How to apply

Applications for The Leeds MBA must be submitted online through the University of Leeds Applicant Portal. We do not assess applications or eligibility for the MBA programme via email.  

Before you submit your application, please check that you meet our entry requirements. 

Start your MBA application. Applications to start the Leeds MBA in 2024 will open in early October 2023. 

When to apply

Application deadlines for The Leeds MBA programme starting in September 2024 are shown in the table below. 

Due to high demand, we operate a staged admissions process for our MBA programme. There is no advantage to applying within a certain stage – equal weighting is given to all application stages. Your application will be assessed on its strength relative to others in its stage. 

If you apply before the Application deadline for a particular stage, as shown below, you will normally receive a response on or before the Decision by date.

Attending an interview is a mandatory requirement of the MBA admissions process. Due to increased demand and limited availability,we can only offer you one attempt at interview. Applicants are expected to make every effort to attend their interview. Interviewed applicants will learn the outcome of their interview on or before the Decision by date. 

We aim for applications to only be carried forward to the next stage once. However, if we receive a high volume of applications, we may need more time to assess your application. If this is the case, we will carry your application to the next stage and notify you of this.   

If you do not receive an offer following your interview, you will either be notified by the Decision by date that your application has been unsuccessful, or that it has been carried forward to be considered in the next stage. Given the high level of competition for available places, many good quality applicants may be unsuccessful. 

• All deadlines are 23:59 UK time
• Applications for each stage open immediately after the deadline for the previous stage

Conditional offers  

You do not need to have fulfilled all entry requirements before applying. Provided your application satisfies all other entry requirements and you have successfully passed the interview, a conditional offer may be made on the basis of a predicted result: for example, the final mark of your first degree or an English language test. You must provide your final results before an unconditional offer can be made. The deadline for meeting your conditions is Friday 9 August 2024, 23:59 UK time.  

This is to allow applicants who need a Student route visa time to be confirmed as unconditional, and to pay the tuition fee deposit or provide the sponsor evidence that is required for us to issue a CAS in support of the visa application.   

Unconditional offers  

If your offer has been confirmed as unconditional, the deadline for paying your deposit is Wednesday 21 August 2024. For more information, see our guidance on how to pay your deposit, or provide deposit exemption.  

Your application will not be considered until all documents are received.  

Application checklist

As part of your application you will need to submit:

• A completed application form 
• An up-to-date CV, showing evidence of the required amount of work experience  (More than three years of postgraduate work experience is required before you apply. Five years of postgraduate work experience is desirable. All work experience must include at least three years appropriate management responsibility and show significant career progression)
• Original academic qualification transcripts, certificates and certified translations (if your documents are not in English)
• Evidence of your English language qualifications, if English is not your first language. You can apply for the MBA before you take an approved English language test 
• Personal statement – please see guidance below
• References – please see guidance below
• If you have a GMAT result, please upload a copy of your official score report as part of your online application
• A copy of your passport showing passport number and expiry date
• If you have previously studied in the UK on a student visa then you need to provide official evidence of this including CAS, visas and BRP

Important guidance for Personal Statements

Your personal statement should be no more than 200 words in length, be written in English and be your own work Please answer the following questions: 

1. Tell us a fun fact about yourself.  

2. If you had the opportunity to deliver a lecture to MBA students based on your prior experiences and knowledge, what would you deliver it on?  

3. Tell us about the greatest achievement in your career.  

References

You need to submit the contact details of two references, one academic and one employer. It may be appropriate to select referees from your professional area of work if you have been out of education for more than 5 years or are applying with evidence of work experience. Our Admissions Teams may request references where required to support your application, and these will be requested directly from your referees by the University, using the details you provide. It is your responsibility to ensure that the referees you nominate are able and willing to provide a reference where required.

Admissions policy

Please see our Taught Admissions Policy. 

If you have any questions, please contact our MBA admissions team on mba@lubs.leeds.ac.uk.