Masters | Postgraduate Course - DBS & EBS Executive MBA Course Details within Durham Business School

MBA 2 years PT

A world class Executive MBA programme taught on a modular part-time basis in Germany and the UK.

The programme at a glance:

Duration: 2 years part-time, with two 6-day residentials in Durham (UK) and fifteen 3-day courses (Thursday-Saturday) in Oestrich-Winkel (Germany)

Structure: 7 core modules, 5 electives and a dissertation

Assessment: modules are assessed either by examination or assignment, or both

Start date: the next programme is due to start January

An inspiring European programme, a unique Anglo-German collaboration

As two renowned and respected business schools, DBS from the UK and EBS from Germany have combined their strengths and their long-term experiences in executive development to provide you with an exciting, outstanding programme.  Offering you the benefits of an excellent learning experience and a highly valued international qualification, the programme will provide you with insights into the various fields of business and management from an Anglo-American as well as from a continental European viewpoint. In addition, you will have access to a huge network in the UK, Germany and the rest of the world.

Our programme is designed to attract experience and diversity, as we believe the greatest strength on an Executive MBA programme comes from its participants.  The DBS & EBS Executive MBA is intended for experienced managers across all sectors of industry and professions, as well as scientists, engineers, lawyers and other professionals. 

This unique Executive MBA programme pursues a multi-disciplinary approach, with a curriculum encompassing interpersonal competencies such as team building and leadership skills, and addressing issues related to corporate social responsibility.

Our Executive MBA is a 2-year, part-time programme with two 6-day residentials in the UK, eleven 3-day core courses (Thursday to Saturday) in Germany, five 3-day elective courses (Thursday to Saturday) in Germany, the UK or other international locations and optional 6-day International Study Weeks.  The programme commences in January each year with a 6-day residential induction in Durham that is designed to introduce you to DBS and EBS and to your fellow participants. Core module teaching also starts during this time.

The programme itself mirrors much of the Global MBA programme itself in terms of its modular structure, with progression from foundational core modules, through the more specialized electives phase, culminating in the production of an original supervised MBA Business Project (dissertation).

Core modules

The six core modules provide an understanding of relevant, cutting-edge management issues from an academic perspective. A multi-disciplinary approach encourages a critical exploration of knowledge areas that underpin management activity and are relevant to the analysis of business practices. The broad-based curriculum addresses contemporary management and business issues, deepening your critical awareness and understanding.  The core modules are:- 

Managing in the Global Competitive Environment:  Explores the complex environmental pressures on organizations, how they can respond to these influences and the key management issues involved in aligning these forces. The theme takes an integrated perspective of the operating environment of organizations from the standpoint of marketing and operations management.

Managing in the Global Environment:  Enables you to acquire and develop specialist knowledge and a critical understanding of key macro and micro elements of economic analysis relevant to business decision-making and planning in the global economy.

Managing Finance:  Provides you with an appreciation of the financial tools of business management, in particular the techniques of financial statement analysis, and an understanding of the key requisite skills for valuing investments and financial securities. It provides a critical evaluation of the factors affecting the finance mix of a firm and the financial markets in which firms operate giving insight into topical issues in this area. 

Managing People:  Delivers a critical understanding of the complex nature of contemporary organizations to facilitate exercising independent judgement when analysing organizational and managerial issues.  It enables you to develop an understanding of the changing nature of management and appreciate the contribution of Human Resource Management to organizational functioning.

Modeling and Analysis for Management:  Provides you with a detailed knowledge of key concepts in data description and statistical modelling; monitoring and hypothesis testing; linear models; and how to apply them to complex management problems.

Strategic Management:  Provides an understanding of strategy formulation and implementation under conditions of changing industry competition, firm resources and technology by examining how companies attempt different business and corporate strategies to achieve a significant competitive advantage.

Elective modules

Delegates on the DBS-EBS Executive MBA programme undertake five elective modules.  These present an opportunity to study topics of your choice in more depth. They allow you to enhance and deepen your knowledge and skills in areas of particular interest and relevance to your future career aspirations.

You choose five electives from a broad portfolio of topics. If you wish to tailor your Executive MBA to a certain area, you could pick electives dedicated to that subject area. Alternatively, you may wish to choose diverse electives to continue the general management theme of the programme.  The electives we offer vary depending on current faculty, research and relevance to business. They take place in Durham, Frankfurt, or in other international locations.  Indeed, we also offer Durham Executive MBA elective modules and Global MBA Residencies to our DBS-EBS programme delegates, further enhancing the degree of choice available. 

MBA business project (dissertation)

The DBS-EBS Executive MBA Programme culminates in a 15,000-word dissertation on a business project chosen by you, and overseen by a faculty supervisor with relevant academic/consultancy experience. The dissertation is an independent piece of research that should be regarded as an exercise in the analysis, interpretation and presentation of information, observations and ideas. Normally it involves the systematic study of a problem using an appropriate theoretical framework. 

This is a very rewarding part of the MBA learning experience across our programmes. The compulsory Methods of Inquiry module provides insight into the research project and must be undertaken before starting the dissertation.

To be considered for admission to the Executive MBA programme, we will normally expect you to:-

• A minimum of three (preferably five) years' relevant work experience since graduation of a managerial nature
• A good degree or equivalent professional qualification
• Additionally, candidates whose first language is not English will normally be required to demonstrate evidence of proficiency in English language as follows: a recent English language test score of 7.0 or above in IELTS with no element below 6.0, or 100 or above in TOEFL IBT with no element below 25
• Depending on qualifications and experience, applicants may be asked to take the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT)

Lack of formal qualifications is not necessarily a barrier to admission; managerial experience is also a key consideration for entry to our Executive MBA programme.  In such cases, we may ask you to submit a portfolio of evidence demonstrating capability in areas such as your management experience, including critical thinking skills and communication skills.

As this programme leads to a dual MBA award, both the Programme Director (EBS) and the Director of the Global Learning Centre (DBS) review all applications for evidence of meeting the entry criteria.

Your application should include:

• the completed application form
• a recent photograph
• a CV or work resume
• a copy of academic and professional qualifications certificates (including transcripts)
• a copy of the English Language Certificate (TOEFL or IELTS)
• GMAT test score report (if requested)
• two references (these can be faxed, scanned and emailed or posted directly to us by the referees if they prefer)