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Course type
Certificate
Credits
60

Credits

  • Credits measure the student workload required for the successful completion of a module or qualification.
  • One credit represents about 10 hours of study over the duration of the course.
  • You are awarded credits after you have successfully completed a module.
  • For example, if you study a 60-credit module and successfully pass it, you will be awarded 60 credits.
How long it takes
1 year part-time study
Read more about how long it takes
Study method
Distance learning
Course cost
See Fees and funding
Entry requirements
Find out more about
Entry requirements

Postgraduate Certificate in Business Administration

Course code: C66

This qualification will enable you to make a real difference within your management practice through active use of frameworks, theories and tools. It will help you to develop a good grounding in the theory and practice of managing and leading, covering the core functions and disciplines of management and helping you make the connections between them. It also provides a framework for a year-long process of professional development. You'll be challenged to actively engage with a wide variety of ideas and develop a repertoire of techniques and approaches best suited to your own situation and management context.

  • Helps you select and adapt techniques and approaches appropriate to your own situation, and to reflect critically on your own and others’ practice
  • Explores diverse perspectives and approaches in different organisational, cultural and global contexts
  • Increases your ability to work confidently across sectoral and national boundaries
  • Enhances your ability to plan and implement change which will have real impact within your own organisational context.

This certificate is the first stage of our triple-accredited MBA qualification. 

Course type
Certificate
Credits
60

Credits

  • Credits measure the student workload required for the successful completion of a module or qualification.
  • One credit represents about 10 hours of study over the duration of the course.
  • You are awarded credits after you have successfully completed a module.
  • For example, if you study a 60-credit module and successfully pass it, you will be awarded 60 credits.
How long it takes
1 year part-time study
Read more about how long it takes
Study method
Distance learning
Course cost
See Fees and funding
Entry requirements
Find out more about
Entry requirements

How to register

Select the module you will study first, read the full description, and follow the instructions to register.

Modules

To gain this qualification, you need 60 credits from the following:

Compulsory modules Credits Next start
Managing in a changing world (B870)

This module challenges existing assumptions about managing and will develop your theoretical and practical knowledge of how to manage in a modern dynamic environment.

See full description

Register
 30 03 May 2025
Creating and sustaining value (B872)

This module allows you to critically explore the ways organisations create, sustain and expand value in an increasingly complex and dynamic business environment.

See full description

Register
 30 03 May 2025

You should note that the University’s unique study rule applies to this qualification. This means that you must include at least 20 credits from OU modules that have not been counted in any other OU qualification that has previously been awarded to you.

Learning outcomes, teaching and assessment

The learning outcomes of this qualification are described in four areas:

  • Knowledge and understanding
  • Cognitive skills
  • Practical and professional skills
  • Key skills
Read more detailed information about the learning outcomes.

Credit transfer

If you’ve successfully completed some relevant postgraduate study elsewhere, you might be able to count it towards this qualification, reducing the number of modules you need to study. You should apply for credit transfer as soon as possible, before you register for your first module. For more details and an application form, visit our Credit Transfer website.

On completion

On successfully completing this course, we'll award you our Postgraduate Certificate in Business Administration. You'll be entitled to use the letters PG Cert Bus Admin (Open) after your name.

You can progress from this Postgraduate Certificate in Business Administration to our Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration (E80), Master of Business Administration (F61) or our MBA (Technology Management) (F69).

Regulations

As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the qualification-specific regulations below and the academic regulations that are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website. 

We regularly review our curriculum; therefore, the qualification described on this page – including its availability, its structure, and available modules – may change over time. If we make changes to this qualification, we’ll update this page as soon as possible. Once you’ve registered or are studying this qualification, where practicable, we’ll inform you in good time of any upcoming changes. If you’d like to know more about the circumstances in which the University might make changes to the curriculum, see our Academic Regulations or contact us. This description was last updated on 19 March 2024.

You’ll be eligible for this postgraduate certificate by satisfying the following academic, work experience and language requirements.

The modules that you study for this certificate are also compulsory modules in both the MBA (F61) and Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration (E80). It is possible to claim the certificate, the diploma and the MBA.

Academic requirements
There are three ways to meet the academic requirements:

1: Bachelors degree with honours
You'll need to have a bachelors degree with honours awarded by a UK university or equivalent.

2: Bachelors degree without honours
You'll need to have a bachelors degree without honours awarded by a UK university or equivalent and you'll need to have completed one of the following:

  • the discontinued OU module Managing 1: organisations and people (B628)
  • three of our undergraduate-level Business Management microcredentials*
  • the GMAT examination and achieved a result of 640 or higher.
3: No Bachelors degree
If you don’t have a bachelors degree you'll need to have completed one of the following:
  • the discontinued OU Professional Certificate in Management (S01)
  • six of our undergraduate-level Business Management microcredentials*

*See our Microcredentials page for further information.

Work experience requirement
You’ll need to have gained a minimum of three years’ experience in a managerial, technical or professional role, so that you have a practical business base on which to build your learning.

Language requirement
Your spoken and written English must be of an adequate standard for postgraduate study. If English is not your first language, we recommend that you will need a minimum score of 6.5 under the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Please see their website for details.

Acceptance onto the programme
You’ll be required to show how you meet these requirements. You will be asked to submit your CV and proof of qualifications, including English translations of non-UK degrees. Evaluation of the evidence will take place before you’re accepted onto the programme.

If you would like to discuss making an application and require further information, please call The Open University Business School information line on +44 (0)300 303 0065. Lines are open (UK time): Monday to Friday 08:00 to 17:30.

How long it takes

Most students study the Postgraduate Certificate in Business Administration part-time, completing 60 credits over one year. Typically, this means 12–14 study hours each week. The minimum time to complete this qualification is six months by studying both 30-credit modules at the same time. Please note to complete within six months, you will need to be able to devote 24–28 hours a week to your studies.

You must complete the Postgraduate Certificate in Business Administration within four years.

Career relevance

The Open University Business School is one of an elite group of schools worldwide accredited by the three leading international accrediting bodies – AACSB, AMBA, EQUIS – hallmarks of quality of teaching, learning materials and qualification impact. It is home to more than 28,500 successful MBA graduates representing over100 countries.

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This certificate is designed for professionals from a wide range of contexts and backgrounds who need actively to engage with the challenges of twenty-first century management. It will enable you to develop your management skills and knowledge of management frameworks, theories and tools and to use these appropriately in order to make a real difference in your own practice.

Careers and Employability Services have more information on how OU study can improve your employability.

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