Course Overview

The Cranfield Executive MBA in partnership with Grant Thornton combines the best of academic insight and commercial application. We’ll use this to help you develop your leadership and management skills with a specific focus on business growth and innovation. 

This page is for students seeking an Executive MBA independent of Apprenticeship Levy funding. If you are looking for more information on our Apprenticeship Levy part-funded routes, please visit the Senior Leadership Apprenticeship+ Executive MBA programme page.

This Executive MBA programme will allow you to join a community of skilled individuals developing the necessary know-how and confidence to stand out from the crowd. Grant Thornton in the UK is part of a global organisation, the world’s 6th largest accounting and advisory firm with more than 40,000 clients.

We encourage you to come and experience a world-class university programme delivered by a university famous for innovation, career-enhancing services and world-renowned faculty and a company reputed for the quality of its service and advice, with a passion for shaping a vibrant economy.

General Eligibility

The Executive MBA in partnership with Grant Thornton is aimed at Senior Leaders with mid-to senior-level experience, looking to develop the skillsets required to lead a department or business. Applicants will need to show evidence of:

• Minimum of five years' post-qualification work experience. 

• A strong degree and/or professional qualification or demonstration of high levels of achievement, exceptional career progression or evidence of leadership potential.

• Effective communication in English in an academic environment.

Part Time Work Details

20 Hours of Work permit weekly for international students.

Language Requirement

• English language

  To study for a formal award at Cranfield you will need to demonstrate that you can communicate effectively in English in an academic environment. Full details of how you can meet this requirement can be found on our English language requirements page.

  Approved English tests for Executive MBA

  Please note that:

  • We verify all test scores with the test providers.

  • We are only able to accept tests taken within two years of the course start date.

  • All elements of the test results must be demonstrated in one test, we are unable to accept a combination of scores across two or more tests.

  • In extremely rare circumstances we may reject a test score if one element of the test has a very low score. This would only occur if we believed this would impact on your ability to study with us or if the score did not meet UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) requirements to study in the UK.

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  IELTS*
  IELTS Academic, IELTS Online, IELTS for UKVI Academic - 7.0 overall and 5.5 in all skill components.

  TOEFL
  TOEFL iBT (we accept TOEFL iBT, TOEFL iBT Home Edition and TOEFL iBT Paper Edition) - 100 total and minimum skill component scores of 18 reading, 17 listening, 20 speaking and 17 writing.

  Pearson PTE
  PTE Academic, PTE Academic Online, PTE Academic UKVI - 68 overall and 59 in all skill components.

  Cambridge Assessment English
  Any Cambridge Assessment English test meeting the required scores will be accepted. The following are recommended as being within the scale score range: Cambridge C1 Advanced, Cambridge C2 Proficiency - Cambridge English Scale score of 190 overall and 160 in all skill components.

  Trinity College London
  Integrated Skills in English - ISE III (C1) - Overall Pass outcome.

  LanguageCert
  International ESOL C1 Expert (both the Written and Spoken tests must be taken), International ESOL SELT C1 (this test includes all 4 skill components) - Pass overall and 33 in all skill components.

  Kaplan
  KITE (Kaplan International Tools for English) - 505 overall and 410 in all skill components. Cranfield applicants and offer holders are entitled to a £25 discount, reducing the price of KITE to £65. Register for a test using the this form to benefit from the discount.