Entrepreneurship, MSc

Entrepreneurship, MSc

Introduction

Study Information

At a Glance

Learning Mode
On Campus Learning
Degree Qualification
MSc
Duration
12 months or 24 months
Study Mode
Full Time or Part Time
Start Month
January or September
Location of Study
Aberdeen

The MSc Entrepreneurship is a practical programme that helps students conceive and crystallise ideas about venture start-ups and new business projects. The programme offers an ideal opportunity for ambitious graduates from any background who intend to start high-impact businesses and for more experienced entrepreneurs who seek to develop a set of applied skills relevant to entrepreneurship.

This new world class programme combines theoretical rigour with a unique focus on experiential learning gained through direct engagement with organisations and project-based activities. Students will be provided with the skills to start a business and to innovate within an existing organisation. Led by seasoned expert educators, the programme’s approach to learning will be designed to develop knowledge required for funding and managing new ventures through the entrepreneurship life cycle (that is from start-up to exit stages).

It also caters for aspiring professional who wish to incorporate entrepreneurial thinking into their professional career. Students will be equipped with specialist and in-depth understanding of entrepreneurship and innovation together with practical skills, enhancing your employability.

What You'll Study

Semester 1

Compulsory Courses

All students must take the following:

Getting Started at the University of Aberdeen (PD5006)

This course, which is prescribed for all taught postgraduate students, is studied entirely online, takes approximately 5-6 hours to complete and can be taken in one sitting, or spread across a number of weeks.

Topics include orientation overview, equality and diversity, health, safety and cyber security and how to make the most of your time at university in relation to careers and employability.

Successful completion of this course will be recorded on your Enhanced Transcript as ‘Achieved’.

Accounting and Finance for Managers (BU5026)

15 Credit Points

The fact that money (and understanding money) really matters in business and all managers need to understand issues like cashflow and profit might depress you, but it is true. Financial viability of customers? Deciding on the likely financial viability of a project? Reporting to shareholders about performance? Does the word “sustainable” appear in a finance dictionary? All questions we will try and address.

Business Strategy (BU5048)

15 Credit Points

Business Strategy covers a broad range of topics that come under the general heading of “Business Strategy” / “Strategic Management”. The course introduces participants to concepts, frameworks and models that are useful in providing explanations of how companies operate with respect to goal setting, understanding their competitive landscape, assessing opportunities, managing own capabilities, coordinating their activities with other companies, and competing to create value for customers. The course is interactive in nature, applying a learning-by-doing method involving students taking on roles as part of a series of simulation exercises.

Operations and Project Management (BU5064)

15 Credit Points

The focus of this course is not people but processes, not outside the organisation but within. Operations transform materials, information and customers to create goods and services using staff and facilities. We study process types and focus particularly on projects. We see how capacity and inventory reconcile demand and output and explore location, supply chains, quality, risk and resilience. About 40% of the course is on projects and project-management techniques. Prepare for both critical discussion of theory and application (operationalisation), including calculation.

Issues and Trends in Managing Innovation (BU502T)

15 Credit Points

Students will learn why organisations struggle to create and capture new value. The course will familiarise students with important aspects of innovation, providing frameworks and practical tips. It provides the relevant theories, insights and tools necessary to manage innovation in today’s organisations with emphasis on contemporary forms of innovation. The course will comprise interactive sessions with our world-class faculty as well as small groups exercises, breakout sessions and project work.

Semester 2

Compulsory Courses

All of the courses for Stage 1, plus

The Leadership Challenge (BU5584)

15 Credit Points

This course provides an opportunity to explore and develop an understanding of your own leadership behaviour. Through workshops, group activities and discussions we investigate how personality, past experience, current situations and culture shape the way each of us behave in a leadership role. Using this information as a starting point we then explore how different leadership theories and approaches can be used as frameworks for developing a deeper understanding of leadership behaviour. You will also have an opportunity to try out a range of practical tools and techniques to assist you in the development of your own approach to leadership.

Strategic Marketing (BU5553)

15 Credit Points

The course aims to provide participants with a critical understanding of the nature and articulation of the marketing function within modern organisations, and an appreciation of the relative contribution of specific marketing tools to the development of a market orientation.

On completion of the course students will be able to:

1. Critique the key principles and concepts of marketing.

2. Evaluate the role of marketing to modern organisations in private and public sectors.

3. Understand the integration of the marketing function with other organisational functions.

4. Assess the role of identified marketing techniques

Managing People at Work (BU5554)

15 Credit Points

Whether you are intending to manage other people or be responsible for HR functions in a company, this course is intended for you.

You will learn the theories that are the basis for good practice, the skills that are required to put them across and the employment law which governs what we are expected to achieve with our people

This course is run by tutors who have been experienced managers themselves and it will prepare you to pursue a career in management confident and competent to carry out what is expected of you

Creativity and Enterprise Planning (BU552U)

15 Credit Points

Students will learn to be confident, enterprising and creative with the ability to cope in the ever-changing global business environment. The course develops students to recognise entrepreneurial opportunities, assume responsibility and take measured risks. This will stimulate enterprise and encourage students to consider self-employment, but more importantly develop themselves as enterprising individuals who can contribute to the success of any organisation in which they may work.

Semester 3

Compulsory Courses

All of the courses for Stage 1 and Stage 2, plus

Researching Contemporary Business Issues (BU592V)

15 Credit Points

This course is unique in its focus on a business issue and as such celebrates the practical application of taught theories and frameworks as well as thoughtfully designed research and analysis. In this unique course, students are expected to dive into their chosen topic area, explore it rigorously and demonstrate entrepreneurial spirit along the journey.

Social Entrepreneurship (BU592W)

15 Credit Points

Students will learn about the challenges and opportunities associated with developing a social enterprise. Students will develop the knowledge and practical skills to tackle society’s biggest issues. Students will gain the skills and expertise for establishing social organisations. The course is designed to familiarise students with the important aspects of what constitutes a social issue. Students will learn to measure the social impact and value that social enterprises ultimately create.

Business Negotiation Skills for Professionals (BU593N)

15 Credit Points

This course will help to highlight, in a variety of business and non-business contexts: i) the various real-life ways in which managers’ subtle, highly sophisticated and socially organized communicative actions have a significant impact on the perceptions and performance of the employee groups/teams they supervise and work with; and ii) what communicative methods managers can employ to more effectively relay information to, obtain feedback from, motivate, persuade and, more generally, enhance the performance of their staff teams.

New Venture Creation (BU5940)

15 Credit Points

The aim of this course is to equip students with an understanding of key aspects of new venture creation, including business planning, pitching new ideas to investors and managing growth. This is a capstone course, by bringing together a range of different concepts.

We will endeavour to make all course options available; however, these may be subject to timetabling and other constraints. Please see our InfoHub pages for further information.

Fee Information

Please refer to our InfoHub Tuition Fees page for fee information for this programme, or contact study@abdn.ac.uk.

Additional Fee Information

  • In exceptional circumstances there may be additional fees associated with specialist courses, for example field trips. Any additional fees for a course can be found in our Catalogue of Courses.
  • For more information about tuition fees for this programme, including payment plans and our refund policy, please visit our InfoHub Tuition Fees page.

Funding Opportunities

The University of Aberdeen provides an Alumni Discount Scheme:

The University of Aberdeen is very pleased to offer a 20% discount on postgraduate tuition fees for all alumni who have graduated with a degree from the University of Aberdeen. More Information can be found here.

Scholarships

Eligible self-funded international Masters students will receive the Aberdeen Global Scholarship. Visit our Funding Database to find out more and see our full range of scholarships.

How You'll Study

Learning Methods

  • Group Projects
  • Individual Projects
  • Lectures
  • Seminars
  • Tutorials

Assessment Methods

Students will be assessed via a range of assessment methods to ensure that all learning outcomes and assessment criteria are met in a way that enhances their learning experience.

Furthermore, all assessments are based on a portfolio of work-related assignments and your final dissertation/project. There are no exams, just intensive real-world learning that helps you to gain the relevant knowledge, quickly and effectively.

Why Study Entrepreneurship?

Practical skills are central to this programme, you will learn to diagnose problems accurately and solve them creatively, while gaining the industry awareness you'll need to impress recruiters. 

• Students will be equipped with specialist and in-depth understanding of entrepreneurship and innovation together with practical skills, enhancing your employability

• Learn to critically analyse the root cause of entrepreneurship issues within their specific social and economic  contexts

• Students will gain a truly integrated experience from leading experts in their respective field

Entry Requirements

Qualifications

The information below is provided as a guide only and does not guarantee entry to the University of Aberdeen.

This programme is open to graduates from any discipline and does not require business, management or finance study to be completed at undergraduate level.

The minimum entry requirement for the programme is a 2:2 (lower second class) UK Honours level (or a degree from a non-UK institution which is judged by the University to be of equivalent worth).

Please enter your country to view country-specific entry requirements.

English Language Requirements

To study for a Postgraduate Taught degree at the University of Aberdeen it is essential that you can speak, understand, read, and write English fluently. The minimum requirements for this degree are as follows:

IELTS Academic:

OVERALL - 6.5 with: Listening - 5.5; Reading - 6.0; Speaking - 5.5; Writing - 6.0

TOEFL iBT:

OVERALL - 90 with: Listening - 17; Reading - 21; Speaking - 20; Writing - 21

PTE Academic:

OVERALL - 62 with: Listening - 59; Reading - 59; Speaking - 59; Writing - 59

Cambridge English B2 First, C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency:

OVERALL - 176 with: Listening - 162; Reading - 169; Speaking - 162; Writing - 169

Read more about specific English Language requirements here.

Document Requirements

You will be required to supply the following documentation with your application as proof you meet the entry requirements of this degree programme. If you have not yet completed your current programme of study, then you can still apply and you can provide your Degree Certificate at a later date.

Degree Transcript
a full transcript showing all the subjects you studied and the marks you have achieved in your degree(s) (original & official English translation)
Personal Statement
a detailed personal statement explaining your motivation for this particular programme

Careers

Graduates will be well suited to find employment in a variety of exciting roles. This may involve:

  • establishing a start-up
  • working in an entrepreneurial ecosystem support role
  • taking over a family business
  • working for a high-growth SME
  • taking a leadership role in a large corporation
  • working for a leading consultancy

Our Experts

Programme Leader
John Torben Storm

Information About Staff Changes

You will be taught by a range of experts including professors, lecturers, teaching fellows and postgraduate tutors. Staff changes will occur from time to time; please see our InfoHub pages for further information.

Get in Touch

Contact Details

Address
Business School
University of Aberdeen
MacRobert Building
King Street
Aberdeen
AB24 3FX

Social Media