know it is highly ranked MBA and accredited by most the bodies, its rather difficult to find actual student feedback on the programs, other than the websites.

If anyone has any feedback on the programs, would be much appreciated. From the entrance point of view for the online MBA, it seems much lower compared to other programs with no GMAT required and second class lower for the degree requirement. I am not sure if this would dampen the prestige of the program.

I do think highly of the Imperial brand but of course there are people who mentioned that the online MBA is not worth the time or money due to the lack of network and Imperial is not perceived as a good business school as it is mainly for STEM.

I am trying to compare the quality with other online MBA programme such as IE / WBS and AGSM.


Also, if anyone has any thought about the Manchester MBA vs Imperial. Also on my radar would be the manchester mba.

 Thanks
Nick

Robert, I am sorry but I am not able to get my point across about goals. By goals, I don't mean what do you want to learn. You can learn finance in better ways than an MBA, for example by taking specialised qualifications in finance. I mean your life goals and professional goals.