The Dual MBA: The best of international business education

Alliance Manchester Business School and Kelley School of Business

Alliance Manchester Business School and Kelley School of Business join forces to offer a new joint MBA programme in the region

Two of the world’s leading business schools have created an innovative joint MBA programme which promises a unique international experience for working professionals in the Middle East, with student support provided through a team based in Dubai.

US-based Kelley School of Business, a world-leader in the delivery of online MBAs, and Alliance Manchester Business School, an elite global business school with six centres around the globe, offer a combined legacy of nearly 150 years of innovation in business and management education. Graduates of the new joint Kelley-Manchester Global MBA will be awarded an MBA degree by each school’s university – Indiana University, US, and The University of Manchester, UK.

Together, the schools will provide the two-year part-time Kelley-Manchester Global MBA students with professional development and a global literacy that enables them to succeed in today’s increasingly complex and interconnected business world. The new programme offers students flexibility, from the top online MBA programme in the United States and a global school with international centres in the key regional business cities around the world.

Randa Bessiso, Director – Middle East, The University of Manchester, says: “This new and exciting international partnership will strengthen even further our already global offer, and provide experienced working professionals in the Middle East with a new high quality MBA option with some unique dimensions. Together with Kelley School of Business, we are continuing to build on our history of delivering world-class research-led business education through innovative programmes that really challenge and prepare our MBAs to meet the demands of their future careers, whatever their ambitions.”

As a trans-national education provider, The University of Manchester has a long tradition of global business education with centres in Manchester, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, São Paulo and Dubai - the largest and fastest growing centre, supporting over 2200 students and graduating over 1100 MBAs since 2006.

In 1999, its Kelley Direct programme became the first online MBA offered by a top-ranked business school. Today, it consistently ranks No. 1 or No. 2 among online graduate programmes and serves as a model for similar programmes.

The same faculty who teach in both schools’ highly regarded graduate programmes will teach courses to students on the Kelley-Manchester Global MBA degree programme. Students will also receive personalised and insightful mentoring and feedback from career coaches, advisors and professors, and access to global alumni networks.

“This innovative MBA for working professionals in the Middle East is an exciting and unique opportunity for qualified working professionals looking to build their careers with exposure to two of the world’s major centres of business. The joint MBA offers collaborative teaching from two top-ranked schools, and experience of British and US-style business and management education combining some of the world’s best online and face–to–face teaching at residential workshops in the US and around the world. A choice of electives helps focus study on students’ areas of interest to support their global business careers, whilst continuing to work full–time.”