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MBA Senior Leader (Apprenticeship)

Explore your intrapersonal development to enhance your positive impact within an organisation. Learn how to build and sustain effective relationships through collaboration and develop high performing teams. Develop as an agile, strategic leader to contribute to sustainable strategic objectives.

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Course codeCID1385
Duration22 months
Fee(s)View fees
LocationOn campus

Course summary

The MBA Senior Leader apprenticeship is designed for experienced professionals stepping into senior or strategic leadership roles, whether you’re a general manager, executive, director, C-suite leader, or senior military officer. Developed in collaboration with employers, it focuses on the real world knowledge, skills, and behaviours you need to succeed as a strategic leader.

You’ll explore leadership and leader identity in the context of your organisation, developing the confidence and capability to inspire, influence, and lead high performing teams. The course combines practical, work based learning with advanced study in leadership, business, and management, helping you bring out the best in others while driving organisational success.

Running over 22 months, plus a five-month End Point Assessment, the apprenticeship offers two flexible study options: fully online, or blended online and on-campus delivery.

For employers, this apprenticeship provides an effective way to develop leadership pipelines and support succession planning, ensuring the next generation of leaders are equipped to meet future challenges with confidence.

Accreditations and approvals

This course is dual-accredited by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). After successful completion, you'll receive additional qualifications, including a certificate from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, and a Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership Practice. Alongside this, you'll also gain Chartered Manager status.

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Hayley Lord

Every part of the apprenticeship has served as a jigsaw piece in my understanding of senior leadership.

Hayley Lord

Read Hayley Lord's story

What you'll study

Year 1

Year 2

Many of our courses include a range of modules you can choose from. Some of these options may only be available if you’ve already studied specific required modules. If you’re not sure what you need before picking a module, your course leader can help.

Postgraduate module credits should total 180. If optional modules are available alongside core modules on your course, you should choose an amount that totals 180 credits.

How you'll learn

The course is work-based and there's a strong element of work-based learning and project work.

You'll be taught via a mixture of methods, including:

  • Scheduled teaching activities: lectures, workshops, and guest speakers
  • Personal: coaching for enhanced learning, development, and performance
  • Professional development: tripartite meetings
  • Peer learning: action learning sets
  • Independent learning: reading, reflection, research, data analysis, engaging in Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) discussions, assessment preparation.

End-point Assessment (EPA)

Assessment method 1: strategic business proposal, presentation with questioning

The assessment method is the production of a strategic business proposal followed by the delivery of a presentation with questioning. The strategic business proposal must be undertaken after you've gone through the gateway. The presentation involves you presenting your strategic business proposal to an independent assessor, followed by questioning.

Assessment method 2: professional discussion underpinned by a portfolio of evidence

A professional discussion is a two-way discussion involving both the independent assessor and you actively listening and participating in a formal conversation. It allows you to make detailed and proactive contributions to confirm your competency across the KSBs mapped to this method.

Entry requirements

Fees and finance support

Larger organisations can use their apprenticeship levy and government top-up to pay tuition and professional fees of higher apprenticeships. For smaller employers, the government pays 95%, with the remainder co-invested by the business.

For a discussion around your specific requirements please call 0191 515 3361(opens in new tab) or email apprenticeships@sunderland.ac.uk(opens in new tab).

Apply now

To apply for a higher or degree apprenticeship, you must have an employer in place to support you on the course. If you're interested in applying and have an employer in place, please email apprenticeships@sunderland.ac.uk(opens in new tab) and we'll send you the relevant application link.

To search for apprenticeships offered by employers in your area go to: gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship(opens in new tab).

For a discussion around your specific requirements, or if you're an employer interested in creating a vacancy, please call us on 0191 515 3361(opens in new tab) or email apprenticeships@sunderland.ac.uk(opens in new tab).

Disclaimer

We want to make sure you have clear and accurate information about our courses. Our website always shows the latest updates. If you’ve applied and been offered a place, we’ll contact you in writing if anything important changes.

View our programme specifications(opens in new tab) for further information about what the course covers, learning outcomes and the skills you'll gain when you graduate.