University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School

MBA Program Stats

Academics And Programs

Oxford is one of the oldest and most esteemed universities in the world, located in Oxford, England. The city is known for its stunning historic architecture, including the iconic Bodleian Library and Radcliffe Camera, attracting tourists, scholars, and literary enthusiasts from around the globe. There is an abundance of large companies within Oxford and in the general vicinity, just a short train journey to London.

The University is home to 39 colleges, yet no matter which a student lands in, most of the colleges are no more than a 15-minute walk from the city center and the Saïd Business School.

“My favorite aspect must be the privilege of seeing the arc of someone’s experience as they come onto the MBA – from their application through to being on the course, then becoming alum and witnessing their development in the future,” says Amy Major, MBA program director.

“Seeing how critical the experience and network MBAs build in Oxford is to their professional and personal journey is truly heart-warming. Particularly when sometimes I have the chance to play a small part in it. With a cohort of circa 320 students, I simply cannot get to know everyone, but a close understanding of the journey for some students is a true privilege,” she continues.

Oxford Saïd uniquely offers a 1+1 program that lets students take a one-year Oxford master’s degree from a list of partner programs followed by an MBA, allowing people to delve into a subject before capping it off with an MBA — a cost-effective alternative to the two-year MBA in the U.S.

The school welcomes roughly 330 MBA students each year from all around the globe, creating one of the MBA world’s most internationally diverse classrooms. Students hail from a wide range of industries, cultures, and professional backgrounds. This degree of diversity means the entire cohort has the opportunity to challenge one another’s perspectives and develop the kind of global mindset that today’s business leaders need.

In the MBA program, their core courses go beyond the conventional to include topics like entrepreneurship, responsible business, and leading with purpose in the 21st century. They’ve designed the content to give students both broad business expertise and the flexibility to pursue specialized career goals.

Although completed in just one year, the accelerated MBA is intentionally intensive from day one. Students can still pursue internships during the program (an opportunity not always available in one-year MBA formats) or complete a six-week Strategic Consulting Project with a corporate sponsor.

The academic year is divided into modules, and alongside the conventional core business courses are electives that incorporate two cross-cutting themes: Entrepreneurship and Global Rules of the Game.

During the summer months, MBAs take up internships or a six-week Strategic Consulting Project in a team of three to five for a corporate sponsor. Teams have worked with a wide range of companies, charities, nonprofits, and start-ups.

Career development is a key element of Oxford MBA experience. The Career Development Centre supports students whether they are looking to accelerate in their current industry, pivot into a new field, or launch their own venture. To help students navigate their personal journeys, Oxford developed five career pathways in Consulting, Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Impact, Finance, Global Industry, and Technology. These pathways guide both curricular and co-curricular choices – but they’re flexible enough for students whose goals might evolve during the program.

Saïd Business School engages closely with the wider university to bring a multidisciplinary aspect to the Oxford MBA. Students regularly collaborate with peers from across Oxford’s colleges and departments, hearing other perspectives outside of the business world. One of those spaces is The Foundry – a university-wide innovation center devoted to starting new businesses, to debates at the famous Oxford Union, student-led clubs, career treks, globally renowned guest speakers, conferences, and many other opportunities. It’s a wonderful center that also hosts fancy dinners in ancient dining rooms.

The school regularly hosts guest speakers from diverse industries and organizes industry-focused events and conferences, providing students with valuable insights, networking opportunities, and exposure to current business trends.

Why Students Chose

“The key motivation for choosing Oxford was its focus on impact-driven careers and the network that it provides to explore the European impact investing industry. I also loved the course curriculum including programs like GOTO and Entrepreneurial Project that help students find solutions to global problems. My team is exploring Climate Reset as part of our GOTO project, where we are looking at using a systems thinking approach to the agriculture value chain of Mexico. Coming from the impact sector, I had heard about these concepts and the tools provided by the school will give me more confidence to use them in practice.” Taanya Khare (‘22)

“Growing up in the Caribbean, there is a certain respect for British schools which already narrowed my focus in choosing a business school to the UK. However, Saïd Business School’s focus on impact investment in its syllabus made it the easy choice. Throughout the course, we are constantly challenged in the way we think about creating portfolios, assessing investments, and advising companies. When we propose an integration of ESG goals, our lecturers ensure that this is done practically, recognizing all the obstacles, and eventually resulting in the innovation of new approaches to our business ideas. This was extremely important for me since my goals have always involved eventually returning to my home country Jamaica and the wider Caribbean, with a hope to make a meaningful change. Through our future businesses, we have the power to impact education, employment, crime, and economic growth. Since studying in the MBA at Saïd, I have been able to grapple with my ideas, ensuring that specific goals can be met whilst still being financially successful.” Samuel Bailey (‘22)

From Oxford University 

Placed firmly within the current global context, the Oxford MBA has been structured carefully to give you a thorough grounding in all key business skills and functions alongside the ability to customize your experience around your own interests or to follow a particular career pathway. 

A Global Mindset 

Oxford’s ecosystem will shape your thinking within a global context, preparing you to succeed in an increasingly interconnected, international business landscape. The MBA brings together people from across the world and from every sector. This creates a highly diverse cohort. 

You’ll engage daily with diverse perspectives, experiences and cultural expectations; bringing your own viewpoint into the discussion and collaboratively shaping how ideas and solutions evolve.  

With each member of our community contributing different approaches to problem-solving, you’ll have the opportunity to work through challenges with your peers, seeing how diverse thinking can shape decisions and fuel collaboration.  

An Intensive One-Year Experience 

The accelerated format of our one-year MBA program means that you will be immersed in an intensive and rigorous learning experience from day one.  

Learning from cutting-edge faculty and researchers at one of the world’s greatest universities, your MBA year will build your core business skills and include electives to tailor your expertise further. The one-year format is particularly suited to those with a clear and achievable career plan. 

Discover The Oxford MBA 

A year in Oxford not enough? Learn more about the opportunity to earn two degrees in two years with the Oxford 1+1 MBA. Combine a Specialist Master’s Degree from the University of Oxford with our MBA. 

Admissions Process 

We operate a staged admissions process and we strongly encourage you to apply as early as possible, particularly if you are interested in applying for any of our scholarships. View our application deadlines and requirements. 

Meet Us 

Our school representatives are travelling to cities around the world to meet with prospective candidates like you. Visit our website to browse our events listing for the opportunity to meet with us as well as our alumni. 

Careers 

The Career Development Centre is dedicated to helping you find and prepare for a role that suits your skill set and meets your career aspirations, whether you are looking to explore, accelerate, or transition in an alternative direction. 

We have developed five pathways to help you navigate your way through the program: 

• Consulting 

• Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Impact 

• Finance 

• Global Industry 

• Technology 

These pathways will allow you to make informed choices, both curricular and co-curricular, throughout the year. You will be able to move between these pathways depending on your aspirations and interests, which we know from experience can change during your year in Oxford. 

Learn More About Careers 

Life At Oxford 

As an Oxford MBA, you will belong to one of the University’s 39 colleges, each a self-governing academic community of students and faculty with its own distinctive history and identity. The application process requires you to specify a college of your choice. Through your college, you will have the opportunity to connect with the brightest minds from across the University. 

Explore College Life 

Essay Questions For Said Business School

With your application,

Please provide a personal statement that outlines anything additional that you would like the admissions committee to consider (Maximum 500 words).

If you are applying to the 1+1 program you also need to submit the following essay: Explain why you see this as particularly beneficial for you and how it fits with your career and personal development aims (Maximum 250 words).

To virtually get to know you and see how you think on your feet, you will need to complete an online assessment as part of your MBA application.

This comprises three competency-based questions via video – this will be randomized.

The competency-based questions will allow you to demonstrate the skills and qualities we look for, such as:

Integrity
Vision
Self-awareness
Decisiveness
Collaboration