Master of Business administration (MBA) programme was accredited in academic year 2013/2014. Since then, being controlled by the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences with an average of forty students per year. The MBA Programme offers courses that are demand driven is all sectors. The MBA curriculum is developed with roam for flexibility to accommodate new trends in business and technological advancement. The key outcome is to strengthen the capacity of all professionals in the area of management for sustainable development. The Master of Business Administration (MBA) prepares graduates for positions of leadership and management in both private and public sectors. It also, prepares graduates to assume responsibility of management in their career path in their respective profession in various organizations. Economic transformation stipulated in vision 2040 needs MBA graduates who are professionals from all fields purposely to manage experts. These are not very many in the country and world over. The rapid economic transformation that has characterized East African Community and Uganda in particular necessitated that Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) started an MBA Programme to cater for the high demand for MBA graduates. The range of work in Business is extremely varied and professionals can be found in almost any sector. MBA Program is one stop center that trains management skills from all perspectives. Employment opportunities are in all sectors; both private and government. There is a huge demand for MBAs and firms provide sponsorship to students and others are recruiting extremely aggressively on campus. MBA graduates are versatile and specialists with knowledge and skills in various aspects of Accounting, Finance, Human Resource Management, Marketing and Procurement. The Master of Business Administration (MBA) prepares graduates for positions of leadership and management in both the private and public sectors. It also, prepares MBA students to assume responsibility of management in their career path in their respective profession in various organizations. On completion of the MBA programme, the graduate will: Have quality and relevant business skills and education for national development, have acquired knowledge and skills to manage business activities in an organization, developed business administration competencies for organizational growth and development and have appreciated the application of business practices in addressing community challenges for sustainable development. The MBA provides a platform for developing a suite of less tangible, but highly valued skills, such as expert time management and holistic thinking.
The uniqueness of MBA programme includes; applied Projects, global perspective, innovation, leadership Skills, career development and risk management. The MBA curriculum also addresses two options of research areas that is; PLAN A Research for the students who would want to develop their career in Academic Research and PLAN B (Project Research) a relatively a non-academic exercise whereby a student will be required to originate or think of a feasible business research project driven by the objective of solving a problem identified in a particular business firm or entity. All applicants to MBA programme must have at least a Bachelor’s degree, Second Class Lower in any field from a recognized degree awarding Institution and also must Pass Graduate Admissions Test (GAT) of Mbarara University of Science and Technology.
Programme Justification/Rationale for an MBA Programme at MUST
The rapid economic transformation that has characterized East African Community and Uganda in particular necessitated that Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) reviewed MBA Programme to cater for the current demand for MBA graduates who are versatile in handling business challenges.
Needs assessment among surveys and interviews with alumni, students, employment agencies and employers have consistently indicated that business programmes especially MBA programmes are doing a relatively good by contributing to training students in basic skill functions and graduates interpersonal skills, decision-making techniques recognition of contexts, and integration across functional areas. The ability to operate in global business environments was also viewed as under-taught. What this suggested for enrollments was the need for a range of programmes that could only be met through a fully functioning management Programme.
Career and employment opportunities
Master of Business Administration Graduates can continue their education in Doctoral programmes in Business administration and Management. The Programme offer graduates a wide range of career employment opportunities as CEOs, Managing Directors, Accountants, Banking and finance Managers, General Managers and Human Resource Specialists/ Managers, Marketing Managers, Procurement officers in Central Government, Local Government, non-Government Organizations, Public and Private Institutions, Banking services and Consultancies.