Kingston launches distance learning MBA with Study Group

Posted Tuesday 21 May 2013

Students on the new Kingston Distance Learning MBA will be able to study at home, in the office or while travelling. Kingston Business School has officially launched its first distance learning Master of Business Administration degree. As well as costing less than the traditional programme, the new three-year course will allow students to be much more flexible when it comes to fitting study into their working life.

It is aimed both at people living overseas and those in the UK whose career schedules prevent them from completing the full-time Kingston-based MBA.

The course, which would cost £16,000 compared to £18,560 for the full-time MBA, was expected to attract students from all over the world, Kingston University Vice-Chancellor Professor Julius Weinberg said. "They will also save money in terms of living costs and by being able to continue to work and earn whilst studying," he added. "We already run a very well established and industry-respected MBA here in London as well as one in Moscow and we are proud that our fantastic business management team will now be running a high-quality MBA in cyberspace too."

The Distance Learning MBA will be delivered in partnership with international education provider Study Group, with the University being responsible for the academic content. The official agreement was signed on Thursday afternoon (May 16) at Kingston Business School by Professor Weinberg and the Managing Director, Higher Education (UK and Europe) of Study Group, James Pitman. "The distance learning students will be getting the same MBA experience and content just in a different way," Mr Pitman said. "Gone are the days when global businesses could afford to hold lots of face-to-face meetings, so as a preparation for the way business is done in the 21st century, this probably is the best way to learn."

Students on the Distance Learning MBA will attend an induction fortnight on the Kingston campus in south-west London but the rest of their learning can take place via the internet anywhere in the world. Elements of the course will also be available on a residential basis. Dean of Kingston Business School Professor Jean-Noel Ezingeard said this mode of course delivery would definitely continue to flourish in the future. "The way the job market is changing has led to much more pressurised career lives making it increasingly difficult for people to take time off work to study," he explained.

"Our new course, however, offers the chance to achieve an MBA delivered by a leading business school but with the flexibility to learn at home, in the office or while travelling."

An MBA can lead to significant financial rewards. Research by the Association of MBAs (AMBA) in 2010 showed that MBA graduates enjoyed a 33 per cent increase in salary immediately following completion of their course. Kingston was the first business school - and is still one of only three in the world - to receive AMBA accreditation for all its postgraduate business management course provision up to doctoral level.

The Kingston Distance Learning MBA will have two intakes each year, with its first cohort of students starting in September 2013.