Master of Business Administration

The University of South Australia (UniSA) flagship MBA delivers a rigorous curriculum informed by above world-class research in Business and Management¹.

Recognised for excellence, UniSA’s 100% online MBA is also ranked No.20 in the world and No.3 in Australia².

You’ll experience our sophisticated digital learning platform with opportunities to connect with your peers and access all the content you need from our expert academic team.

As part of your MBA, you will complete 12 courses:

·nine compulsory core courses (which you can study in any order following the first course);

·two electives from a choice of more than 80 business and management courses; and

·one capstone course, encompassing learnings from across the program.

Each course is ten weeks in duration, requiring approximately 15 hours of study per week, with many courses also offered in intensive mode to fast-track your study.

The program is taught by leading business experts from our broad range of research institutes, centres and concentrations including the Ehrenberg‐Bass Institute for Marketing Science – one of the world’s leading centres for research into marketing. The Institute makes fundamental discoveries about consumer behaviour for global corporations, providing you with the opportunity to learn from the same marketing scientists that advise senior marketing executives from all over the world.

With a focus on individual and business growth along with innovation and entrepreneurship, we are committed to supporting you to further develop your leadership skills, knowledge and networks.

UniSA MBA graduates demonstrate:

1. a progressive understanding to apply advanced theoretical and technical knowledge and skills in areas of business leadership and senior management decision-making, to solve multifaceted problems and drive business growth while demonstrating a capacity for critical reflection, self‐development and resilience as a business leader and senior executive;
2. competency in critically reflecting, reviewing, analysing, identifying and providing meaningful resolutions to complex business leadership and senior executive problems;
3. a high level of personal autonomy, adaptability and ability to motivate teams, applying judgement in an ethically and socially responsible manner in sustainable business leadership and senior executive decision making;
4. advanced communication skills and technologies in business leadership and senior executive practice, with a variety of stakeholders;
5. sensitivity to audiences in leading and presenting challenging ideas in a diverse workplace, and to the senior business, industry, government, and global community; and
6. the ability to critically reflect, analyse and evaluate the impact of global cultural, legal, business and other disruptive factors on the leadership and senior executives of organisations, including responsibilities of a globally responsible citizenry.

¹2018 Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA).

²CEO Magazine 2024 Global MBA Rankings. 

Ranked the No.20 Online MBA in the world¹, UniSA’s Master of Business Administration is designed for experienced managers and executives. The program delivers a strong applied and practical focus, embedded in senior management decision‐making and the latest in management research.

You will gain real‐world insights through access to academic and industry experts, curriculum informed by above world-class research in Business and Management², and professional practice to maximise your career progression. You will engage with a cohort of experienced peers from diverse industry backgrounds, in a highly interactive online learning environment.

You will deepen your expertise in fields such as strategy, marketing, finance, leadership, law, international business, and ethics and sustainability, providing real‐time application in the workplace.

Flexible learning options mean you can tailor your studies to your busy lifestyle and choose to study 100% online, face‐to‐face (including evening classes and intensives) or as a combination of both.

You can also participate in a global study tour, providing you with an international perspective. Another benefit of this degree is that you can complete the Company Directors Course intensively in Adelaide, as part of the MBA curriculum, which is offered in a unique partnership with the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

UniSA Business is ranked in the Top 1% of business schools worldwide³ #1 Business School in SA, and Top 5 business school in Australia for quality⁴.The UniSA MBA program offers a dynamic, engaging, and completely flexible degree that delivers invaluable networking opportunities, preparing you to think and act as a global business leader.

UniSA Business is the only business school in South Australia accredited by both AACSB International (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) and EFMD (EQUIS) – the world’s leading accreditation bodies recognising excellence in business education and research at a global level. These dual accreditations demonstrate the high standards we hold across all areas such as teaching, student learning and research, as well as our commitment to continually improving the quality of our programs.

You will also graduate with a high-quality MBA qualification no matter how you study – the program content, opportunities and level of dedicated support are the same whether you complete your program online, on-campus or in blended mode.

If you are driven to create new solutions, lead innovative teams, and deliver exceptional results in the context of disruptive change and global uncertainty, UniSA’s MBA is for you.

¹CEO Magazine 2024 Global MBA Rankings.

²2018 Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA).

³UniSA Business is one of just 13 institutions in Australia and approximately 200 globally (from over 25,000 universities) to be EQUIS accredited. EFMD, March 2024. 2023 QS Stars Business School Ratings.

⁴Australian Financial Review – 2023 BOSS Best Business Schools Survey 

Scholarships

UniSA is proud to support aspirational and high achieving professionals with the Women in MBA (WiMBA) and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander MBA partnership scholarships.

It is well known that a Master of Business Administration is a pathway to leadership and career progression. Our dedicated scholarships actively address leadership inequality and champion women as well as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians with leadership potential, to advance their careers into senior management and executive roles.

The WiMBA scholarship actively addresses leadership inequality and champions women with leadership potential to advance their careers into senior management and executive roles.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander MBA scholarship is offered to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians to develop their careers as leaders and senior managers in business, government and industry.

The scholarships are offered by UniSA in partnership with employers, matching contributions of 50% of MBA tuition fees, to cover the scholarship recipient’s full MBA tuition costs. To maximise success, employers are required to provide flexibility in working arrangements to support study, a career mentor and supportive career pathway options, in addition to the financial contribution. 

Recommended study pattern

You will commence the MBA program with the course Strategic Thinking: Concepts and Tools and then have the flexibility to select the order in which you study the remaining courses. Several prerequisites may apply depending on the capstone course undertaken, and this capstone course should be completed towards the end of the program.

As a guide, full-time MBA students generally undertake two courses and part-time students undertake one course per study period. Completing the MBA full-time will normally take 18 months, however, there are options to fast-track your learning to complete the program in 12 months. Part-time students taking one course per study period can typically complete the MBA in three years.

Core courses:

• Strategic Thinking: Concepts and Tools
• Accounting for Decision Making
• Ethics, Governance and Sustainability
• International Business
• Leadership for Growth
• Managerial Finance
• Managing People and Organisations
• Strategic Marketing
• Elective 1¹
• Elective 2¹
• Elective 31

Capstone options – you will be able to select one of the following (generally taken when all compulsory courses have been completed successfully):

• Strategic Industry Project
• AICD Company Directors Course²

Notes:

1. Not all electives will be offered each year. Students should refer to the University of South Australia’s online timetable for details of courses offered in the current year as additional electives may be offered on a once-off basis.
2. This course may be taken as either an elective or as a capstone option. It may be taken prior to completing all core courses subject to meeting the prerequisite requirements of a GPA of 5 or greater with eight courses completed. This course is taught by the Australian Institute of Company Directors in intensive, face-to-face delivery. (See subject homepage for full requirements).

Award requirements

To successfully complete the requirements of the MBA, you must complete nine core courses, three electives and a capstone course.

Open Universities Australia is a not-for-profit organisation. You will not pay any fees for using our services.

Indicative total fee $62,850

The amounts shown here are indicative for an Australian citizen studying full-time, which is typically 8 subjects per year.

Fees may vary depending on:

• the subjects you choose
• credit from previous work experience
• your eligibility for government funding loans or subsidies such as HECS-HELP or a Commonwealth supported place.

To learn more, go to Fees or contact a student advisor.

The University of South Australia (UniSA) is ranked as one of the best young universities in the world, and is the number one university in Australia for graduate employability. UniSA offers over 200 world-class degrees that are informed by industry and delivered with a highly practical approach to teaching and learning, and is a valuable partner with Open Universities Australia.

Learn more about UniSA.

Explore UniSA courses.

QS World University Ranking 2025, within Australia:

22

Times Higher Education World University Ranking 2025, within Australia:

22

Applications seeking admission to the degree are required to meet the following entry criteria:

• A minimum of three (3) years full time management experience and a recognised university undergraduate degree or equivalent professional qualifications; OR
• A Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from the University of South Australia with an average of at least Pass Level 1 (55%) across four (or more) courses, or an equivalent qualification from the University of South Australia or from another recognised university; OR
• The Program Director may, under exceptional circumstances, accept candidates with substantial and proven managerial and/or entrepreneurial experience who have demonstrated the potential to meet the learning requirements of the MBA

All applicants are also required to submit a detailed curriculum vitae or equivalent with at least one referee who can validate work experience.

If you do not currently hold an undergraduate qualification but meet the management experience requirements, you may be eligible for the Graduate Certificate in Business Administration (four subjects which provides a pathway into, and credit towards the MBA.

Credit transfer and exemption may be offered through recognition of prior learning for up to one third of your program to eligible applicants, at the discretion of the Program Director. If you have completed appropriate postgraduate management courses at recognised institutions, you may apply for a credit transfer. Graduates of the following courses are recognised as eligible to receive credit towards the MBA program:

• Australian Centre for Business Growth (CBG) nine-month Business Growth Programs - one elective course and one core course (9 units)
• CPA Australia CPA program - one elective course and two core courses (13.5 units)
• Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) Company Directors Course - one elective course credit (4.5 units)
• Government of South Australia, Department for Education and Child Development Graduate Diploma Strategic Leadership - two elective course credits (9 units)
• Leaders Institute of South Australia Governors Leadership Foundation Program - one elective course and one core course (9 units)

All core subjects in the MBA are available online or face-to-face online. Some elective options may only be offered in intensive, face-to-face mode. The program can be completed entirely online, enabling the MBA to work for you and your lifestyle.

Successful applicants are required to attend or view a Commencement Seminar, held prior to the start of the study period into which the applicant is accepted.

In a landmark collaboration between the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the University of South Australia, students in the Master of Business Administration have the opportunity to undertake the Company Directors Course as an elective or capstone option during their program. In this Australian first, UniSA MBA graduates who complete the AICD Company Directors Course as part of their MBA program will also receive recognition from the AICD and may be eligible to use the GAIDC graduate post nominal.