MBA Courses in Australia

Submitted by Tim Meagher
in
Career Management

Hi Everyone

I was after some feedback and recomendations concerning MBA courses in Australia.

I am 29, working in Sydney and looking to complete a MBA or Executive MBA part time while continuing to work full time.  I have 7 years management/supervisory experiance, with the last 3 years in a Senior National Management role.  I have a partially completed undergraduate degree, it was unfinished due to illness in the family.

I am very aware that my learning style is best suited to face-to-face delivery and not distance study.  I learn by listening (so LOVE the podcasts).  I would be willing to attend weeknight sessions, but would prefer weekend or weeklong intensives.  I would be open to completing the course through a university based in VIC, ACT, NSW, or QLD if delivered in intensive week courses, otherwise I would prefer to study in Sydney or Wollongng.

Based on my preliminary research the following courses have jumped out as suitable, and with pathways that would allow me to study them.  These are:

  • Deakin University - Via Intensive Delivery and Study Tours
  • Maquarie Graduate School of Management - via classroom delivery
  • Bond University - Executive MBA - Via Intensive Delivery
  • Wollongong Uni - Executive MBA - Love this course, but don't think I have sufficent background
  • Wollongong Uni - MBA

I was hoping that there would be some Aussies in the MT forums who may be able to give me some feedback on these courses, how they are as a student, and how they are perceived when looking at candidates.  Any comments or feedback or suggestions of other courses would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Tim

Submitted by Jason Masters on Wednesday September 28th, 2011 6:10 am

 Hi Tim
I have not done the MBA courses, but am a company director of a SME and Chair a number of Audit & Risk Committees for Government Agencies in NSW and formerly a Partner in a mid tier chartered accounting firm plus other senior exec roles.  I have been involved in setting up a research unit at a Uni and involved in reviewing industry/uni based research JV and units.
Deakin is an excellent Uni - need to ensure you can handle the remote work and intense work periods.
MGSM again is a highly regarded school and sounds like this might be the best option.
Any reason why you have not considered the AGSM at UNSW?
Bond MBA haven't heard much of - Bond Uni seems to be improving its reputation generally at the moment - don't know much of their course.
Wollongong Uni - again  don't know much of their course - however the Uni in general does have a strong reputation.
At the end of the day need to consider what you want to get from the MBA to find the right program.
My experience with young MBA's in Australia (even medal winners) is I found that they lack the ability to transition the theory into practice and some have damaged their reputations as a result.  I would be wanting to talk with the deans about this to ensure that your investment realises the benefits for you.
You might want to look at a Grad Diploma as a starting point to see if you can follow their educational model of your preferred uni, provided it can be converted into the MBA so it if doesn't work out you can stick through for a smaller degree and get something for your money.
Hope that helps
Regards
Jason

Submitted by Peter Westley on Wednesday September 28th, 2011 5:04 pm

G'Day Tim,
Unfortunately I don' t have any direct advise to offer you on this, however, you may wish to also try posting on the Manager-Tools Australia linkedIn group - you might get some additional / different responses there.
-- Peter
 

Submitted by Margaret Kinvig on Wednesday November 23rd, 2011 2:41 am

Hi Tim
I'm a graduate from MGSM and can highly recommend their program. An added bonus is you can start with a grad cert/grad dip before making a full investment. It is a pricey way to go, but you will be paying for the brand. I haven't regretted the investment, although I delibrately don't look at my HECS/HELP statements - that's my accountants job.
I have also had some colleagues go through Wollongong, UWS and UTS. Wollongong seems to be a decent program. Their core subjects tend to have a much harder skills focus (more governance and finance - I did the bare minimum of those), and they have a very good coaching unit. For the value I got from my 2IC doing that unit, I would have paid for it out of my own pocket. I am thinking of doing it myself as a stand alone.
UTS has a very different student mix. The core units have alot of international students and I understand there can be some significant language barriers that may inhibit how much value you get from the experience of your fellow students.
If you live/work out that way, UWS is also worth considering. They are making some interesting subject combinations and so far we have had a positive experience with them as well.
If you're at the conference next week, I'm happy to chat further.
Regards
Margaret