Aston Business School is one of the most experienced providers of business and management education in the UK. Today, it is among the largest of the leading business schools in Europe, with over 100 full-time academic staff and many visiting specialists. Aston can boast accreditation from the AMBA, EQUIS and AACSB, one of only a small number of schools in the world to hold all three.
The 2007 Financial Times Executive MBA ranking placed Aston’s part time Executive MBA 8th in the UK, 15th in Europe and 50th in the world. Aston Business School MBA graduates can expect to increase their salary by 75%, 3 years after the programme.
In 2007, the Aston MBA was also listed in The Financial Times’ ‘32 of the top Distance Learning MBA programmes.’ The 2007 Economist Intelligence Unit ‘Which MBA?’ guide placed Aston’s full time MBA in the top 20 in the EU.
The Aston MBA can be studied either full or part time, by on-campus attendance or by Aston’s unique DVD based distance learning method (DVD method available to European based students only).
The quality of the Aston MBA rests on the excellence of the teaching and research, and the very strong links with employers. This is complemented and enhanced by the ‘live’ business project carried out by MBA students once the taught part of the course is completed. All MBA modules feature corporate connections and an international dimension. With more than 25 nationalities represented last year, the programme has a truly international environment essential for those aiming to be global managers.
Aston boasts purpose-built teaching facilities exclusively for the use of MBA students in the School’s Nelson Building HQ.
These include new lecture theatres, a common room and teaching rooms, as well as an MBA study and lounge area. This excellent facility allows all students the opportunity to learn and socialise together in an encouraging environment tailored to their needs. Included in the Aston MBA tuition fee is a one-week study visit to another leading European business school, key textbooks for all modules, the use of DVD recordings of lectures (held in Aston’s library), and also membership of AMBA and the Chartered Management Institute for the year of study.
Aston’s graduates can be found working in senior management positions around the world; banking executives in Hong Kong, industrialists in India and company presidents in the USA, not to mention hundreds of senior managers in the UK. For all, the Aston MBA has been the key that has helped open the door to career success.
Donna Lam Country of origin: Hong Kong
After leaving college in Hong Kong, Donna was fired with enthusiasm to do well in the business world. However, she was also aware that she had to develop her skills in order to stand out from the crowd.
Donna explained: “Aston has a really good reputation for its MBA. My research convinced me that Aston’s MBA programme could give me a much broader outlook on business and higher management.”
So in 2004 Donna took the plunge and enrolled on the MBA course. Donna immediately liked the Aston campus. “You are on the doorstep of the dynamic city centre of Birmingham yet everything about Aston is peaceful. I loved it.”
Her MBA stretched Donna, but she found the staff supportive as well as knowledgeable. “The MBA not only gave me business skills, it built up my confidence and self-motivation. It made me think much more broadly about everything around me, not just about business, but about people, the environment, social networking and personal skills.”
Donna also enjoyed the social life at Aston and made lifelong friends on the MBA programme. “The friendship at Aston is fantastic. We helped each other on the course and are now planning reunions.”
After graduating Donna worked in industry in China and headed the branding division of a watch company. And now the self-confidence that Aston’s MBA gave Donna has helped her to establish her own design and branding company with her partner in the booming, cosmopolitan city of Shanghai.
For the School Statistics please check: QS TopMBA Scorecard
Source: QS TopMBA Career Guide