Master of Business Administration
Grow, innovate and thrive with UniSA's 5-star MBA. Maximise your career progression with a nationally and globally acclaimed, award-winning MBA.
About the Course
Ranked the No.13 Online MBA in the world^1, UniSA’s Master of Business Administration is designed for experienced managers and executives. The program delivers a strong applied and practical focus, embedded in senior management decision‐making and the latest in management research.
You will gain real‐world insights through access to academic and industry experts, curriculum informed by above world-class research in Business and Management^2, and professional practice to maximise your career progression. You will engage with a cohort of experienced peers from diverse industry backgrounds, in a highly interactive online learning environment.
You will deepen your expertise in fields such as strategy, marketing, finance, leadership, law, international business, and ethics and sustainability, providing real‐time application in the workplace.
Flexible learning options mean you can tailor your studies to your busy lifestyle and choose to study 100% online, face‐to‐face (including evening classes and intensives) or as a combination of both.
You can also participate in a global study tour, providing you with an international perspective. Another benefit of this degree is that you can complete the Company Directors Course intensively in Adelaide, as part of the MBA curriculum, which is offered in a unique partnership with the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).
UniSA Business is ranked in the Top 1% of business schools worldwide^3 and within the Top 10 Business Schools in Australia^4. Its 5‐Star MBA is recognised and respected globally for its excellence and has received this rating for ten consecutive years^5. It offers a dynamic, engaging, and completely flexible degree that delivers invaluable networking opportunities, preparing you to think and act as a global business leader.
UniSA Business is the only business school in South Australia accredited by both AACSB International (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) and EFMD (EQUIS) – the world’s leading accreditation bodies recognising excellence in business education and research at a global level. These dual accreditations demonstrate the high standards we hold across all areas such as teaching, student learning and research, as well as our commitment to continually improving the quality of our programs.
You will also graduate with a high-quality MBA qualification no matter how you study – the program content, opportunities and level of dedicated support are the same whether you complete your program online, on-campus or in blended mode.
If you are driven to create new solutions, lead innovative teams, and deliver exceptional results in the context of disruptive change and global uncertainty, UniSA’s MBA is for you.
^1CEO Magazine 2022 Global MBA Rankings.
^22018 Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA).
^3UniSA Business is one of just ten institutions in Australia and 189 globally to be accredited by EQUIS (from over 16,500 worldwide). EFMD, February 2020.
^4Ranked #6, Australian Financial Review – 2022 BOSS Best Business Schools Survey
^5Graduate Management Association of Australia (GMAA).
Scholarships
UniSA is proud to support aspirational and high achieving professionals with the Women in MBA (WiMBA) and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander MBA partnership scholarships.
It is well known that a Master of Business Administration is a pathway to leadership and career progression. Our dedicated scholarships actively address leadership inequality and champion women as well as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians with leadership potential, to advance their careers into senior management and executive roles.
The WiMBA scholarship actively addresses leadership inequality and champions women with leadership potential to advance their careers into senior management and executive roles.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander MBA scholarship is offered to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians to develop their careers as leaders and senior managers in business, government and industry.
The scholarships are offered by UniSA in partnership with employers, matching contributions of 50% of MBA tuition fees, to cover the scholarship recipient’s full MBA tuition costs. To maximise success, employers are required to provide flexibility in working arrangements to support study, a career mentor and supportive career pathway options, in addition to the financial contribution.
Course Entry Requirements
Applications seeking admission to the degree are required to meet the following entry criteria:
- A minimum of three (3) years full time management experience and a recognised university undergraduate degree or equivalent professional qualifications; OR
- A Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from the University of South Australia with an average of at least Pass Level 1 (55%) across four (or more) courses, or an equivalent qualification from the University of South Australia or from another recognised university; OR
- The Program Director may, under exceptional circumstances, accept candidates with substantial and proven managerial and/or entrepreneurial experience who have demonstrated the potential to meet the learning requirements of the MBA
All applicants are also required to submit a detailed curriculum vitae or equivalent with at least one referee who can validate work experience.
Course Structure
You will commence the MBA program with the course Strategic Thinking: Concepts and Tools and then have the flexibility to select the order in which you study the remaining courses. Several prerequisites may apply depending on the capstone course undertaken, and this capstone course should be completed towards the end of the program.
As a guide, full-time MBA students generally undertake two courses and part-time students undertake one course per study period. Completing the MBA full-time will normally take 18 months, however, there are options to fast-track your learning to complete the program in 12 months. Part-time students taking one course per study period can typically complete the MBA in three years.
Core courses:
- Strategic Thinking: Concepts and Tools
- Accounting for Decision Making
- Ethics, Governance and Sustainability
- International Business
- Leadership for Growth
- Managerial Finance
- Managing People and Organisations
- Strategic Marketing
- Elective 1^1
- Elective 2^1
- Elective 3^1
Capstone options – you will be able to select one of the following (generally taken when all compulsory courses have been completed successfully):
- Strategic Industry Project
- AICD Company Directors Course^2
^Notes:
- Not all electives will be offered each year. Students should refer to the University of South Australia’s online timetable for details of courses offered in the current year as additional electives may be offered on a once-off basis.
- This course may be taken as either an elective or as a capstone option. It may be taken prior to completing all core courses subject to meeting the prerequisite requirements of a GPA of 5 or greater with eight courses completed. This course is taught by the Australian Institute of Company Directors in intensive, face-to-face delivery. (See subject homepage for full requirements).
Award requirements
To successfully complete the requirements of the MBA, you must complete nine core courses, three electives and a capstone course.
- Progressive understanding to apply advanced theoretical and technical knowledge and skills in areas of business leadership and senior management decision-making, to solve multifaceted problems and drive business growth while demonstrating a capacity for critical reflection, self‐development and resilience as a business leader and senior executive;
- Competency in critically reflecting, reviewing, analysing, identifying and providing meaningful resolutions to complex business leadership and senior executive problems;
- High level of personal autonomy, adaptability and ability to motivate teams, applying judgement in an ethically and socially responsible manner in sustainable business leadership and senior executive decision making;
- Advanced communication skills and technologies in business leadership and senior executive practice, with a variety of stakeholders;
- Sensitivity to audiences in leading and presenting challenging ideas in a diverse workplace, and to the senior business, industry, government, and global community; and
- Ability to critically reflect, analyse and evaluate the impact of global cultural, legal, business and other disruptive factors on the leadership and senior executives of organisations, including responsibilities of a globally responsible citizenry.
