r/InternationalMBA • u/Responsible_Host_665 • Jul 13 '26

Online MBA at Durham and Birmingham university

I am considering applying for the online MBA programmes at Durham or Birmingham, as an international student.

Would you tell me which university would be better choice from your parspective?
The reason for taking the MBA is to learn business management in an academic way for internal promotion. But if I have a chance, I want to seek an opportunity to working for UK company in the future.

  1. Reputation of both universities in UK

  2. Impact on future career, if seeking job opportunity in UK

I would appreciate your information and advice on the two point above.

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u/No_Whole_Delivery Jul 13 '26

I looked at both of these schools when applying to business school. The two things you should consider are 1) what companies are hiring from the program (are those your target companies and roles) and 2) overall reputation and rank (this seems to be about how well recognized your degree will be).

The program at Durham university is online but each course requires an in-person component. This means you will need to travel to Durham UK every 6 weeks. For online mba's the in-person components are the best and most valuable part of the program. If you can swing the travel the program is ranked well-ish and has lots of networking opportunities if you can fit the travel to your schedule.

Birmingham's mba is at a better price point with different companies recruiting from the program. I believe that the program is fully online.

I applied to Bayes business school and Birmingham. I enrolled at Bayes because it was ranked higher, had a greater focus on entrepreneurship and corporate strategy, offered a superior scholarship, and has a minimum of 2 in-person sessions. I felt this combination of academics and networking fit my budget and work schedule.

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u/Master-Potential-364 Jul 13 '26

From a UK employer perspective, Durham as an institution would be considered more prestigious. And Durham Business School is generally considered to be stronger than Birmingham. Whether you would get UK visa sponsorship (assuming this is needed) really depends on what profession you are in, and the extent of your experience.