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1. Admissions/ Management Information
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Title of the new programme – including any lower awards
Please provide the titles used for all awards relating to this programme. Note: all programmes are required to have at least a Postgraduate Certificate exit award.

See guidance on programme titles in:
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Masters Master of Business Administration in Public Sector Management
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Postgraduate Diploma Postgraduate Diploma - Business Administration for Public Sector ManagementPlease indicate if the Postgraduate Diploma is available as an entry point, ie. is a programme on which a student can register or as an exit award, ie. that are only available to students exiting the masters programme early, or both.Exit
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Postgraduate Certificate Postgraduate Certificate - Business AdministrationPlease indicate if the Postgraduate Certificate is available as an entry points, ie. is a programme on which a student can register, or as an exit award, ie. that are only available to students exiting the masters programme early, or both.Exit
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Level of qualification7
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This document applies to students who commenced the programme(s) in:2024
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Awarding institutionTeaching institution
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University of YorkUniversity of York
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Department(s):
Where more than one department is involved, indicate the lead department		Board of Studies
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Lead Department School for Business and SocietySchool for Business and Society
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Other contributing Departments:
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Route code
(existing programmes only)		PMHEPSPSM1
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Admissions criteria
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2:2 undergraduate degree or equivalent qualification, and managerial work experience over a minimum of three years; applicants with no or lower grade undergraduate degree can be considered if they have substantive professional experience .
Students should also have an appropriate English language qualification. Minimum acceptable qualifications are IELTS 6.5 with a writing score of no less than 6.5 and minimum score of 6.0 in all components.
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Length and status of the programme(s) and mode(s) of study
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ProgrammeLength (years/ months) Status (full-time/ part-time)
Please select		Start dates/months
(if applicable – for programmes that have multiple intakes or start dates that differ from the usual academic year)		Mode
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Face-to-face, campus-basedDistance learningOther
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Master of Business Administration in Public Sector Management24 monthsPart-timeSix per year to fit with the York online carousel:
Sept, Nov, Jan, March, May and June		Please select Y/NNoPlease select Y/NYes
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Language(s) of study
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English
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Language(s) of assessment
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English
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2. Programme accreditation by Professional, Statutory or Regulatory Bodies (PSRB)
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2.a. Is the programme recognised or accredited by a PSRB
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Please Select Y/N: Noif No move to section 3
if Yes complete the following questions
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2.b. Name of PSRB
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2.c. Does/ will approval or recognition require exceptions to University rules/practices?
Please select Y/N		Noif Yes, provide details
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2.d. Any additional information (e.g. student attainment required to achieve accreditation) that are required by the PSRB should be recorded here
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3. Additional Professional or Vocational Standards
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Are there any additional requirements of accrediting bodies or PSRB or pre-requisite professional experience needed to study this programme?
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Please Select Y/N: Noif Yes, provide details
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4. Programme leadership and programme team
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4.a. Please name the programme leader for the year to which the programme design applies and any key members of staff responsible for designing, maintaining and overseeing the programme.
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Ali Naqvi and Kevin Caher
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4.b. How are wider stakeholders such as students/ alumni, professional bodies and employers involved in the design of the programme and in ongoing reflection on its effectiveness?
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Students on the existing online PGT programmes in the Department of Social Policy and Social Work have not been directly involved in developing this programme, as it appeared as problematic to share detailed information about the plans for this programme whilst these students pursue their studies on the old degree pathway that has now been withdrawn. However, the development work built strongly on the accumlated experiences of the current online PGT programme team, and also considered feedback received from current and previous students on modules and overall programme design.
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5. Purpose and learning outcomes of the programme
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5.a. Statement of purpose for applicants to the masters programme
Please express succinctly the overall aims of the programme as an applicant facing statement for a prospectus or website. This should clarify to a prospective student why they should choose this programme, what it will provide to them and what benefits they will gain from completing it.
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Contemporary public sector operations involve fast-paced change and closer collaboration between the public and the private sector. As a result, public sector managers are increasingly facing pressure to deliver more with less, to navigate complex policy contexts, and to enhance performance while sustaining public service values. This online, interdisciplinary, research-informed MBA programme has been designed to meet these challenges. The programme will equip you with the skills and knowledge to manage public services more effectively through a deeper understanding of ethics, effective leadership and successful change management, plus an understanding of key business administration techniques and of the wider policy context in which public services operate. You will also be part of a dynamic learning community, with peers working in similar organisations around the world - which will enable you to apply your learning directly to your work and grow as a strategic and reflective leader of the future.
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5.a.i Statement of purpose for applicants registering for the postgraduate diploma programme
Please express succinctly the overall aims of the programme as an applicant facing statement for a prospectus or website. This should clarify to a prospective student why they should choose this programme, what it will provide to them and what benefits they will gain from completing it.
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N/A
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5.a.ii Statement of purpose for applicants registering for the postgraduate certificate programme
Please express succinctly the overall aims of the programme as an applicant facing statement for a prospectus or website. This should clarify to a prospective student why they should choose this programme, what it will provide to them and what benefits they will gain from completing it.
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N/A
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5.b.i. Programme Learning Outcomes - Masters
Please provide six to eight statements of what a graduate of the Masters programme can be expected to do.
If the document only covers a Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma please specify four to six PLO statements for the PG Certificate and four-eight for the PG Diploma in the sections 5.b.ii and 5.b.iii as appropriate.
Taken together, these outcomes should capture the distinctive features of the programme. They should also be outcomes for which progressive achievement through the course of the programme can be articulated, and which will therefore be reflected in the design of the whole programme.
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PLOOn successful completion of the programme, graduates will be able to:
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1Develop and refine skills that make an effective leader able to facilitate a range of business operations in a professional, ethically responsible and culturally aware manner.
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2Engage critically with contemporary management issues by drawing on theories related to sustainable, ethical, socially responsible, and internationally and cross-cultural practice.
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3Solve complex problems and influence organisational decision-making in a range of global business scenarios by developing rapidity and adaptability into their own knowledge and practice.
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4Lead and manage the implementation of change initiatives and projects, drawing on an advanced understanding of their role as an effective and ethical change agent, and of the factors that help and hinder performance improvement.
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5Identify, assess and formulate responses to current challenges in public management and the delivery of public services, drawing on a critical understanding of continuities, change
and reform in the public and non-profit sector.
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6Contribute to effective policy-making and public management in an era of globalisation by applying their understanding of the complex interplay between policy actors, public managers, political circumstances and socio-economic factors.
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7Independently research problems and identify solutions specific to their professional contexts by utilising in-depth knowledge from inter-disciplinary scholarship and acquired specialist skills.
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5.c. Explanation of the choice of Programme Learning Outcomes
Please explain your rationale for choosing these PLOs in a statement that can be used for students (such as in a student handbook). Please include brief reference to:
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i) Why the PLOs are considered ambitious or stretching?
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You will be required to develop a deep understanding of a range of management disciplines as well as the particularities of policy and management contexts in the public sector, and be able to draw on theoretical concepts to enhance your knowledge and experience in a practical context. You will reflect on your previous managerial experiences and think critically about how organisational performance might be enhanced in a variety of organisations. You will be able to critically assess approaches to ethical and socially responsible management and be able to utilise the strategies taught to ensure you operate in a resilient manner, drawing on creative but sustainable skills to manage in an adaptable and rapid way.
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ii) The ways in which these outcomes are distinctive or particularly advantageous to the student:
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Distinctiveness for this programme stems from the embedded key themes - resilience and risk/ crisis awareness, creativity and sustainability, diversity and difference, ethics and responsibility and global awareness and citizenship - and how they are enabled through learning activities and developed into key skills. The course draws on the unique and enriching experiences and work related backgrounds of its students and utilises these to enhance the learning experiences of all students. The course is global in its nature and thinking, drawing on a range of concepts which come together to produce someone who is skilled in resolutions, is adaptable and rapid, is ethical, promotes sustainability and who is focused upon citizenship and public good.
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iii) Please detail how you would support students from diverse entry routes to transition into the programme? For example, disciplinary knowledge and conventions of the discipline, language skills, academic and writing skills, lab skills, academic integrity
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The programme and its modules are designed for students with relevant professional experience but without prior study experience in the fields of public management or business administration. Modules will thus provide, in each week, substantive introductory material (in the form of text as well as concise video presentations, for example for threshold concepts) to outline the key issues, theories and debates that are at the centre of a given week. This introductory material will help to contextualise the core readings and prepare students for engagement with them. With respect to the particularities of distance-learning, students will begin their studies with an Induction, in order to familiarise themselves with this mode of study and to obtain advice on effective approaches to their learning. As part of the Induction, students will furthermore be introduced to referencing and academic integrity standards, and will need to complete the University's Academic Integrity Tutorial. The development and strengthening of academic and writing skills will be supported a) within the taught modules, by providing opportunities for practice, and b) by the usual channels for student support, such as the academic supervisor, the Student-Success-Coordinator, the provision of the Writing and Language Centre and other central University services.
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iv) Please explain how the design of the programme enables students to progress through to the end of the award? For example, in terms of the development of research skills, enabling students to complete an independent study module, developing competence and confidence in practical skills/ professional skills, [add link to QAA masters characteristics document].
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The defined programme learning outcomes (PLOs) make clear the standard you should achieve in terms of knowledge and skills by the end of the programme. This is a MBA for the future not the past. You will study a wide range of case studies each drawing on the key themes which run through the programme. You will gain new knowledge and understanding and you will be encouraged to apply theory to applied practice. You will be in a position to monitor your development of knowledge and skills as you complete each of your modules with advice and support from the MBA team of academic experts. This will prepare you for your Independent Study Project, which you will complete at the end of the programme. Within the orientation module you will be given the opportunity to complete a skills diagnostic against the academic skills required for successful completion of the course. This will enable you to identify any skills that can be developed further with the help of the Writing Skills Centre and online resources. Within individual modules and with your personal supervisor there are opportunities to reflect on your progression and identify areas for development. This course will encourage and facilitate your understanding of your own lived experience as a manager and as a learner.
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v) How the programme learning outcomes develop students’ digital literacy and use technology-enhanced learning to achieve the discipline and pedagogic goals which support active student learning through peer/tutor interaction, collaboration and formative (self) assessment opportunities (reference could be made to such as blogging, flipped classrooms, response 'clickers' in lectures, simulations, etc).
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Students will be supported to acquire the digital skills they need for online research, collaboration and production. They will be provided with access to Skills Guides across a range of tools and practices and can access skills workshops. Tutors will further provide you with a structured knowledge base on which to draw; these include text, short videos and online mini lectures. You will participate in a variety of tutor led activities which will provide you with the opportunity to reflect on, utilise and re-construct this knowledge in the light of your own work-based experience, discussions with and feedback from peers and tutors. You will be given opportunities to apply your conceptual learning both to your own organisation and to other organisations in which you have an interest. You will study in a technology rich environment and will communicate and collaborate using digital tools, for example video conferencing, blogging and online discussion forums. The completion of the Independent Study Project will develop your information literacy and digital scholarship skills as you will need to find, use, manage and evaluate online sources and other information. You will have the opportunity to use a broad variety of applications to support your studies, for example for the analysis of quantitative or qualitative data.
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vi) How the PLOs support and enhance the students’ employability (for example, opportunities for students to apply their learning in a real world setting)?
The programme's employability objectives should be informed by the University's Employability Strategy:
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This programme is aimed at early- to mid-career professionals and aspiring managers working in the public or non-profit sector, or in private sector roles with a link to public policy or public management, whose aim it is to further develop their knowledge and skills in the field of public management and business administration. This professional development will enable you to take on roles with higher degrees of leadership responsibility and strategic impact. The programme combines academic rigour with a practical focus, and you will be enabled, throughout your studies, to contrast the latest theoretical insights with real-world examples as well as your own professional experiences. In this way, you will become a more reflective and effective practitioner, and will also acquire the skills and knowledge that will help you to advance your career.
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vii) Consultation with Careers
The programme proposal should be discussed with Careers. Please contact your Faculty Employability Manager.
Please provide details of Careers' comments and your response.
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See above.
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viii) How is teaching informed and led by research in the department/ centre/ University?
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Each module provides students with an introduction to key concepts, frameworks, and relevant literature in the discipline area supported by guided reading which draws on academic literature. Across the programme students will be required to engage with and synthesise relevant research based literature and to consider how this material is relevant to their own practice. Each module is designed, built and led by staff appropriately qualified and experienced to deliver research informed teaching. The module leader is responsible for reviewing and refreshing this material each time the module runs to maintain the currency of research material. Module leaders and module tutors will be responsible for delivery of the material; module tutors will be experienced to doctoral level or will have relevant experience of practice and teaching experience at postgraduate level. Modules, module leaders and module tutors are positioned in a subject group which is led by and mainly comprises of research active staff. Subject specialists will meet at least annually with module leaders to discuss the module and review the research based content to ensure that it remains up to date and reflects current debates in the subject area. The following university research themes are incorporated into the programme as they apply in management context; environment sustainability and resilience, justice and equality and risk evidence and decision making. All students will be subject to research-based teaching as part of their programme; students will be introduced to inquiry-based learning in the context of case studies across a number of modules. They will also undertake an inquiry in an academic context or more applied context in the Independent Study Project. All modules which are inquiry based are research oriented in that they introduce students to the research processes needed to support the inquiry undertaken.
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5.d. Progression
For masters programmes where students do not incrementally 'progress' on the completion of a discrete Postgraduate Certificate and Postgraduate Diploma, please summarise students’ progressive development towards the achievement of PLOs, in terms of the characteristics that you expect students to demonstrate at the end of the set of modules or part thereof.
This summary may be particularly helpful to students and the programme team where there is a high proportion of option modules and in circumstances where students registered on a higher award will exit early with a lower one.

Note: it is not expected that a position statement is written for each masters PLO, but this can be done if preferred.
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On completion of modules sufficient to obtain a Postgraduate Certificate students will be able to:
If the PG Cert is an exit award only please provide information about how students will have progressed towards the diploma/masters PLOs. Please include detail of the module diet that students will have to have completed to gain this qualification as an exit award.
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Having completed four taught modules, a student exiting with this PG Cert award will have gained insights into some of the principles, techniques and challenges of contemporary management and administration in private and public sector contexts. They will have furthermore applied theory to real-world examples and to their own professional experiences, and will have demonstrated their skills in academic work and writing.
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On completion of modules sufficient to obtain a Postgraduate Diploma students will be able to:
If the PG Diploma is an exit award only please provide information about how students will have progressed towards the masters PLOs. Please include detail of the module diet that students will have to have completed to gain this qualification as an exit award.
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With the completion of eight (out of a total of nine) taught modules, a student exiting with the PG Dip award will have gained comprehensive insights into the challenges of contemporary public management as well as the core principles and techniques of business administration. They will have applied repeatedly and in different ways theory to real-world examples and to their own professional experiences, and will have demonstrated over a sustained period their skills in academic work and writing. They will have furthermore covered all programme learning outcomes, albeit without completing an Independent Study Module.
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5.e. Other features of the programme
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i) Involvement of partner organisations
Are any partner organisations involved in the delivery of the programme?
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Please Select Y/N: Noif Yes, outline the nature of their involvement (such as contributions to teaching, placement provision). Where appropriate, see also the:
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University guidance on collaborative provision
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ii) Internationalisation/ globalisation
How does the programme promote internationalisation and encourage students to develop cross-cultural capabilities?
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All modules are situated in a multi dimensional global environment, drawing on real world events, simulated cases and academic vignettes. A central focus of the programme is its underpinning of global citizenship, diversity and difference and examining how a refocusing away from traditional and mainstream paradigms can enhance a mutually beneficial cultural awareness and sensitivity. Cross cultural verbal and non verbal communication skills and other capabilities will be refined through an understanding of international perspectives and examining issues from alternative standpoints. Moreover the campus based courses in the School attract substantial numbers of international students and students can gain knowledge through an inclusive student-student peer mentoring scheme designed to maximise the development of cross cultural capabilities.
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iii) Inclusivity
How will good practice in ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion be embedded in the design, content and delivery of the programme?
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This refers to the protected characteristics and duties on the University outlined in the Equality Act 2010
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The design, content and delivery of the programme will support students from all backgrounds to succeed.
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6. Reference points and programme regulations
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6.a. Relevant Quality Assurance Agency benchmark statement(s) and other relevant external reference points
Please state relevant reference points consulted (e.g. Framework for Higher Education Qualifications, National Occupational Standards, Subject Benchmark Statements or the requirements of PSRBs): See also Taught Postgraduate Modular Scheme: Framework for Programme Design:
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QAA general guidance for Masters and subject benchmark statement for Master's Degrees in Business and Management.
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6.b. University award regulations
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The University’s award and assessment regulations apply to all programmes: any exceptions that relate to this programme are approved by University Teaching Committee and are recorded at the end of this document.
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7. Programme Structure
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7.a. Module Structure and Summative Assessment Map
Please complete the summary table below which shows the module structure and the pattern of summative assessment through the programme.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
If the structure of your programme does not fit the usual academic year (for instance students start at the beginning of September or in January) please contact your Academic Quality Team contact in the Academic Support Office for guidance on how to represent the structure in an alternative format.

To clearly present the overall programme structure, include the name and details of each individual CORE module in the rows below. For OPTION modules, ‘Option module’ or 'Option from list x' should be used in place of specifically including all named options. If the programme requires students to select option modules from specific lists by term of delivery or subject theme these lists should be provided in the next section (7.b).

From the drop-down select 'S' to indicate the start of the module, 'A' to indicate the timing of each distinct summative assessment point (eg. essay submission/ exam), and 'E' to indicate the end of teaching delivery for the module (if the end of the module coincides with the summative assessment select 'EA'). It is not expected that each summative task will be listed where an overall module might be assessed cumulatively (for example weekly problem sheets).

Summative assessment by exams should normally be scheduled in the spring week 1 and summer Common Assessment period (weeks 5-7). Where the summer CAP is used, a single ‘A’ can be used within the shaded cells as it is understood that you will not know in which week of the CAP the examination will take place. (NB: An additional resit assessment week is provided in week 10 of the summer term for postgraduate students. See Guide to Assessment, 5.4.a)
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Full time structure
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CreditsModuleModules will be delivered one by one on a 7 week carousel. Assessment will take place at the end of week 8. Strategy in Practice must be taken as the first module. With the exception of the Project Proposal and the Independent Study Project modules can be delivered in any order (once Strategy in Practice has been completed). Any one module will therefore have students enrolled from a number of different cohorts.
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15MAN00119MStrategy in PracticeSEAA