The University of Liverpool – the largest provider of online degrees in Europe – will mark 10 years of its online programmes with the launch of the UK’s first wholly online Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) and an investment of £200,000 in scholarships.
The new programme will build on the success of the University’s online Masters in Business Administration (MBA) which has graduated 1,500 students around the globe since it was launched in 2000.
The DBA will be unique in being entirely delivered by ‘action learning’ and ‘action research’, through which students will apply theory and research findings to solve problems they are dealing with in the workplace. The degree will be launched in September 2010 with main subject areas including Change Management, Leadership, Innovation, Global issues and Sustainability.
Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Howard Newby, said: “As a global university, our online degree provision is a key part of our commitment to offer students around the world the opportunity to study for a Liverpool degree.
“Liverpool already offers degrees through partnership arrangements with universities in Chile, Mexico and Spain; through Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, our joint venture university in China; and online. The new DBA will offer students the opportunity to study with other senior executives from a wide variety of companies all over the world.”
The University is also marking the 10-year anniversary of its online degrees with the introduction of 10 scholarships, worth up to £20,000 each, funded by its online learning partner, Laureate Online Education. The scholarships will fund an entire degree programme for 20 students from developing countries.
The University’s first online academic class took place in 2000 when 18 students – mostly from the Netherlands – began an MSc programme in Information Technology. Today the University has more than 5,000 online students studying in 175 countries across the globe.
Liverpool has delivered its online degrees in partnership with Laureate Online Education since 2004. Laureate is a US-based global education provider with a network of universities offering graduate and undergraduate degrees in more than 21 countries.
Constantly evolving its provision to meet the needs of working professionals in a demanding global marketplace, the University launched new Masters programmes in range of areas in 2009 including Computer Security; Internet Systems; Software Engineering; Corporate Finance; Project Management; International Business Law; International Finance and Banking Law; and Technology and Property Law.
Attracting students from a large number of blue chip organisations across the globe, the courses bring the portfolio of online Masters courses up to 19 with some of the most popular programmes continuing to be the MBA and the Masters in Public Health (MPH). The MPH attracts many students from countries on the African continent such as Sudan, Zambia and Malawi with current students including surgeons and HIV project co-ordinators. The University now has the same number of online postgraduate students as on campus.
Alan Southern, Director of e-Learning at the University of Liverpool, said: “The beauty of our online degrees is that students who would never have considered coming to Liverpool to study, due to work or home commitments, are able to benefit from our academic excellence.
“There is a real vibrancy in the virtual classroom. Our students are encouraged to analyse theory and compare it to their personal experiences in the workplace. With students in many different countries talking about theory in the context of their own culture, it is a truly global experience that is difficult to replicate in any other environment.”
He added: “Our online degrees are very much tailored to the needs of the global economy – our recently launched programme in Project Management with a specialisation in oil and gas has attracted a great deal of interest from the petrochemical industry. A significant number of students who have enrolled are working in that field in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Nigeria with companies such as Shell and Mobil.
“Students studying on our programme in Operations and Supply Chain Management – which has recently become the first wholly online programme to be accredited by the Chartered Institute of Purchase and Supplies (CIPS) – are from a real mix of companies from the likes of Airbus and Boeing to Nestle and Coca Cola.
Notes to editors:
University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is a member of the Russell Group of leading research-intensive institutions in the UK and the leading provider of online degrees in Europe. It attracts collaborative and contract research commissions from a wide range of national and international organisations valued at more than £98 million annually.
Online degrees at Liverpool
“¢ The University of Liverpool runs online Masters programmes in Management, Medicine, IT and Law
“¢ Students studying for online degrees are usually aged 32 to 38
“¢ The total online student population is 5,300
“¢ The most popular course is the MBA, with 2,100 (39%) of enrolled online students undertaking the programme
“¢ 65% of online students are studying management programmes
“¢ The majority of the student body is from Europe and Africa although there is a significant percentage from the US and Canada
“¢ 2,924 students were recruited to University of Liverpool online programmes in 2009
“¢ Most students work in the fields of finance and marketing
“¢ The average cost of an online programme at the University of Liverpool is £10,000
“¢ On average, students complete their course in around two-and-a-half years
“¢ There is a maximum of 20 students in each online class
“¢ Students are expected to dedicate 15-20 hours per week to their studies