Funding options
Employer funding
Relevance and commitment ■ Is an MBA relevant to your career and future aspirations? Have you read the various MBA directories available and searched online for relevant articles? ■ How can an MBA enhance your current work performance and contribution? ■ Have you considered the best time for you to undertake an MBA? ■ Have you considered your preferred learning style? ■ Will the delivery mode you are considering interfere with your commitment to work, for example, business travel commitments? ■ How much working time will it take up? When are you likely to be away from the office? ■ Is there likely to be any conflict between the MBA timetable and company events (e.g. clashes between course dates, residential sessions or exams, financial year end, seasonal business activities)? ■ Will you have access to company The environment ■ Is there a history of sponsorship in your organisation ■ Who is your potential sponsor and what are their views on MBAs? How much work will you need to do to convince them? ■ Have you considered other career development routes such as industry- specific qualifications (for example, CIM, ACA or Institute of Banking)? Could your immediate needs be met by a short course or in-house training scheme? You may need to justify your choice of course. ■ Does your company or its competitors currently advertise for MBA graduates? You could ask recruitment professionals in your sector. information for assessments? Could this be a sensitive issue?
Which school? ■ It helps if you have evaluated schools from both your own and your employer’s perspective ■ What were the results of your research? Where else have you considered? Can you cite the advantages and disadvantages of different schools and programmes? ■ How much do you know about the school’s strengths (research, subject strengths, faculty and so on)? ■ Have you considered the reputation of the school and its programmes? Do you have the latest information on accreditations and rankings? ■ Which style of delivery are you considering? Is your choice determined by cost, flexibility or convenience? Can you justify your choice? It might be useful canvassing the opinions of other people in your company who’ve done an MBA (at Warwick or elsewhere) or Warwick MBA alumni who work in a similar field. The investment and costs ■ Have you done a cost-benefit analysis of full-time versus part-time study? ■ Have you collected the comparative costs of MBA programmes at other schools? ■ Do you have details of what is included in the fees? Are there any extras? ■ Are you aware of the costs of the different modes of study and the add-on costs associated with them (e.g. differential travel costs or child care)?
The Warwick MBA is a significant investment for you and your employer, both in financial terms and in the time needed to devote to study. There are three main areas you may want to approach your employer about to negotiate for support: ■ Financial help to pay your tuition fees and other expenses ■ Giving you enough time to study at home and attend the tuition ■ The opportunity to apply your learning from the MBA in the workplace. Do your research Before you approach your employer to discuss how they can support you with your MBA, we recommend you spend some time researching the following areas: ■ Financial help to pay your tuition fees and other expenses ■ Giving you enough time to study at home and attend the tuition ■ The opportunity to apply your learning from the MBA in the workplace.
There is never going to be a perfect time to apply and study for an MBA. It took me years of thinking about it to bite the bullet and start, and now I have, I’ve never doubted that I made the right decision Melissa Sumner Executive MBA
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The Warwick MBA 2025
warwickmba.com
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