The Edinburgh Business School Online

Highlights

• Has largest international online distance learning MBA program in the world
• Over 40% of Fortune 500 companies have students in EBS
• Graduate school of Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland
• Over 10,000 graduates online and on-campus since 1990
• Courses are available in Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic
• Designed for students in the workplace and to address management in the global market
• Inspected by the UK Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and approved by the US Department of Education

About the School

Edinburgh Business School was launched in 1990, after 15 years of development by the school's director. The school is part of Heriot-Watt University, which was founded in 1821 and was the first technical institute in the world. Today Heriot-Watt is considered a leading university in business, petroleum engineering, and brewing. The University has campuses in Edinburgh, the Scottish Borders and Orkney. Heriot-Watt is a Royal Charter university in the UK.

EBS is based in a teaching and administrative center on the main Heriot-Watt campus in Edinburgh. This location manages on-campus, corporate and distance learning programs. As a part of the main university, EBS works from the same academic processes. The school is managed by directors from both academia and business.

Academic Programs

Students work towards their MBAs on a course-by-course basis. Students can earn a Business Administration Postgraduate Certificate after three courses a Postgraduate Diploma after six courses. A completed MBA requires a combination of severn core courses and two electives.

Core courses cover business administration fundamentals including accounting, economics, finance, marketing, organizations, and strategy. There are numerous electives to choose from such as alliances, competition, consumer behavior, employee relations, risk management, international marketing, managing people, mergers and acquisitions, negotation, quantitative methods, sales force management, and more.

EBS runs exams for each course regularly during the academic year. Students can take the exams in one of over 300 exam locations throughout the world.

EBS also offers a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degree that is targeted for executives with a goal of applying research approaches to business.

Learning Options

EBS offers several study options, including online self-study, on-campus, and via an EBS international learning partner. These options give students the flexiblity of:

• Working at their own pace including taking breaks as needed
• Taking individual courses or a combination of courses
• Communicating with faculty and fellow classmates either online or on-campus
• Financing studies on a per course basis

The school offers flexibility in language of study. Many courses have been translated into Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic. Students can mix which languages in which they study from course to course. Course exams can also be taken using these languages.

Faculty

The business school's faculty and course developers include those based on-campus and contributors from internationally located business schools including London Business School, Imperial College London, INSEAD, Tulane University and Stanford Business School.

Student Life

Most students are professionals in the middle of their business careers who are seeking greater knowledge of applied management techniques. MBA student ages average in the mid-30s. Student backgrounds are diverse covering a broad spectrum of academic, work, and international experiences. To facilitate networking and sharing of experiences, students independently run their own online chat room.

Admissions

Requirements vary according to the specific program of interest. Typically the school requires at least a degree from a recognized university. In some cases an undergraduate degree may not be required.