Dr Juliana Kozak Rogo (Director of the MPhil in Management): “The MPhil in Management is a one-year, full-time, pre-experience programme designed for students who want to pursue a career in management or more generally want to learn the tools, techniques and principles of how to think as a manager and integrate this knowledge to their field of interest. Students come from various cultural and academic backgrounds, and learning leverages this demographic and cognitive diversity. The programme is conceptualised across three main components: a foundation, a consolidation, and an implementation portion, with the goal of providing a rigorous, comprehensive set of skills across all business function areas including accounting, organisational behaviour, marketing, finance strategy, and operations.
“But even more so, we want to develop the mindset and emphasise the values of ethics, integrity and social responsibility, so that our graduates become a transformative force for good in society and really thoughtful global business leaders. To complement the curriculum, we offer a series of focused workshops with the goal of developing professional skills that are going to be relevant further in the job market. Through our distinguished guest speaker series, students have the chance to interact and discuss with global experts on current business issues.
“The students also have the opportunity to engage in several entrepreneurship initiatives at CJBS and at the University, such as Enterprise Tuesdays and venture creation expanding their network further. A highlight of the programme is the capstone Management Consulting Project in which teams of students interact with real clients and work together to solve a real business problem receiving feedback from faculty and the clients themselves at the end. It is a really gratifying experience in which students really enjoy working together thinking through the problem and applying the tools that they learn along the way. And companies themselves appreciate receiving a realistic value-enhancing recommendation that they can apply in the short or longer term.
“In terms of placement, our graduates occupy positions in consulting, in strategic, digital, financial; also investment and banking, and roles as business analysts in the FMCG industry. Some of them go on to occupy government positions as well.”
Xinrong Wang (MPhil in Mangement alumna): “I studied in the management programme. After achieving a first-class degree in humanities, I applied for this programme because I want to achieve a career in management consulting. What benefits me most in this programme is the consulting project, where I worked with our clients to help them to solve real-life problems and challenges. The diverse modules and the consulting projects prepared me for my future career.
“So after completing the programme, I received multiple offers in top consulting and auditing firms in both the UK and China. So from my perspective, this is really an inspiring and valuable programme. I enjoy the strong network here in Cambridge. Students are coming from diverse backgrounds so we had a lot of interaction, and we do learn and inspire each other during the process.”
The MPhil in Management is for those wanting to pursue a career in business without having already studied business or management.
A year at Cambridge is a life-changing experience, equipping you to become a leader in your field.
Here, you’ll enjoy:
- Studying at one of the world’s foremost academic institutions, home to over 90 Nobel Laureates
- The benefits of the Collegiate system, including lifetime membership of your College
- Status as an alumnus of the University of Cambridge, a global network of high achievers
- Support from the University Careers Service in a dynamic, stimulating business environment.
Applications closed
Applications for entry in 2023/24 have now closed.
Applications for entry in October 2024 will open in September 2023.
Fees & scholarships
Visit the Postgraduate Admissions website to learn about course costs, your fee status and more.
There are a range of scholarships available to MPhil students at Cambridge Judge Business School.
Who is the programme for?
Unlike the School’s post-experience programmes, the MPhil in Management is for you if you have:
- A UK First Class Honours degree (or equivalent international qualification) in any non-business or management discipline
- Less than one year of work experience as of the start of the programme.
As part of the shortlisting process, you’ll be asked to supply transcripts and academic references when you apply.
Why Cambridge?
Cambridge MPhil in Management alumnus François Vanherck explains what drew him to the programme.
Why did you choose the MPhil in Management?
I chose this MPhil programme because it was one of the very best courses in management which did not require any previous education in business, nor did it also require any professional experience. I also chose it for different reasons: for the Cambridge experience, and also because it’s a much smaller course, with a very small cohort of graduates. So we’re very much a family and everyone has a very diverse background and brings something different. So these are mainly the reasons why.
Why impressed you most about the MPhil in Management?
What impressed me the most about this programme was the quality of the teaching and also the fact that we get such a broad approach to business. So we get to touch upon a lot of things in sufficient detail. So that’s great as well.
What is it like to study at CJBS?
So Cambridge Judge Business School is a great institution to be studying at. And it’s an institution at the heart of the University of Cambridge and also a leading institution in its domain. And you get to meet a lot of people, with very varied backgrounds, and also extremely clever but also interesting people. So it’s a great institution.
The MPhil in Management at CJBS
Alumna Li Xin Wong talks about Cambridge and the business school.
Why did you choose the MPhil in Management?
So I chose this MPhil programme, because I wanted to gain a foundation in business management. I did my undergraduate studies in food science in the United States, and I wanted to start my career in the business side of the food industry, which is why I thought it’s natural for me to pursue a programme that gives me the foundation to the whole business management. Also, this programme was recommended to me by a senior from my undergraduate school. And she highly recommended this course to me, because she has learned a lot from this programme, which is the reason why I applied and pursued this MPhil Management programme.
How has your experience on the course been?
So the course is very intensive and rigorous, because we have to take 11 courses over the span of nine months, but it’s been a great learning experience. I’ve learned a lot and gained a lot of exposure to the different fields of management studies. So I’ve really enjoyed the whole teaching experience.
What is it like studying at CJBS?
I’ve really enjoyed my experience here. It’s a great place to learn and meet people. And there are many opportunities for us to network and interact with people of various backgrounds coming from different parts of the world, as well as different educational levels, such as the MFin and MBA students. So there are many events and guest speaker talks within CJBS. So it’s a great learning place for students.
What is Cambridge like?
Cambridge is a really beautiful place with many quaint historical buildings that come with modern amenities. So I’ve really enjoyed my experience here in Cambridge. It’s a great place to relax and learn and meet people from various backgrounds. Also, the location of the business school is really convenient, as it is really central.
What has impressed you most about the MPhil?
So what impressed me most about the programme is that how professors and lecturers of my course are always so friendly and approachable. They’re also very helpful in giving us advice for our careers. So beyond teaching us in the classroom, they also offer help. We can visit them during their office hours and they give us suggestions on how to prepare for interviews. So that has been really helpful for us students.
What will you learn?
This taught masters programme offers a thorough grounding in management based on world-leading research. This involves skills ranging from the mathematical to the interpersonal, so you’re challenged to excel across a range of theoretical and practical disciplines.
Lectures, discussions, and written work are designed for you to gain a critical understanding of the practice of management, including:
- Key applied techniques
- Conceptual issues
- Contemporary debates in academic management literature.
Most graduates of our MPhil in Management are expected to go into business. As such, we’ve built the programme as a graduate conversion course to equip you for your new career.
The curriculum
The MPhil in Management provides an academically rigorous and professionally relevant programme for recent graduates with less than a year of work experience.
The core of the MPhil in Management is grounded in the latest advances in business and management theory and practice, and covers quantitative methods, accounting, organisational behaviour and analysis, and marketing (foundation); business economics, finance, and strategy (consolidation); operations management and the Management Consulting Project (implementation). This is complemented by a range of electives aligned to potential careers in management.
The MPhil in Management core courses cover an extensive breadth of business and management disciplines and topics. Core courses are taught throughout the programme. They provide a solid grounding in the key areas of management.
The MPhil in Management electives cover a wide range of topics, designed to allow students to tailor the course to their own interests. Elective courses are taught throughout the programme. The specialist nature of electives will enable you to present prospective employers with a portfolio of both general management and specialised knowledge, to position yourself for the career to which you aspire.
A series of workshops on team building, collaborative leadership, academic writing and other relevant topics are offered throughout the programme. The purpose of these workshops is to provide you with foundation skills that are essential to the successful completion of your academic programme and development of your future career once you graduate. The exact number of these workshops may vary from year to year depending on their relevance.
The MPhil in Management core courses cover an extensive breadth of business and management disciplines and topics. Core courses are taught throughout the programme. They provide a solid grounding in the key areas of management.
The MPhil in Management electives cover a wide range of topics, designed to allow students to tailor the course to their own interests. Elective courses are taught throughout the programme. The specialist nature of electives will enable you to present prospective employers with a portfolio of both general management and specialised knowledge, to position yourself for the career to which you aspire.
A series of workshops on team building, collaborative leadership, academic writing and other relevant topics are offered throughout the programme. The purpose of these workshops is to provide you with foundation skills that are essential to the successful completion of your academic programme and development of your future career once you graduate. The exact number of these workshops may vary from year to year depending on their relevance.
The MPhil in Management core courses cover an extensive breadth of business and management disciplines and topics. Core courses are taught throughout the programme. They provide a solid grounding in the key areas of management.
The Management Consulting Project is a core course on the programme. It provides you with a unique opportunity to apply theory to the practice of management. It involves working in teams over the Easter Term to solve a business problem within a high-performing organisation, following which you’ll present your analysis and results in an oral presentation to your client organisation and to an invited audience.
The MPhil in Management electives cover a wide range of topics, designed to allow students to tailor the course to their own interests. Elective courses are taught throughout the programme. The specialist nature of electives will enable you to present prospective employers with a portfolio of both general management and specialised knowledge, to position yourself for the career to which you aspire.
- Pre-term courses
- Induction courses
- Core courses
- Electives
- Projects
- Management Workshops
Assessment
Each course carries the same weighting towards the final mark. A wide range of assessment strategies are used, including examination, assignments, case studies, presentations and coursework. All core courses (except the Management Consulting Project) are assessed primarily by an individual University examination, which may be complemented with other types of assessments among those mentioned above.
