The University of Edinburgh Management School has a long history of business education – it awarded its first degree in commerce in 1918. Its undergraduate management programmes were among the first created in the UK. It now offers courses from undergraduate degrees to MBAs and PhDs.

Vital statistics. To apply for the full-time, 12-month MBA you need a degree or equivalent and at least three years’ work experience. A GMAT score of more than 600 will help but each application is considered on its merits. The programme is split into four parts. The first semester is spent covering foundation courses such as economics, marketing and ethics. In the second, students work on strategic management, working intensively in groups. In the third semester, the style changes to intensive one-week courses and the focus is on bringing all the aspects together. Finally, there is a dissertation to write during the summer. The cost of the 2007-08 course is £22,700.

Rankings. Edinburgh is ranked 56th in the Economist Intelligence Unit's Which MBA? guide 2007 and 54th in ft.com’s global MBA rankings 2007. It was the only Scottish business school to appear in ft.com’s rankings this year.

Work experience. Students can take advantage of internship and dissertation opportunities with companies in the energy and financial sectors that have sponsorship links to the university.

Employment record. The average Edinburgh alumni salary is £50,120. In general, graduates earn a salary that is 97 per cent higher than their salary before before completing the MBA. Within three months of graduating, 93 per cent of graduates year can expect to be employed.

Application deadline: go to www.man.ed.ac.uk/mba_study for more details.

Sources: www.man.ed.ac.uk; mba.eiu.com; ft.com/businesseducation/mba

Next week: Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California

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