I’m considering an online MBA while I’m working.

I like what I’ve seen from Bayes Business School (formally CASS). I like that it’s triple crown accredited. I would go with the finance specialism if I decided to go ahead with it.

However the University Of London online MBA with academic direction from Queen Mary and UCL allows specialism in accountancy which is my main interest. It’s accredited by CMI and CIMA, so if you take the accountancy specialism you get exemptions towards CIMA and eligible for the fast track route and only need to do the final level. You also get a level 7 CMI ( chartered Managers Institute) certificate. Considering that I’ve been thinking of doing a CIMA, this seems to tick the boxes.

My only issue is that the UOL MBA doesn’t have triple crown accreditation. I’m not sure how favourable employers will look at the MBA aspect of it in that regard.

Having said that, it is a Russell Group Uni so I’m sure the study material will be of a high standard. Also the lecturers to the course have PhD’s from Cambridge and other top institutions.

It’s almost half the price of the Bayes MBA. As I’m self funding my education, those two are the best around my budget.

Any thoughts and feedback would be appreciated.

What are your goals? Why these programmes? Many programmes will earn you the same CIMA exceptions. You don't get a degree from QMUL so its status doesn't matter.

Thanks for your response.

My goal is to complete an MBA with a specialism in accounting. 2nd choice would be an MBA with a finance specialism and maybe do a CIMA after. 

What do you mean by “you don’t get a degree from QMUL so it’s status doesn’t matter”? 

There are no career goals which specifically require an MBA with a specialisation in a particular topic. Why would you want one rather than, for example, complete the CIMA?



Bayes and QMUL are both part of the University of London (UoL). Graduates from the Bayes MBA get a degree from Bayes and are both Bayes and UoL alumni. However, graduates from the UoL Global MBA do not become QMUL alumni and get their degree from UoL, not QMUL. So, in terms of the brand and networking power of that degree, it's lesser than a QMUL degree would be.

[Edited by Duncan on Nov 03, 2023]

I want an MBA as well as a CIMA. I have experience in management and want to further build and progress in that area. I am also planning on setting up my own business further down the line.

The UOL MBA looks like it ticks the boxes and provides more of an all in one solution. It also works around my budget. This is why I’ve been considering it.

So from what you’re saying, with UOL you don’t get access to the QMUL alumni. That’s interesting. 

So out of the two you’re saying that Bayes is the better option. 

I am not sure why you are restricting yourself to these choices. Certainly, an MBA with any of the three "crown" accreditations will be a better choice for most people than the UoL MBA.

Thanks for your feedback. I haven’t necessarily limited myself just to those choices. They just seemed the best out of the online MBA’s from Russel Group universities within a certain budget. 

The UoL MBA does not lead to a Russell Group degree. QMUL does not issue it.

But who cares about Russell Group status? Who would pick Queens University Belfast over London Business School because QUB is in the Russell Group?

Ok, I didn’t know that you wouldn’t be awarded a Russell Group degree with UOL. I thought as the academic direction came from both QMUL and UCL you would be. I understand your point regarding QUB and London Business School. London Business School is out of my budget at the moment. I think the best option I have right now would be Bayes if I decided to still go the MBA route. 

UoL Worldwide awards degrees from the UoL, not from the schools that provide academic direction. This 'direction' is quite uneven, but you don't become a graduate of those directing institutions or have access to their alumni networks or resources. It would be ridiculous to claim that a UoL Worldwide degree is a degree from LSE, UCL, QMUL etc.

Unfortunately, you could using Russell Group as an artificial constraint to exclude schools with one or more of the triple crown accreditations, such as Bayes. Do you even need a UK degree? Options like Aston, Birmingham, Bradford, Durham, Hull, Liverpool, MMU, OUBS, Reading, UEBS etc are all worth consideration.

That’s very informative. I wasn’t aware of that. I’ll keep researching and take that into consideration. It’s interesting to know that a UOL degree isn’t regarded as a Russel group and that you would need to go direct to they actual UOL colleges for that. I’ll look into the universities you mentioned. Thanks for your help. 

The UoL itself is not part of the Russell Group, and neither are most of the UoL's member institutions.