MBA course costs reduced from £18,000 to just £900 for SMEs at University of Bradford, thanks to 95 per cent Government subsidy

“If you’ve ever wanted to do an MBA, now is the time,” said Dr Natalie Wilmot, MBA Director in the Faculty of Management, Law & Social Sciences at the University of Bradford. “This is a fantastic opportunity to engage in masters level management education at a world leading business school at minimal cost.”

Dr Wilmot said the typical cost for companies sending an employee on an MBA (Master of Business Administration) course had been massively subsidised for a limited period, meaning rather than firms having to pay £18,000, they would pay only £900.

Since 2017, all employers with a payroll bill of more than £3m have been required to pay a levy of 0.5 per cent of their payroll into a central pot administered by the Education and Skills Funding Agency, the aim being to ‘upskill’ the UK workforce.

However, not all of those big businesses have taken up the chance to send employees on an apprenticeship course. As a result, the Government has temporarily opened the scheme up to non-levy paying companies.

The original deadline for applications was April 10 but this has recently been extended to May 15 but Dr Wilmot said it was likely the course would fill up fast if the university receives a lot of applications.

The University of Bradford is the first higher education institution in the UK to open a modern business school, which is regarded as one of the oldest and most prestigious triple-accredited business schools in the world.

Dr Wilmot added: “The testimony we have from our alumni community attests to the transformative impact an MBA has on a business but also for personal development. To be able to do this course for £900 is fantastic and, because there is only a limited window to apply and the Government are due to review funding later in the year, if you have ever been considering doing an MBA, there couldn’t be a better time.”

In practical terms, an MBA gives anyone who is either in management or considering it as a career choice a much broader understanding of how different parts of an organisation work, from human resources and marketing to finance and technology.

MBA courses at Bradford last two-and-a-half years and typically mean candidates attending classes from Friday to Sunday roughly once a month. Course dates currently scheduled for June 12-14, June 26-28, July 31-August 2, September 11-13, October 23-25, December 11-13, January 22-24 and March 5-7. 

Those completing the course as an apprenticeship gain Chartered Manager status.

Dr Craig Johnson, senior lecturer in the Faculty of Management, Law & Social Sciences, said: “There’s never been a better time to do an MBA. It’s such a wonderful opportunity for small and medium businesses. MBAs have been shown to dramatically improve how businesses work, making them more efficient, more resilient and generally improving management. I urge any business which wants to grab this opportunity while it’s available.”

The apprenticeship levy can be used to fund up to 95 per cent of an MBA programme when studied as a Senior Leader Masters Degree Apprenticeship. Right now, small businesses can support their employees to gain an MBA for just £900, with the remaining £17,100 co-funded through the apprenticeship scheme.

University of Bradford school of management has a globally recognised Triple Crown Accreditation from the Association of MBAs (AMBA), EQUIS (European Foundation for Management Development accreditation) and AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business). Out of about 14,000 business schools globally, it is one of only 90 to have that status and it does position the school as one of the elite business schools. Bradford was also one of the first universities in the UK to start offering an MBA programme.

University of Bradford contact: [email protected]

Details of the scheme are also available on the HMRC website.