Background

For my undergrad I studied French and Japanese. However, my first job out of university had me working within administration and finance, the latter of which really intrigued me. I decided to pursue a masters in finance and business to further my career in that field. Manchester Met gave me that chance while continuing to deepen my international experience as an American studying in the UK.

The course

The course provides students with a lot of autonomy, both in terms of how you manage your studies outside of class and which topics you choose for your assignments. This flexibility means you can apply the foundational concepts from lectures to industries and businesses of interest to you. I particularly enjoyed blending my Japanese background with my corporate strategy unit by examining Kansai Electric Power Company.

Support

Although the courses tend to be large lectures, professors make themselves available for advice and support when you need it. Additionally, all new masters students take Masters Level Learning to make sure they have the skills necessary to succeed at this level of education.

I’ve very much appreciated the technical resources Manchester Met provides. Every student gets an Office 365 subscription, allowing you to download Microsoft Office on your personal device. Shared computers at the library and Business School automatically sync to your Manchester Met OneDrive account, making file management and access very convenient. To top it off, there’s a whole suite of software programmes available to you free of charge that’ll help with your studies, like IBM SPSS and Nvivo.

Career

One of the most important things you learn on this course is how to distil information. When you begin researching and writing your assignments, you’re almost overwhelmed by the amount of information available and the different analytical methods you could apply. The course teaches you to think critically about what should be mentioned in order to achieve the objective of your business report.

Manchester

One of my favourite things about studying in Manchester is the proximity to good hiking! The Peak District is a good distance for day trips, and depending on where you live, you could be within walking distance of any number of National Trust parks.

Top tips for future students

My biggest piece of advice to prospective students on the course is to know what you want out of your masters programme. The coursework teaches you the core concepts, and it will be your responsibility to direct that to the learning that will be most meaningful to you, your interests, and your future career.