MBA Funding – A Guide

The Masters for Business Administration (MBA) is a type of highly-regarded postgraduate degree that focuses specifically on key business practices. An MBA is more expensive than other Masters degrees, costing between £30,000-£120,000 in the UK depending on the programme and institution. You can pay for a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in a few ways. You might get a scholarship, which is like a gift to help pay for school, or a loan, which is money you borrow and pay back later. In the UK, you can borrow from £6,500 to £18,500 for your studies, depending on where you go to school.

Paying for your MBA might seem hard, but don't worry, I'll help you understand how to do it. We'll look at different ways to get money, like scholarships, bursaries, loans, and help from your job. If you want to learn more about what an MBA is, we have a special guide just for that.

Numerous scholarships and bursaries are available to assist aspiring MBA students in achieving your dream qualification. Many universities and business schools offer their own funding schemes to attract top applicants from diverse backgrounds, while various global organisations and institutions also provide scholarships.

MBA scholarships from universities will typically fall into one of the following categories:

• Widening participation awards for students from backgrounds that are traditionally less well-represented on MBA programmes (some scholarship schemes are only open to women, for example)
• Academic merit awards for applicants with an outstanding university record and excellent results in graduate entry tests like the GMAT
• Sector-specific scholarships for students with a background in a particular industry (engineering or healthcare, for example)
• Funding for international students from certain regions or countries

The best way to find these kinds of scholarships is to check directly with your preferred university or sign up to our newsletter which features different funding opportunities for Masters like scholarships.

External organisations are another source of MBA grants and scholarships. The schemes below are primarily aimed at international students:

• Chevening scholarships are offered by the UK Government to help talented international postgraduates study in the UK
• The Fulbright Commission runs a series of postgraduate awards for American students to study in the UK
• The Said Foundation offers scholarships for students from Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and Syria to study in the UK
• Sainsbury Management Fellowships worth £50,000 are available for Engineering graduates from the UK, EU and EEA to study an MBA at selected business schools around the world

As you’d expect, competition is tough for MBA scholarships. You’ll need to demonstrate in your application that you’ve got the skills and experience needed to succeed on a demanding MBA programme.

These are some of the main characteristics that universities and funding organisations will be looking out for when assessing scholarship applicants:

• Leadership potential
• Evidence of entrepreneurship / intrapreneurship
• A track record of innovation
• Proven commitment to a particular sector (for example, engineering or healthcare)

The application process for a full tuition MBA scholarship may involve writing a personal statement, providing a reference or attending an interview.

Charity and Trust Funding

Charities and trusts could be a valuable source of MBA funding for you. Whether it's small grants or more substantial amounts to support your postgraduate studies, there are numerous options available to supplement your finances and make your MBA more attainable. A good starting point is Turn2us, a national charity with a database of charitable grants you can apply for. Explore their database to discover the MBA funding opportunities you might qualify for.

We’ve got a full guide on Postgraduate Funding from Charities, so I recommend looking through this to help you find sources of possible funding and some tips on applying.

If you are studying for an MBA at a university or business school in the UK, you might be able to fund your studies with a postgraduate loan from the UK government. These loans are available to UK and EU citizens. Here are the most recent amounts you can borrow based on where you normally live:

• England – £12,858
• Scotland – £13,900 (£7,000 is a tuition fee loan and £6,900 is a maintenance loan)
• Wales – £19,255 (this is a combination of loans and grants)
• Northern Ireland – £6,500

For more information on eligibility and conditions, please visit our guide to UK Masters loans.

Of course, it won’t have escaped your attention that a postgraduate loan probably won’t be enough to cover the tuition fees of an MBA by itself, not to mention your living costs.

The good news is that you can combine these postgraduate loans from the UK Government with other forms of MBA funding – scholarships, bursaries and alumni discounts, for example – as long as that funding doesn’t come from a public source.

Commercial bank loans

If scholarships or UK Government postgraduate loans don't fully cover your MBA costs, consider a private MBA student loan from a commercial lender, available to both international and domestic students. Be aware of the key differences between commercial loans and government loans, especially less favorable repayment terms and interest rates with private loans. You'll have to start repaying the loan on a strict schedule after graduation, regardless of your income level.

These commercial loans can be helpful for those studying particularly expensive qualifications, such as the MBA, but you should think very carefully and consider your options before taking one out.

For more information, read our guide to postgraduate bank loans.

Securing corporate sponsorship for your MBA can be a great investment for your employer since these programmes aim to boost advanced leadership skills beneficial to your organisation. You'll need to convince your employer that funding your MBA is not only good for your professional growth but also advantageous for the company. Explain clearly what you aim to achieve with the course, your future ambitions, and how this will benefit the business.

Some of the main benefits of an MBA to an employer include:

• Increased leadership skills
• The ability to show investment in their workforce
• Being able to recruit for senior roles internally
• Many MBAs are designed to fit around a busy professional schedule
• Future strategic contributions to the business

Take a look at our guide to employer sponsorship for more information.

Part-time MBA programmes are popular among working management professionals, offering the flexibility to study while continuing to work through weekend and evening classes tailored for busy schedules. These programmes often involve applying learned concepts directly in the workplace. Balancing a part-time MBA with work and personal life requires good time management and understanding from your employer regarding occasional time off for academic commitments. The UK Government provides postgraduate loans for part-time studies, distributing the borrowed amount evenly across your MBA programme's duration.

I hope this guide made it easier to understand how to pay for your MBA and what steps to take. Here's a tip to make things go more smoothly: Start looking for ways to get money, like scholarships, grants, and loans, long before your classes begin. This gives you plenty of time to apply for them.

Here's another tip: Talk to people who have already finished the MBA you want to do. They can give you advice about paying for your degree because they've been through it themselves. They might tell you how to get a scholarship, help you make your application better, or let you know about companies that might pay for your studies. Chatting with former students could help you find new ways to get money for school.