Courses / Subject

Candidates must hold a Business, Management, or Marketing degree (level 8), or a Business-related degree (level 8), having achieved a minimum of a 2.2 honours (or equivalent) overall. Alternatively, you may hold a non-Business degree (minimum 2.2 overall, level 8) with at least five years’ work experience. International applicants must have a recognised primary degree which is considered equivalent to Irish university primary degree level. Exceptionally, consideration will be given to candidates who do not hold a primary degree, but who do have at least 10 years’ relevant work experience, at least three of which are in a management position. These applicants are managed through the Maynooth University Procedure for Non-Standard Entrants and Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning. 

Minimum English language requirements: please visit Maynooth University International Office website for information about English language tests accepted and required scores. The requirements specified are applicable for both EU and non-EU applicants.

National University of Ireland Maynooth’s TOEFL code is 8850

Applications for all Maynooth University postgraduate programmes must be made online through the Postgraduate Applications Centre (PAC) at www.pac.ie/maynoothuniversity 

PAC Code
MH54D Full-time

The following information should be forwarded to PAC, 1 Courthouse Square, Galway or uploaded to your online application form:

Certified copies of all official transcripts of results for all non-Maynooth University qualifications listed MUST accompany the application. Failure to do so will delay your application being processed. Non-Maynooth University students are asked to provide two academic references and a copy of birth certificate or valid passport. Applicants may be required to attend for interview as part of the admissions process.

Helpful information and guides to making an application, uploading documents, and accepting an offer are available at this link: How to apply.

Course Duration: 1 year (12 months) Full-Time     Modules are typically taught in blocks of two full days every two weeks for full-time students. 

Our learning blends developing individual analytic capabilities with teamwork, leadership, and communication skills. Strategy and Leadership modules provide you with analytic capabilities to decompose complex problems, devise solutions, and apply your skills in practice through experiential learning modules such as Strategy Live. Innovation, Digital Business, and Finance modules provide you with the practical skills necessary to transform organisations to create value for customers. Career Planning and Development and research modules equip you with tools and resources to develop your own career strategy and how to solve real problems. The capstone of the programme is a paid Work Placement, Dissertation, or Business Research Project where you learn to apply the lessons to a real-world issue. For details on module overviews, learning outcomes, teaching and learning methods and assessment please visit Course Finder.

Duration: 1 year full-time

Disclaimer
The modules below are indicative of the content associated with this course of study.
The modules are subject to change as the curriculum is revised and reviewed annually. Please check periodically for updates.

Year 1

STRATEGY & INNOVATION The MSc in Strategy and Innovation is suited to participants interested in a career in general management or senior management. It builds on participants’ prior education and/or business experience to develop managerial competencies in high level functions of strategy, innovation, leadership and financial management. This is a taught masters programme with a significant applied research project. The format provides participants with an excellent opportunity to learn both in-depth and state-of-the-art content on the taught modules and then apply that new learning in a business consulting, dissertation or placement project. All of the content brings participants up to speed with the latest research on the topics covered and the module facilitators then guide them in the application of that literature to real-word challenges. Successful participants leave the programme with an ability to make a meaningful contribution to organisations at a strategic level. The innovation component of the programme provides participants with a tool kit to analyse business arenas and identify opportunities that can be exploited. Participants will explore innovation processes in organisations while also examining entrepreneurship and how entrepreneurial thinking can shape innovation outcomes. Together with an examination of leadership challenges, participants explore theories of leadership from classic approaches through to contemporary concepts and ideas. These are set in the context of the changing nature of work and society, where the process of leadership and the complex relationships they manage are considered.  The financial management aspect of the programme will provide participants, regardless of their experience or education in finance or accounting, with the core skills to read and interpret key financial reports of profit and loss (P & L), balance sheets, and cash flow. Participants will also learn how to evaluate investment decisions and conduct key ratio analysis to gain insights into an organisation’s financial strength.  The key strategy section of the programme is taught across two components. The first develops the skills needed to analyse business environments, industries and organisational capabilities in the context of the changing nature of strategy, competition and business models. The second provides an opportunity for guided application of the core strategy concepts to an industry and organisation during the Strategy Live experience. The most recent addition to the programme is an in-depth and focussed module on sustainability in business where participants will learn about the UN Sustainable Development Goals and how organisation can respond to the challenges we face. Participants will also get extensive guidance on career planning and development and work through a structured process to evaluate their own competencies, aspirations and develop structured career plans. The applied research aspect of the programme provides participants with an opportunity to systematically integrate their new knowledge from the programme and apply it to an industry, business or challenge of interest.  Most participants will take the Business Consulting Project module. Typically, full-time students will be linked with an organisation arranged by the School of Business, and for part-time students it is an opportunity to develop significant insights into their own organisations. When available, a Placement Project (full-time mode only) may be an alternative to the Business Consulting Project. A Dissertation alternative is also available in some limited circumstances, with the guidance of an academic member of staff. There are also (optional) opportunities throughout the year to attend the research seminars delivered by academic staff and visitors. Programme Schedule The full-time programme runs over 12 months (3 semesters) from September each year. Participants on the part-time programme take the same classes as the full-time participants and the module load is spread over two years.   Commences September entry Meet the Programme Director If you would like to join a brief webinar where Professor Robert Galavan, the Academic Director of the MSc in Strategy and Innovation Programme, discusses the programme and answers questions, please register your interest here and you will receive an invitation when the dates are confirmed. Note: all students register for MI6274 (Business Consulting Project (BCP)) at online registration at the start of this programme. There may be an opportunity to change to either MI6275 (placement project) or MI6277 (dissertation) at the start of semester two - this is dependent on individual student progress in semester one. The School of Business will provide further details during semester one.  MNS600 - STRATEGY & INNOVATION Credits: 90 Not compulsory: Module Code Credits Semester Compulsory ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS THROUGH RESEARCH MI6273 5 Year-Long BUSINESS CONSULTING PROJECT (BCP) MI6274 25 Year-Long CAREER PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT MI6272 10 1 DIGITAL BUSINESS MI6241 5 1 DISSERTATION MI6277 25 Year-Long FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT MI6271 5 2 INNOVATION MI6218 5 1 INTRODUCTION TO SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS MI6243 5 2 LEADERSHIP MI6220 10 2 PLACEMENT PROJECT MI6275 25 Year-Long STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT: TOOLS AND CONCEPTS MI6219 10 1 STRATEGY LIVE MI6221 10 2

Programme Director Professor Robert Galavan
Tel + 353 1 708 3609 / + 353 1 474 7514 / + 353 1 708 3703
Email  robert.galavan@mu.ie/ business@mu.ie
Website www.maynoothuniversity.ie/school-business
Address School of Business, 3rd Floor, TSI Building, North Campus, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, W23 WK26.

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The programme develops you as a manager who can create value for private and public organisations with analytic, personal, and decision-making capabilities to be an effective contributor in teams that identify and solve complex operational and strategic problems faced by organisations. For recent graduates, this master’s gives you the skills necessary for a career in consultancy, general management, and business analysis. For those with work experience, this degree helps you transition from a role as a technical specialist into a managerial role, or to develop the skills needed to advance to senior management. The Work Placement and Business Research Project options are particularly valuable to employers, as they demonstrate your ability to apply your learning in the world of work.

What our Graduates say?

“One of the highlights of the master’s was the Strategy Live module. Strategy Live worked well as it brought together the knowledge gained from other modules and combined it with the ranging level of work experience from students in the class. The module gave students an opportunity work with reputable companies from different industries, on real life problems that they were facing whereby the students had to build a strategic solution. The value in this project was that it was over 3 months whereby the solution got build over time and the groups were thoughtfully put together, consisting of students with different levels of work experience and from different Masters streams”  Riedwaan Fakier

For further information on Postgraduate options please go to the Graduate Studies site