FINANCING AN MBA

Funding Advice

Studying for an MBA demands a large personal and financial investment. The MBA is not a cheap qualification and you need to consider expenses outside of the tuition fees as well as living costs, travel and opportunity cost, if you are studying full-time.

Full-time students rarely receive any form of sponsorship. Exceptions tend to be:

• Overseas students funded by their government
  
• Employees of a select number of large consultancy firms
  
• Employees of a small number of blue-chip companies

Employer support for part-time and distance-learning programmes is common among organisations with a management development focus. Around half of these students have their fees met in full by their employer, with 30% receiving some form of financial assistance.

Business School Support

Ask schools whether they have their own scholarships or other 'institution awards' such as bursaries. These are allocated according to either merit, need or to encourage applications from certain categories of students. School prospectuses and web sites sometimes list available scholarships.

Grants, Scholarships, Bursaries and Loans

Useful links section

Some governments, charitable trusts and companies offer financial support. Grants and scholarships generally cover part of the overall cost but may have some conditions attached. Examples of scholarships for full-time study include the Fullbright Awards and Harkness Fellowships. A comprehensive listing of scholarships, grants and other awards appears in the Grants Register, published by Palgrave.

Loans have to be repaid with interest. The Association administers a preferential loan on behalf of NatWest, for accredited programmes in both the UK and overseas. Click here for more information.

If you are not eligible to apply for the Association's loan scheme there is another alternative:

If you live or intend to train in the UK and intend to use that training for work in the UK or elsewhere in the EU or European Economic Area (EEA), you can apply for a Career Development Loan (CDL).

The Career Development Loan Scheme is run in partnership with the Department of Education and Employment and is available from the following banks:

For further information about the Scheme visit www.lifelonglearning.co.uk/cdl/index.htm