The dual MBA: The best of international business education

Alliance Manchester Business School and Kelley School of Business offer joint MBA programmes in the region

Two of the world's leading business schools have created an innovative joint MBA programme providing a unique international experience for working professionals in the Middle East, with student support provided through a specialist 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 five 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 Part-time MBA will be awarded an MBA degree by each school's university - Indiana University, USA, and The University of Manchester, UK.  

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

As a transnational education provider, The University of Manchester has a long tradition of global business education with centres in Manchester, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai, which is the largest and fastest-growing centre, supporting over 2,800 students and graduating over 1,800 MBA students since 2006.  

In 1999, its Kelley Direct programme became the first online MBA offered by a top-ranked business school. Today, it consistently ranks number one or two among online graduate programmes and serves as a model for similar programmes.  

The same faculty who teaches in both schools' highly regarded graduate programmes teach courses to students on the Kelley-Manchester Global Part-time MBA degree programme. Students 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. 

Alliance Manchester Business School's exciting international partnership with the prestigious Kelley School of Business strengthens even further our already global offer and provides experienced working professionals in the Middle East with high quality, innovative part-time MBA options with some unique dimensions. Together with Kelley School of Business, The University of Manchester is 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. The programme combines the best in flexible, interactive online learning with the opportunity to come on-site twice a year to work together and build valuable connections. It's an exciting opportunity not to be missed."  

Randa Bessiso Director - Middle East The University of Manchester 

Overall, the MBA has made me a more rounded professional. Studying courses relating to different functions of an organisation, such as accounting and finance, has allowed me to appreciate other perspectives. I now understand their challenges and how they think, which makes me more effective in my role."  

Leonard Zheng Kelley-Manchester Global Part-time MBA 2018 Real Estate Development Director, IWG plc, China 

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