Hello, I have received offers from Aston and Birmingham (MBA programmes) for the January intake. It would mean a lot to me if someone could guide me with regard to a query of mine.


I have received an offer for 21 month mba in international business from university of Birmingham. Since the reputation of the university seems to be higher than Aston, I was wondering how it would affect the chances of employment in the UK, post completion of my course. Moreover, the Aston programme does offer more industry visits. Also, is it true that International Business specialisation does not have many opportunities since the field is less specialised and more generic in nature. My goal is to seek employment in the UK.

[Edited by pratika on Jun 30, 2021]

I honestly don't think the specialization matters, unless you are looking for some kind of specific career that requires something specialized. 

My sense is that neither of these schools is great at placing international students into MBA-level positions in the UK. Birmingham might have a slight edge I guess. 

I would wait until fall when you can look at stronger, ranked schools instead. 

International business just seems to be a pathway for people who want to avoid actual business functions. 

I honestly don't think the specialization matters, unless you are looking for some kind of specific career that requires something specialized. 

My sense is that neither of these schools is great at placing international students into MBA-level positions in the UK. Birmingham might have a slight edge I guess. 

I would wait until fall when you can look at stronger, ranked schools instead. 

International business just seems to be a pathway for people who want to avoid actual business functions. 

I don't think that Aston or Birmingham are the best schools for any career goal. I'm not sure what career path you are focussed on if you are considering both international business and banking as paths. 

I absolutely understand that there are way better schools for MBA during fall intake. As things stand, if due to certain personal commitments I am not able to wait till next fall , I just wanted to know which one would be a better school amongst these two. The goal is to try seek employment in the UK and if that is not possible maybe look elsewhere. I worked for few years in sphere of marketing analysis as well as financal consultancy , so I am not that rigid on a specific role but mostly landing a decent job. 

The two schools are close: the FT ranks Birmingham #40 MBA in Europe ($89298 salary), and Aston #41. ($85625 salary). At the undergraduate level, Birmingham would be the choice but student satisfaction is higher at Aston. Research quality is also slightly higher at Aston. I think it makes no sense to pick an MBA without having any preference to the career you have at the end, and I urge you to delay your MBA until you have a clear career goal. 

many thanks for your insights, Stuart. I agree, you do have a fair point with regard a more specific career goal.