Primary tabs
Teaching
The MBA is taught through a blend of workshops, seminars, lectures, small-group work, group discussion, presentations and experiential learning. There are core courses which form the foundation of the degree, and a wide variety of elective subjects for students to choose from. In the third term specialist coaches run concentrations in key areas of interest, details of which can be found on the Personalised Learning page on our website.
| One to one supervision | Supervision by both a mentor and faculty member is also a key part of the practical project work that all students undertake. Given the structure of the degree and the Cambridge MBA demographic there are no formal supervisions through Colleges. However, there are a great many opportunities to link with academic and professional staff throughout the year, and students are encouraged to use these links. |
|---|---|
| Seminars & classes | The core MBA courses start in September during the Orientation period, beginning with Foundation modules, and for this reason all students are expected to be present for the full two weeks of Orientation. You will work closely with faculty, business practitioners and your student colleagues; you will build a solid core of knowledge and enrich your personal understanding of management issues. For electives we bring in experts from both the University of Cambridge and the wider business and academic worlds to teach our extensive portfolio of advanced specialist courses. This is the ideal opportunity to broaden your experience, focus on subjects in which you are particularly interested, and make it your Cambridge MBA. Please refer to the MBA pages on our website for further details. |
| Lectures | Teaching is carried out through a variety of methods, including lectures; as a general guide, students should expect to spend approximately 40% of their time in lectures. |
Placements
Across the course students are given the opportunity to engage in practical opportunities for experiential learning. This includes two live consulting projects, with real clients, a group project as part of the concentration and an individual project or work placement, often self-sourced, during the summer term.
Visit the MBA Curriculum page on the Cambridge Judge Business School website for more details.
Feedback
Students are given formal written feedback on most coursework assignments submitted during the course, which is released alongside the marks. The style and content of this feedback is dependent on the style of assessment. There is no formal individual feedback on examinations and in-class tests.
Assessment
Thesis
Students are given the option to work on a research paper on any aspect of business or management during the summer term (July–September). An oral examination is not normally held, but may be given on any element of the assessment at the discretion of the examiners.
Essays
Assessment varies between courses and includes a range of formal exams, written assignments, class participation, short in-class tests, group projects and presentations.
Essays and written papers are an integral part of the assessment of the MBA and are part of the assessment in some core classes and electives.
Projects are a fundamental part of the programme and students are expected to undertake two live consulting projects in groups during the first half of the course; the assessment for these are a presentation and a project report which is marked by Faculty. A similar group project is undertaken as part of the Concentration and assessment is based on presentations and written reports. A further optional opportunity to do an individual project is available during the summer term.
Written examination
There are currently formal written examinations at the end of Michaelmas, Lent and Easter terms in the core subjects of Corporate Finance, Accounting, Microeconomics, Marketing, Strategy and Operations Management.
Practical assessment
Projects form the backbone of the experiential, practical learning on the MBA and are assessed as outlined above. Often presentations are made in front of clients or a panel of practitioner experts, as well as the Faculty assessor; this is also considered to be an important part of a student's personal and professional development.
Other
An oral examination may be given on any element of the assessment at the discretion of the examiners.