Poets&Quants Top Business Schools

Cranfield University School of Management

#45

Contact our general manager with any questions. Profile updated: January 30, 2024.

Contact Information

Location:
Wharley End
Cranfield, Bedford MK43 OAL United Kingdom
Admissions Office:
+4 (423) 475-1122

School Data

Annual Tuition: £46,405

Acceptance Rate: 30%

Full-Time Enrollment: 42

International: 95%

Female: 38%

Male: 62%

Application Deadlines: Round 1 - March 7, 2024 | Round 2 - May 9, 2024 | Round 3 - July 11, 2024

The Cranfield Business School is where higher education dreams and aspirations take flight – literally and figuratively. The Cranfield School of Management is known for being the only in the UK with its own airport, for its ISO-accredited Crash Impact Center where they crash-test Formula One cars, and its world-renown National Flying Laboratory Center that has won the Queen’s Anniversary Prize many times. The MBA program has a reputation for teaching MBAs leadership skills through practical application.

Cranfield recognizes that the world is experiencing immense change and uncertainty which business leaders are increasingly expected to understand – so in 2023, the MBA was redesigned accordingly to be even more international, personal, and closer to current business.

The campus is in peaceful Bedfordshire, about 50 miles north of central London and 30 miles west of Cambridge. It sits out of the hustle and bustle of city life, ideal for those who want to experience traditional English village life with modern attributes.

The Cranfield MBA is a one-year program with opportunities to work with real clients, secure an internship, spend a month abroad, attend networking and speaker events, and even host a press conference with real journalists. Better yet, 70% of the faculty are still active in their industries, where they have firsthand experience with today’s business challenges.

The MBA typically has small cohorts of around 50 students from over 17 nationalities, between the ages of 26-32, and many believe having a diverse cohort makes a difference.

The program kicks off with an immersive orientation week, then MBAs take ten core courses including three staple projects – the Business Analytics & Consulting project, the international Consultancy Project, and the Career Pathway Project.

For the first two, MBAs work with a client company to understand the problem, gather evidence and to develop an achievable solution. Past collaborations have been with Siemens Gamesa, Calvin Klein, McDonald’s, UK NHS, Baringa Consultancy, Endangered Brewing and Harry Specters to name a few. The Career Pathway Project is an internship, an entrepreneurship journey or an independent project.

During the second segment, students can choose three electives. June marks a highlight for the third segment of the program – a month-long international experience where MBAs take a consulting elective abroad with Cranfield’s partner schools.

In the final portion of the program, Cranfield MBAs can choose from three distinct career pathways: the Executive Career, Entrepreneurial Career, or Independent Career. Executive and career coaching runs throughout the program to support students along the way.

“We understand the importance of preparing students for their future career, and through the transformative, leadership-focused MBA course we will offer our students more problem, experiential, and employer-lead learning – to increase their career prospects and market awareness, with the aim of improving employability,” says MBA Course Director Dr Leila Alinaghian on Cranfield’s site.

Cranfield MBA Rankings Data

Cranfield MBA Employment Stats

Cranfield has not published its top hirers of MBA Graduates, preferring to list all organizations that hired a graduate.

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