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Management Schools and Programs in The United Kingdom

46 schools in The United Kingdom teach Management.

  • Warnborough College (UK)

    Higher education centre Canterbury, The United Kingdom

    Warnborough College (UK) was established in Oxford in 1973 and is now headquartered at 18 Lower Bridge Street in Canterbury, Kent. It is part of Warnborough Worldwide, which provides courses and qualifications, industry experience, conferences, publishing and online learning…

Management Studies in The United Kingdom

Management is taught in the United Kingdom at two main points. School leavers take a bachelor's degree with honours, usually called Business Management, Business and Management or simply Management. Graduates of any subject can take a one-year master's degree, typically an MSc in Management, before they start their career. Neither is a regulated profession, so the choice is mainly about content, accreditation, cost and location.

This directory lists 48 schools in the United Kingdom that teach management, 11 of them in London.

How the bachelor's degree is organised

In England the bachelor's degree with honours takes three years of full-time study. Examples are the BSc Business and Management at the University of York (UCAS code N202), the BSc Business Management at the University of Southampton (also N202) and the Business and Management Studies BSc at the University of Sussex (NN12). All three can be extended with a year in industry or a placement year, and York notes that students pay a reduced fee for that year.

In Scotland a degree usually requires four years. The MA (Hons) in Management at the University of St Andrews lasts four years full time (UCAS code N200); at St Andrews the MA is an undergraduate degree. St Andrews also offers management in joint Honours degrees with subjects such as economics, computer science and geography.

Master's degrees in management

A master's degree is a level 7 qualification and normally takes one year. The Management MSc at the University of Sussex lasts one year full time. The Management MSc at Cranfield University lasts 12 months, with 140 credits of taught modules and a 40-credit business project. The MSc in Management at Imperial College London lasts 12 months, and students can extend it to 16 months to complete longer internships or exchanges for an additional fee. Imperial states that most of its MSc programmes require at least an Upper Second Class Honours degree or the international equivalent.

Accreditation

There is no single accrediting body for management degrees. Universities refer to several, and it helps to know what each covers.

  • Business school accreditation: AMBA states that it accredits MBA, DBA and master's degree programmes. Sussex describes its business school as EQUIS and AMBA-accredited, and Southampton lists AACSB for its BSc Business Management.
  • Professional bodies: Cranfield describes its Management MSc as a Chartered Management Institute (CMI) dual accreditation degree; according to Cranfield, the CMI is the only organisation awarding Chartered Manager status.
  • Accountancy exemptions: Southampton's degree is accredited by CIMA, and the Sussex degree is accredited by CIMA for exemption from some professional examinations.

Admission and language

Applications for bachelor's degrees go through UCAS, where an applicant can have five choices in total. For courses starting in 2027, the equal consideration date for most undergraduate courses is 13 January 2027, and many universities continue to accept international applications later in the year. Universities set their own entry requirements: the typical A-level offer is AAB at York and Southampton and ABB at Sussex. UK ENIC can issue a statement comparing foreign qualifications with UK ones. Master's applications go to the university itself; Imperial, for example, takes all postgraduate applications online.

Teaching is in English. York asks for IELTS 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each component for its BSc, Cranfield asks for 6.5 overall for its MSc, and Sussex asks for 6.0 overall for its MSc. The Student visa requires English equivalent to CEFR level B2 for study at degree level.

Costs and the Student visa

Fees differ widely between universities. For 2027 entry, York charges £10,050 a year to UK students and £28,600 to international and EU students for the BSc Business and Management. St Andrews charges EU and overseas students £34,910 for the MA in Management. For master's degrees, Cranfield lists £37,200 for overseas students and £19,900 for home students in 2027-28, and Imperial lists a fee of £51,000 for the programme starting in August 2027.

A Student visa requires a place from a licensed student sponsor. The application costs £558 from outside the UK and can be made at the earliest six months before the course starts. Applicants must show £1,529 per month for courses in London, or £1,171 per month outside London, for up to nine months (gov.uk, checked October 2026).

Where to study management

London has the largest group of schools in this directory, including Imperial College London, King's College London, University College London, SOAS University of London, the University of Westminster and Regent's University London. Manchester has The University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and Salford Business School. In Scotland the list includes the University of St Andrews, The University of Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt University, the University of Strathclyde and the University of Aberdeen. Elsewhere there are campus universities such as Lancaster University, The University of York and the University of Sussex, and the specialist postgraduate Cranfield University.

After graduation

Management graduates work across sectors rather than in one profession. Courses build in work experience for that reason: Cranfield includes a three-month internship in its MSc, and the undergraduate degrees above offer a placement year. International graduates can apply for a Graduate visa after an eligible course; it lasts 18 months for applications made on or after 1 January 2027.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a management degree take in the United Kingdom?

A bachelor's degree with honours takes three years in England, or four with a placement year, and four years in Scotland. A master's degree in management normally takes one year.

Can I take a master's in management without a business degree?

These master's degrees are aimed at recent graduates. Cranfield describes its MSc as being for graduates who want to develop management knowledge before their first professional role; each university publishes the degree class and subjects it accepts.

Is a management degree accredited by one official body?

No. Universities cite different bodies, such as AMBA, EQUIS and AACSB for business schools and the CMI or CIMA for individual courses, so the accreditation should be checked on each course page.