One of the biggest factors to consider when choosing where to study your Master of Business Administration (MBA) is how the program is structured to allow for flexibility. Whether you’re balancing study with a busy career or responsibilities at home (or both!), the UQ MBA is designed to flex with you.
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What makes the UQ MBA one of the most flexible MBA programs?
True flexibility means having the ability to choose how to fit study in with your existing commitments. It’s also about having the freedom to easily modify your timetable along the way.
With the UQ MBA, you don't have to choose between accelerating your career or focusing on other life priorities. You can tailor our flexible MBA to suit your lifestyle and goals in 3 ways:
1. Choose class times that suit you
Create your own balance of daytime or evening classes. Attend weekend or week-long intensives when your schedule allows.
2. Study online or in person
Our hybrid learning mode gives you the flexibility to choose whether you study in person at 308 Queen Street in our conveniently located Brisbane CBD location or online via our interactive, live lectures. Or, you can study a mixture of both modes. Dial your collaboration time up or down as required, with the freedom to decide how you’ll attend class on the day.
3. Graduate in 1.5 years or take up to 10 years
Choose how long it takes to complete your MBA by either:
- studying full time in intensive blocks over 3 semesters (please note: international students will need to complete the MBA using this option)
- studying at your own pace on weekdays, weeknights, weekends or an array of short intensive options – you’ll have up to 10 years to fully complete the program if needed.
Students who have successfully completed the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course may be eligible for 2 units of credit towards an MBA flexible core course, speeding up how long it will take you to complete the MBA.
How 4 students made UQ's flexible MBA work for them
Ben juggled study with parenting and FIFO work
Ben started his MBA when he was on a year of parental leave. But as a fly in, fly out (FIFO) worker at a coal mine in Blackwater, he knew he’d eventually need to go back to working on site.
“I wanted the ability to do face-to-face, in-person lectures, but as a FIFO worker juggling parenting responsibilities, I knew the only way I’d be able to progress through the MBA is if I could pick and choose subjects and how they were delivered,” he says.
“UQ was the only option that had both in-person and online classes as well as both intensives and part-time courses. This meant I could sprint through some in-person intensives while getting a university experience, and then when this wasn’t possible because of work commitments, I could complete courses online over a couple of months while in my camp room after work.”
Studying on top of parenting and FIFO work was never going to be easy. The only way to balance these competing priorities is to pick a degree with the flexibility you need. That’s why I chose the UQ MBA.
Camilla made the most of the MBA's flexible options to cope with life’s curveballs
When Camilla Roberts started the MBA, she was working a full-time, busy corporate job where she was often travelling.
Then, she was made redundant.
Realising she had to create her own work, Camilla started her own consulting firm while looking for another full-time job. At the same time, she had a non-executive director position on a not-for-profit board, was planning to have children, and was also juggling other general life commitments while studying.
"I studied full time for a while, then I worked full time and attended evening classes," says Camilla.
"I also did some intensive classes during annual leave or with professional development leave from my employer."
"I took advantage of all the flexible class options available in the UQ MBA."
Yass started the MBA on maternity leave, 10 years after she last studied
It was important to Yass Seccombe to study a local MBA so she could attend classes in person and get to meet the people she’d study with and the lecturers she’d learn from.
“I began the MBA part time when I was on maternity leave, and my daughter was almost 6 months old,” she says.
“Having not studied in almost 10 years, I didn't know how I was going to juggle going back to work full time and parenting a young child with study. The ability to swap between intensives and 12-week courses has been important in making the MBA work for me.”
Yass found the program’s flexibility helped her balance study with motherhood.
“I brought my daughter along to some of the daytime classes. Everyone was so supportive, and it was nice to have the facilities to bring her with me if I needed to.”
When my daughter was almost 2, I took an intensive class. My mum brought her in to see me and she sat with us in class before falling asleep on me. It wasn’t an issue at all.
Matthew became a business owner, not-for-profit board member and dad
Matthew Jones had to juggle full-time work, cultural obligations and being a parent to a young family while he was studying the MBA. He also served as a non-executive director on 2 not-for-profit boards and completed his studies over 3 years.
"One of the things that helped me juggle my competing priorities was the fact that the course delivery could vary," says Matthew.
"I took a couple of subjects on weeknights if I thought I needed a greater amount of time to learn.
"Conversely, I found the weekend intensives over 6 weeks to be quite useful for me, and I also did a number of week-and-a-half intensive courses."
"The flexibility of the program allows you to fit the right subject into your schedule for where you are and where your career is at the time."
Flexible MBA timetable examples
Need more examples of how UQ’s flexible MBA can be tailored to your schedule and adjusted as your priorities change? Here are 2 hypothetical examples of different MBA journeys to give you a feel for what your week could look like, depending on whether you study full time or part time and how you can flex your program in response to other priorities.
Full-time student example timetable: Tim
After receiving a redundancy, Tim wanted to make the most of his time while looking for a new role by studying an MBA.
He enrolled in UQ’s program full time and studied 4 courses each semester in his first year. Taking advantage of UQ’s summer semester, Tim completed an additional course during December and January. During this time, Tim was recruited into an exciting new role.
To fit study in around his new job, Tim swapped to part-time study during the second year of his degree, enrolling in 2 courses in Semester 1 and 1 course in Semester 2. Following this pattern, Tim was eligible to graduate at the end of his second year of study. Towards the end of this second year, Tim received a promotion by successfully leveraging the fact that he would soon graduate from the UQ MBA program.
Here’s an example of what a week for Tim might look like at the beginning of his degree, when he was studying full time. Tim is:
- married with 2 children and responsible for dropping off the kids to school Monday, Wednesday and Friday on his way to class
- enrolled in Resonant Leadership, which has classes 3 times a week all day
- able to designate time on Thursday to study and work on assignments
- free on the weekend to play sport, go grocery shopping and spend quality time with his family.
It’s important to note that Tim’s weekly schedule would change throughout each semester depending on when his courses are offered.
Part-time student example timetable: Maya
After being accepted into the UQ MBA, Maya opted for the part-time course load and enrolled in 2 courses for her first semester. She thought this would be a good way to trial balancing study with her full-time job.
Maya was pleasantly surprised to find a good selection of courses offered at night and on weekends, meaning class time wouldn’t cut into her work time. She also took advantage of UQ’s summer semester, completing one course during this time. Over the Christmas break, Maya found out she was pregnant with her first child.
She continued to study 2 courses per semester until going on maternity leave from work. At that point, Maya enrolled in 1 course and then, after having her child, took a short break from her studies.
Unsure how she’d go balancing being a new mum with work and study, Maya only enrolled in 1 course each semester after returning to work from maternity leave. She continued this pattern until she was approved to graduate at the end of her fourth year of study.
Here’s an example of what a week for Maya might look like at the beginning of her degree, when she is working full time and studying part time. Maya is:
- working during the day and attends a night class between 5.30pm–8.30pm
- able to easily make it to class on time after work because she works in the city, where her classes are
- attending 1 all-day weekend class every Saturday
- free to make the most of her Sundays by hanging out with her partner and friends.
Other ways to tailor the UQ MBA to your circumstances
We know flexibility is important to our students. That’s why we offer additional flexible options to:
- gain access to the program through flexible pathway options
- customise their learning to their interests and goals.
How could UQ's flexible MBA work for you?
With flexible study options to suit everyone’s busy schedule and career goals, the flexibility of our program means there’s an MBA timetable to suit you.
Discuss how the UQ MBA can fit into your life with our friendly administration team.
