History
UCT is an inclusive and engaged research-intensive African university that inspires creativity through outstanding achievements in learning, discovery and citizenship; enhancing the lives of its students and staff, advancing a more equitable and sustainable social order and influencing the global higher education landscape.
University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business (GSB) takes a four-legged approach to excellence in education by combining academic rigor, societal relevance, innovation in teaching, and thought leadership to help students transform themselves into business leaders. The business school has a full-spectrum thinking approach to education while remaining focused on emerging markets geared towards driving development.
GSB is a value-driven institution whose core values are to be passionate about learning, the encouragement of an innovative spirit, personal growth and development, taking pride in their work, supporting their community, and accepting responsibility to act ethically and with professional integrity.
Material studied at GSB is presented in three distinct stages:
- Private preparation – students must read assigned material prior to arrival at GSB
- Plenary sessions – held in the lecture theatre, they are focused discussions to provide inputs, questions and debate.
- Syndicate groups – study groups that meet outside of class to read and discuss cases.
The learning approach at the school is to help students develop a method of questioning and debating real-life business situations. The school offers a sophisticated learning environment to allow students to spend every moment on campus in an intense atmosphere of study, debate, and camaraderie.
Courses
The Full-time MBA Program is offered in a compressed, 11-month option or a 2-year module-based option and is structured around 11 compulsory core courses focused on the fundamentals of management. The core courses are offered in the areas of:
- Accounting
- Business, Government, and Society
- Evidence-Based Practice
- Leadership
- Economics
- Marketing
- Finance
- Manufacturing and Operations
- Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- Strategic People Management
- Strategy
The program uses a variety of teaching methods to translate theoretical business understanding into practice. Classroom methods include lectures, discussions, role-playing, audio-visual presentations, individual and group presentations, and guest lectures. Also, engagement with real businesses helps students gain practical experience.
The modular format is comprised of six full-time, two-week modules covered over the course of two years. Participants need only to take a total of 13 weeks vacation during this time. The core courses are covered in the first four modules and electives in the last two. The modules contain 502 hours of contact time and is offered in these locations in Africa:
- Cape Town
- Johannesburg
- Durban
- Port Elizabeth
- East London
- Bloemfontein
- Kimberley
The Executive MBA Program gives students a deeper understanding of management from an international and local perspective through personal growth in self-reflection and introspection. The program is meant for senior executives who wish to develop high-level thinking skills and improve their interpretation and decision-making skills. During the program, students act as consultants to their sponsoring organization and undertake a researching and consulting assignment to investigate the issues of strategic importance in the workplace.
The program is comprised of six modules focusing on the areas of human capital development, knowledge management, and leadership and change. The content is organized ino themes that properly reflect the challenges faced by executives in their professional and personal lives. Here is a list of the modules:
- Module 1: Systems Thinking and Scenario Learning.
- Module 2: Operational Dimensions of Business Acumen
- Module 3: Strategic Dimensions of Business Acumen
- Module 4: Globalisation and Entrepreneurship
- Module 5: Corporate Citizenship and Normative Management
- Module 6: Critical and Strategic Management Thought
The Executive Education Program is focused on leadership and management and is designed to address the unique challenges of specific organizations. The programs look to develop new perspectives and contextual knowledge so senior leaders can fully understand their environment and its complexities in order to address new issues. The programs are multi-disciplinary, holistic, and research-based to encourage participants to develop their abilities to think critically. A variety of academic, credit-bearing, partnership, and open-enrollement programs are offered.