MBA Scholarships and Funding

To be considered for an Alliance Manchester Business School scholarship you will need to submit a complete application for the Full-time MBA. Some of the scholarships require an additional scholarship application to be submitted; please review the information about each scholarship for specific details.

The scholarships are competitive and awarded to the strongest candidates. There are specific criteria for each scholarship, therefore please review the individual scholarship information. As well as the specific criteria for each scholarship, there are general criteria which apply to all scholarships which are as follows:

General criteria applying to all scholarships

• Excellent performance across all of the Full-time MBA admission criteria
• Potential to contribute and enrich all aspects of the MBA programme and the diverse professional and cultural profile and experience of the MBA class.
• Strong values and ethics and preferably able to demonstrate contribution to society/communities in roles outside of the workplace.
• Potential to become an outstanding future alumni ambassador and contribute positively back to the School, organisations and communities.
• Able to demonstrate a strong fit with our overall admissions strategy

Eligibility criteria: 

• The most outstanding MBA applicants identified during the admissions process.
• A minimum GMAT of 600 or equivalent GRE.

Application format:

• Complete Full-time MBA application
• Additional scholarship application not required

Who is this for?

Candidates who demonstrate good academic credentials, plus outstanding achievements and career progression in the following sectors:

• Professional services: Candidates working for an internationally-recognised professional services company (global leader) in one of the following roles: management consultant, accountant/auditor, architect, legal professional. This award is not open to IT consultants.
• Entrepreneurship: Candidates with professional careers in entrepreneurship, demonstrating outstanding achievements and exceptional entrepreneurial flair for creating and running a successful or growing a business venture(s).
• Marketing: Candidates with good academic credentials and outstanding professional experience and achievements in marketing management roles for international brands or organisations.
• Energy: Candidates with good academic credentials and outstanding professional experience and achievements, currently working in a senior role for a multinational energy, oil or gas company.
• Military leaders: Open to UK/European (EEA) permanent residents with previous/current experience as armed forces officers. Candidates must have strong communication and networking skills, leadership qualities and a commitment to promoting social and corporate responsibility in British/European society. We have a long history of helping officers build successful post-forces careers.

How to apply:

• Complete the Full-time MBA application form
• Email a written scholarship statement addressing the points below (maximum 2 pages A4) to Full-timeMBA.admissions@manchester.ac.uk
• What makes you stand out as an exceptional candidate for this award?
• How do you help or inspire others?
• How will your experience and personal qualities benefit the MBA class?
• How will you contribute as a future Alliance MBS alumnus, to return our investment in you?

Application deadline and decision dates
The industry sector scholarships are all awarded on a rolling basis as part of the admissions process, normally at the same time as an offer is made.

Who is this for?

• Inspirational leaders with exceptional leadership qualities
• Minimum 6 years' professional experience since completion of bachelor degree
• Minimum of 3 years' experience in a strategic leadership position
• Currently working in a senior management position for a multinational company (a strategic leadership role, with high-level responsibility, and most likely reporting into board level)
• Exceptional career progression and outstanding professional and personal achievements
• Strong performance on Manchester MAT

How to apply:

• Complete the Full-time MBA application form
• Candidates are not required to take the GMAT, but will be required to take the Manchester Admissions Test (MAT) which is predominantly a psychometric profile of leadership characteristics and qualities.
• Email a written scholarship statement addressing the points below (maximum 3 pages A4) to Full-timeMBA.admissions@manchester.ac.uk
• Tell us how you meet the scholarship criteria and what makes you stand out as an exceptional candidate for this award?
• How do you help and inspire others?
• How will you contribute inspirational leadership to the MBA programme and as a future alumnus of Alliance Manchester Business School?

Application deadline and decision dates:

• Awarded on a rolling basis as part of the admissions process, normally at the same time as an offer is made. Candidates who apply early may, therefore, have a better chance.

Who is this for?

Members of the Manchester Young Professionals community who demonstrate good academic credentials, plus outstanding achievements and career progression. MYP is a community of professionals who live and work in Manchester and Greater Manchester across a wide range of sectors.

How to apply

• Complete the Full-time MBA application form
• Inform info@mcryoungprofessionals.com that you have submitted your application

Application deadline

• The Manchester Young Professionals scholarship application deadline is 26 April.

To apply, please submit the following to Full-timeMBA.admissions@manchester.ac.uk before the application deadline.

1. CV
2. A written scholarship statement addressing the points below (maximum 3 pages of A4):
   • Givw us a brief summary of your career to date - how has your career progressed and what are your key achievements?
   • Why do you feel it is the right time in your career to study an MBA and what are your immediate goals after you complete the programme?
   • Considering the scholarship criteria, what makes you stand out as an exceptional candidate for this award?
   • Financial need is an important criterion for these scholarships. Please tell us why, without financial assistance in the form of a scholarship, you would not otherwise be able to accept a place on the Manchester MBA (you do not need to provide personal financial records)?

After submitting your CV and scholarship statement, we will send you an invitation to complete the following:

1. Manchester Admissions Test (MAT): The MAT an online test, which you can take at your convenience in your home, office or anywhere with a good internet connection. You will complete three short assessments (verbal, numerical and logical). They do not require preparation and each assessment takes around 15 minutes to complete.
2. Video assessment: The video assessment comprises of four questions, which are designed to be answered without preparation in real-time. This will help us gain a sense of your personality, potential and communication skills - particularly your ability to think on your feet and communicate in a concise manner.

Due to the high value and prestigious nature of these awards, all candidates who make the shortlist will be invited to give a presentation to the Admissions Committee. Please see the dates in the 'Application and assessment dates' section below.

• Open to UK citizens only
• Excellent performance across all aspects of the Full-time MBA admission criteria
• Potential to contribute to all aspects of the MBA, and to enrich the class’s diverse professional and cultural profile
• Strong values and ethics; preferably able to demonstrate a contribution to society/community roles outside the workplace
• Potential to become an outstanding future alumni ambassador and contribute positively back to the School, organisations and communities •
• Financial need

The scholarships are competitive and are awarded to the strongest candidates. Candidates must demonstrate financial need. We reserve the right not to award these scholarships if no suitable candidates are identified.

• Application deadline: Monday 25 April 2024
• Assessment dates: We will ask you to give a presentation to the Admissions Committee (date to be confirmed).

Presentations will normally take place online.

Funded by: Joseph Wright, MBA 1974
3 scholarships of £30,000
Open to UK citizens only

This scholarship is generously funded by Joseph Wright, who would like others to have the same opportunity to benefit from the Full-time MBA experience. Joseph Wright is Executive Chairman, AmSpec Services LLC, a US-based company which is a leader in inspection and testing in the oil, gas and petrochemical industries.  An MBA and chartered accountant, Joseph has over 40 years’ experience in business development, financing, and mergers and acquisitions.  Over the last 10 years, he has been directing the strategy and development of AmSpec Services LLC, building it from a local Linden inspection company to a renowned international testing and inspection organisation.

“Alliance MBS gave me a springboard to a successful career. The experience transformed me and my attitude towards business. I am happy to help a young student take advantage of the same opportunities I had.”

Funded by: The Masood Family
1 scholarship: £15,000
Open to UK citizens only

This scholarship is generously funded by the Masood Family. The Masood Family's support of the School, with tuition scholarships and the Masood Enterprise Centre, is testament to their deeply held conviction that entrepreneurship is crucial for economic growth and for driving competition and progress.

As graduates and scholarship recipients of the MBA programme at Alliance Manchester Business School, members of the Masood family have personal experience of the unique ethos and culture that animates the MBA experience at Alliance Manchester Business School. They recognise the crucial role their time at the School played in nurturing their self-confidence, shaping their business instincts and precipitating their professional and business careers.

It is fitting that the Masood family's generous support extends to endowing the Masood MBA Scholarship, which will give talented young students a world-class education and a springboard from which their own future achievements can grow.

Alliance MBS Women In Business Scholarships (in support of the Forté Foundation Fellows Program Scholarships)

Scholarship value

• Up to 50% of the tuition fee

Eligibility criteria

• Female students of all nationalities are eligible for consideration
• Female candidates with excellent academic, professional and personal achievements and strong leadership ability
• Candidates must also show determination to act as a role model for other women

These scholarships are awarded on a rolling basis as part of the admissions process, normally at the same time as an offer is made.

How to apply

1. Complete the Full-time MBA application
2. Submit a written scholarship application or presentation addressing the questions below. The application should be written from your own perspective rather than as a research exercise. You are welcome to add graphics and photos to support your application if you feel this will help you to express your thoughts and ideas.

Email your scholarship application to Full-timeMBA.admissions@manchester.ac.uk

Scholarship application questions

• The business world faces a distinct shortage of women in senior management positions. From your own perspective, what do you think are the most significant barriers to female senior leadership and what will be the biggest challenge for the current and next generation of women in business? How do you think these challenges could be addressed, particularly in your own country?
• What are your key professional achievements to date and how do you hope to develop your career as a business leader in the future? Please share any challenges you have experienced as a female person building a career in business.
• Have you personally been involved in any initiatives to support women in business?
• What do you do to help or inspire others? How will you act as a role model for other women?

Application deadline and decision dates

• Awarded on a rolling basis as part of the admissions process, normally at the same time as an offer is made. Candidates who apply early may, therefore, have a better chance.

All candidates who have applied for or have been awarded an Alliance MBS Women in Business Scholarship by the final application deadline will automatically be considered for a Forté Foundation Fellows Programme Scholarship.

Forté Foundation Fellows Program Scholarships

Alliance Manchester Business School is proud to be partnering with the Forté Foundation as part of the Forté Fellows Program.

Forté Foundation is a non-profit consortium of leading companies and top business schools working together to launch women into fulfilling, significant careers through access to business education, opportunities, and a community of successful women.

The Forté Fellows Program was created with the intention of increasing the number of women applying to and enrolling in MBA programs by offering fellowships to women pursuing an MBA at a sponsoring business school.

If you would like to be considered for a Forté Fellowship, you should first submit your MBA application and Women in Business scholarship application to Alliance Manchester Business School. The School will select the Forté Fellows and notify the Forté Foundation of our selection.

In addition to the financial support provided, Forté Fellows have access to a number of unique resources from Forté Foundation including:

• Participation in the annual Forté MBA Women’s Leadership Conference held at the Amazon headquarters in Seattle
• Access to exclusive networking groups of Forté Fellows, Forté Fellow Alumnae and sponsor companies on social media and through Forté Fellow listservs
• Special e-introductions to Forté sponsor companies and inclusion in the Fellow résumé book, which is distributed to all sponsor companies
• Free lifetime Forté Foundation Premium Membership

Eligibility criteria

• Female students of all nationalities are eligible for consideration. We would actively like to nominate fellows who represent diverse educational and work backgrounds, career goals, ethnicities and citizenship.
• Candidates should exhibit exemplary leadership in one or more ways: academic leadership, team leadership, community leadership, and creative leadership.
• Candidates should demonstrate a commitment to women and girls via personal mentorship or community involvement. Such commitment is in alignment with the mission of Forté Foundation.

All candidates who have applied for or have been awarded an Alliance MBS Women in Business Scholarship by the final application deadline will automatically be considered for a Forté Foundation Fellows Programme Scholarship.

One full tuition fee scholarship

The partnership with the 30% Club will also offer the scholarship winner the opportunity to have a mentor during the programme.

Alliance Manchester Business School is proud to partner with the 30% Club to support their goals to build a continuum of change from schoolroom to boardroom, develop more high potential women and create a deeper pool of talent for tomorrow’s boardrooms.

The 30% Club is a global campaign that signs up Chairs and CEOs to take action to create a better balance of men and women at all levels of their organisations as a business imperative rather than a ‘women’s issue’.

The Club launched in the UK in 2010 with a target of a minimum of 30% women on FTSE 100 boards by 2015. The proportion of female FTSE 100 directors has risen from 12.5% to 27%. As of 2016, the scope of the original target was extended and the goal is now a minimum of 30% women on FTSE 350 boards by the end of 2020. The Club is now also firmly focused on driving change at senior management level and throughout the pipelines of organisations and has introduced a new target of 30% women at senior management level of FTSE 100 companies by 2020.

Eligibility criteria

• Female UK permanent residents who can demonstrate both depth and breadth of work experience, as well as academic excellence and high potential for senior leadership roles.
• Candidates must also show determination to act as a role model for other women.

Application deadline

25th April

How to apply

All female applicants who have submitted a completed Full-time MBA application form by the above deadline will be automatically considered for this scholarship.

Due to the high value and prestigious nature of this award, all candidates who make the shortlist will be required to attend a mandatory assessment day at Alliance Manchester Business School. On the assessment day you will be required to give a presentation about yourself and your achievements and undertake an interview. Applicants for the 30% Club Scholarship have the option to take the Manchester Admissions Test instead of GMAT or GRE.

Who can apply?

To be considered for one of ten Young Potential Leader places on the Full-time MBA programme you must:

• Have permanent residency in the UK*
• Hold a first class bachelor's degree, or
• Hold a bachelor's degree with upper second class results and a Masters’ degree with distinction (both from a Russell Group University)**
• Have less than three years' work experience

To discuss our entry requirements in more detail, please contact us. 

Alliance Manchester Business School has a joint agreement with Fundación Mexicana para la Educación, la Tecnología y la Ciencia (FUNED). Mexican students supported by FUNED receive a 25% discount on Full-time MBA tuition fees.

To be awarded the 25% tuition fee discount through the Alliance Manchester Business School / FUNED agreement, you will need to receive an unconditional offer for the Full-time MBA programme. You will then need to be accepted by FUNED for their loan/scholarship programme.

Please see the FUNED website for details of their application process and deadlines: www.funedmx.org

Alliance Manchester Business School has a joint agreement with COLFUTURO. Columbian students supported by COLFUTURO receive a 25% discount on Full-time MBA tuition fees. Successful students identified by COLFUTURO are supported through a scholarship-loan.

To be awarded the 25% tuition fee discount through the Alliance Manchester Business School / COLFUTURO agreement, you will need to receive an unconditional offer for the Full-time MBA programme. You will then also be accepted by COLFUTURO for their scholarship-loan.

Please see the COLFTURO website for further details of their application process and deadlines: www.colfuturo.org