2025/26 entry Applications also open for 2024/25
MSc Management and Digital Business
About this course
Provides an in-depth knowledge of digital technologies and their application for leaders and managers working in organisations worldwide.
- Grow your digital and general managerial knowledge and bring it up-to-date
- Acquire contemporary management and digital competencies sought by profit and not-for-profit organisations seeking to fulfil their goals
- Emerging immersive VR learning business-related scenarios are embedded in the curriculum
- Study in a dynamic business school, located in the great city of Liverpool, with a strong scholarship culture with a team of reputable lecturers
- This course is also available as a 2 year MSc with Advanced Practice and includes a Business Consultancy Project 'Microeconomics of Competitiveness' module designed by Harvard Business School and delivered by Dr Moustafa Haj Youssef, an official affiliate of the MOC-Harvard network.
- Advanced Practice Study Option
Increasing globalisation, deregulation, faster innovation cycles, digital transformation and accelerating economic integration have made markets more dynamic, competitive and digital - and above all, more complex.
Digital technology is now of significant importance to organisations and on this course we consider how it can be applied. For the organisation, to become digital means not just consideration of new transformational enabling-technologies but also of human resources, business processes and strategy. On this course we cover mainstream management functions alongside digital business.
All organisations seek to improve performance. Managers are using digital advances as well as improving their use of traditional technologies to change customer relationships, internal processes and value propositions.
This one-year course has been expertly designed to place you at the forefront of contemporary business practice with a specific focus on the application of digital technologies.
Liverpool Business School at Liverpool John Moores University is a member of AACSB International The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.
AACSB International is a global association of leaders in education and business dedicated to supporting and advancing quality business education worldwide. Through membership, accreditation, research, thought leadership, professional development, and advocacy, AACSB partners with over 1,500 organizations, from more than 90 countries globally. Membership or participation in the Global Education Alliance does not imply accreditation.
Fees and funding
There are many ways to fund postgraduate study for home and international students
Fees
The fees quoted at the top of this page cover registration, tuition, supervision, assessment and examinations as well as:
- library membership with access to printed, multimedia and digital resources
- access to programme-appropriate software
- library and student IT support
- free on-campus wifi via eduroam
Additional costs
Although not all of the following are compulsory/relevant, you should keep in mind the costs of:
- accommodation and living expenditure
- books (should you wish to have your own copies)
- printing, photocopying and stationery
- PC/laptop (should you prefer to purchase your own for independent study and online learning activities)
- mobile phone/tablet (to access online services)
- field trips (travel and activity costs)
- placements (travel expenses and living costs)
- student visas (international students only)
- study abroad opportunities (travel costs, accommodation, visas and immunisations)
- academic conferences (travel costs)
- professional-body membership
- graduation (gown hire etc)
Funding
There are many ways to fund postgraduate study for home and international students. From loans to International Scholarships and subject-specific funding, you’ll find all of the information you need on our specialist postgraduate funding pages.
Please be aware that the UK’s departure from the EU may affect your tuition fees. Learn more about your fee status and which tuition fees are relevant to you.
Employability
Further your career prospects
LJMU has an excellent employability record with 96% (HESA 2018) of our postgraduates in work or further study six months after graduation. Our applied learning techniques and strong industry connections ensure our students are fully prepared for the workplace on graduation and understand how to apply their knowledge in a real world context.
On graduation you will be well positioned to undertake management roles in various countries, in areas including: business operations, digital marketing, project and consultancy work, analysis, digital media and strategy.
The student experience
Discover life as a postgraduate student at LJMU.
News and views
Browse through the latest stories and updates from the University and beyond
Course modules
Discover the building blocks of your programme
Your programme is made up of a number of core modules which are part of the course framework. Some programmes also have optional modules that can be selected to enhance your learning in certain areas and many feature a dissertation, extended report or research project to demonstrate your advanced learning.
Core modules
Digital Business
20 credits
Analyse, design and deploy web based solutions in line with organisational strategic aims. You will develop a range of digital marketing and advertising tools effectively and evaluate software tools that can be used to maximise a business's digital customer interactions.
Management Theory
20 credits
This module covers leadership and management. It provides a contemporary and comprehensive introduction to the principal ideas and developments in this area.
Research Project
60 credits
This module helps you to prepare a research project that applies managerial concepts and research techniques to a significant technology-related organisational issue or problem. You will engage in critical reasoning to provide a convincing justification of the importance of your research topic. You will select, synthesise and critically evaluate a wide range of literature and systematically collect and analyse appropriate data. You will utilise critical and system thinking to draw logical conclusions from, and discuss realistic implications and limitations of research findings.
Managing Business Research 1
10 credits
This module is designed to ensure that you have the necessary skills and knowledge to conduct Masters-level assignments. It enables you to perform a systematic review of literature for a business management-related topic at Masters level.
Managing Business Research 2
10 credits
This module provides an overview of research approaches for business. It aims to equip you with the necessary foundations in qualitative and quantitative research approaches to prepare a research proposal for your dissertation and apply either or both of the research approaches studied.
Management Practice
20 credits
This module aims to put management theory into practice, developing proficiency in core management competencies and awareness of the holistic, interrelated functional dependencies within a business.
Managing Strategy
20 credits
This module examines strategy from the perspective of various management levels, emphasizing the diverse types and elements of strategy and their creation and management. It is designed to provide managers with a broad understanding of strategic knowledge and its application, rather than being tailored for specialists working in corporate strategy departments.
Digital Business Management
20 credits
To explore, from the perspective of the non-IT manager, how organisations (public and private) make use of digital technologies to improve; business performance; operations; products and services; gain competitive advantage; and make themselves more effective, responsive, resilient and efficient.
Teaching
An insight into teaching on your course
Study hours
Full-time students can expect contact hours for lectures, seminars and workshops of approximately 10-12 hours per week in each of the two taught semesters, usually scheduled over three days and between the hours of 9am and 6pm.
In the third or ‘independent study semester’ you will be guided by a supervisor. The programme is completed in 12 months.
Part-time students study a reduced workload over a two year period agreed with the Programme Leader. They study during the day in class with the full-time students.
Teaching methods
You will take part in innovative learning activities including operational and strategic business simulations and case studies developed by the team in collaboration with local companies. You will learn about topics such as pitching, business analytics, user centred design principles and social media marketing.
Applied learning
This programme employs an active blended learning approach which uses the best of both physical and digital learning provision to provide students with a dynamic and engaging learning experience.
In practice, this means that a small proportion of modules may use online delivery methods for some of the content, totalling no more than 20% of the programme overall being delivered via online methods.
During the course you will be able to apply your learning to real-life scenarios and gain important experience and expertise in effective problem solving.
Assessment
How learning is monitored on your programme
To cater for the wide-ranging content of our courses and the varied learning preferences of our students, we offer a range of assessment methods on each programme.
Assessment methods on this course include: case studies, simulations, presentations, reports, data analysis and reflective learning.
Course tutors
Our staff are committed to the highest standards of teaching and learning
Prof Philip Kelly
Programme Leader
For the first 15 years of his career, Phil worked as a manager, consultant and company director in the telecomms and other industries. He worked for two management consultancies and over 20 other companies in almost as many countries. He has acted as an adviser to CEOs, the GSMA and is a risk expert with the UN. Phil became an academic (senior lecturer) having completed doctoral research at Manchester Business School. During at least 17 years of award-winning lecturing he has taught at three Universities; he holds an MA (distinction) in teaching and learning in Higher Education and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Reader at LJMU. Phil has authored ten textbooks including the bestselling Management Theory and Practice currently in its ninth edition. Research active, he supervises PhD students, is a journal editor also writes articles and delivers conference presentations. Phil is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Risk Management where he is also a principal examiner.
Life-long learning, putting management theory into practice and practice into theory are at the heart of my philosophy. I value the doing as much as the theory and enjoy all aspects of scholarly activity. As a member of the postgraduate team, I not only lead a Masters programme but also a range of modules on other Masters degrees and supervise Masters and Doctoral research.
School facilities
What you can expect from your School
The School is based in the Redmonds Building, in the heart of the bustling Mount Pleasant Campus and Liverpool's growing Knowledge Quarter. The building is home to high quality lecture theatres and seminar rooms, social spaces, and a café. It is only a short walk from LJMU's Aldham Robarts Library, which contains all the resources you will require for your studies, and is open seven days a week.
Liverpool Business School also has a dedicated Management Development Suite, based in a listed building in the historic Georgian Quarter of Liverpool and a short walk from the Redmonds Building. The building has recently undergone £1.2 million investment to provide a professional learning space.
Entry requirements
You will need:
Qualification requirements
Undergraduate degree
- a minimum second class honours degree
or
- an equivalent professional qualification
or
- an equivalent award
Additional requirements
-
Relevant work experience
- Work experience is desirable but not essential
International requirements
-
IELTS
- IELTS 6.0 (minimum 5.5 in each component)
-
Other international requirements
- International students applying to study a full-time taught Masters, MRes, MPhil or PhD at LJMU should check if they require an Academic Technology Approval Scheme or ATAS certificate. Contact International Admissions Team for more details
- International students entering on a Student visa cannot study part-time
Further information
- Extra Requirements
-
RPL
- RPL is accepted on this programme
Application and selection
Securing your place at LJMU
To apply for this programme, you are required to complete an LJMU online application form. You will need to provide details of previous qualifications and a personal statement outlining why you wish to study this programme.
Please ensure that you take time over your application and provide us with a clearly written form; statement of purpose; copies of qualifications and marks; English language certificates (where required); and references.
The University reserves the right to withdraw or make alterations to a course and facilities if necessary; this may be because such changes are deemed to be beneficial to students, are minor in nature and unlikely to impact negatively upon students or become necessary due to circumstances beyond the control of the University. Where this does happen, the University operates a policy of consultation, advice and support to all enrolled students affected by the proposed change to their course or module.