TL;DR: The MBA (Top Up) at Achievers International Campus is a six-month University of Portsmouth program for professionals who already hold a Postgraduate Diploma worth 120 credits and have two years of managerial or supervisory experience. It is completed through a research proposal and a final dissertation.
An MBA top-up is for people who have already done most of the postgraduate work. If you hold a Postgraduate Diploma and want to complete the MBA without repeating taught modules, this program is designed for you. This guide explains how it works, who can join and what to confirm first.
What a top-up means here
A top-up completes a qualification you have already started. In this case the earlier stage is a Postgraduate Diploma, or an equivalent qualification, worth 120 credits. The top-up adds the final stage and leads to the MBA, which the program page says is awarded by the University of Portsmouth in the UK.
The program record lists the duration as six months. For the wider picture of top-up routes, see the top-up degree guide.
What you do
The program has two parts, both on the program record:
A research proposal, worth 20 percent
A final dissertation, worth 80 percent
The aim is advanced business, management and leadership skills, with an emphasis on strategic decision-making, leadership and operational management. The program page describes it as practice-orientated, meaning theory is tied to real management problems.
Choosing a specialisation
Learners choose a focus area. The record lists nine: General; Project Management; Human Resource Management; Logistics and Supply Chain Management; Tourism and Hospitality Management; Education Management and Leadership; Occupational Health and Safety Management; Business and Organisational Psychology; and Health and Social Care Management.
Pick the area that matches your current or planned role, because your dissertation will sit inside it.
Entry requirements
The program record sets three conditions:
A Postgraduate Diploma, or equivalent, worth 120 credits
A minimum of two years of managerial or supervisory experience
A C pass in English at G.C.E. O/L, or an equivalent
The record does not say which subjects the earlier diploma must be in, or whether your experience must match the diploma subject. Ask Achievers to confirm both before you apply.
Planning the dissertation
Six months is short for a research project, so the research proposal is the most important early step. Choose a question you can answer with data you can reach, such as a problem in your own organisation, and agree on scope with your supervisor early. Ask the campus how supervision is scheduled and when each submission falls.
