MSc in Applied Strategic Management
Course Overview
The MSc in Applied Strategic Management at the London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) is a one-year UK Master's for professionals moving into senior applied-strategy, in-house consulting and head-of-strategic-initiatives responsibility inside UK operators, corporates and consultancies. Sitting inside the Entrepreneurship & Executive Studies faculty, the degree combines senior CMI Level 7 strategy content and Institute of Consulting senior practitioner material with academic strategy theory, and closes with a dissertation or a sponsor consulting project.
You will work with a dissertation supervisor from term one, undertake a live commissioned strategy brief with a UK operator or a Big Four industry-hire pool in term two, and defend the dissertation or capstone in front of a working strategy panel — typically a UK strategy director or Institute of Consulting Fellow. The MSc in Applied Strategic Management is available on-campus in central London, fully online with UK / APAC cohort calls, or by distance learning from 2026 (two years part-time).
Key Features
- Curriculum designed around senior CMI Level 7 strategy content and Institute of Consulting senior practitioner material.
- Three delivery modes — central London campus, fully online with UK / APAC cohort calls, or distance learning.
- Dissertation supervisor allocated from term one, with weekly one-to-ones from term two.
- Live sponsor strategy commission with a UK mid-market operator or a Big Four industry-hire pool.
- Senior-practitioner panel defence — dissertation or capstone reviewed by a UK strategy director or Institute of Consulting Fellow.
- Executive-application coaching in the final term.
What You Will Learn
The MSc treats applied strategic management at senior-Master's level — the working craft of the senior strategy consultant whose commissioned work shapes a UK board's next multi-year plan. You will graduate operating as a credible senior UK strategy voice.
- Advanced strategy diagnosis and issue-driven work.
- Corporate portfolio and capital-allocation strategy.
- Business-model, pricing and go-to-market design.
- Strategic planning cycles, OKRs and quarterly rhythm.
- Change and transformation leadership.
- M&A strategy and post-merger integration.
- Consulting-practice craft — MECE, storyboarding, story flow.
- Boardroom persuasion and audit-committee interface.
- Research methods for dissertation or capstone.
Who This Course Is For
- Working strategy managers moving into head-of-strategy responsibility.
- In-house consultants moving into director-level consulting.
- Big Four industry-hire candidates targeting industry strategy leadership.
- International strategy leaders aligning to a UK Master's credential.
- Sponsored candidates preparing for Institute of Consulting Fellowship.
Career Pathways
Graduates typically progress into senior strategy-consulting, head-of-strategic-initiatives and applied-strategy senior roles across UK operators and consultancies. The degree supports applications but does not by itself guarantee job offers or visa outcomes. Typical destinations include:
- Strategy Manager (senior)
- Corporate Strategy Analyst (senior)
- Applied Strategy Consultant (senior)
- Head of Strategic Initiatives
- Chief of Staff (senior)
- Programme Strategy Director (junior)
The MSc in Applied Strategic Management is the natural end-point of the CMI Chartered Manager and Institute of Consulting Fellow route.
Entry Requirements
- A UK 2:2 honours degree in a relevant discipline, or an equivalent international qualification. Applicants with three years of substantive strategy or consulting experience may apply on a portfolio route — a structured-thinking work sample is expected.
- GCSE English Language at grade 5/C (or equivalent) is required for domestic applicants; international applicants meet the language rule below.
- IELTS 6.5 overall (no band below 6.0) for non-native English speakers.
- A short statement of intent (600 words) explaining research or applied interests, plus two references (one academic, one workplace or professional-body).
Why Study at LSIBM
The London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) is a specialist business-education provider based in central London and part of Harold International College. Postgraduate cohorts run in small tutor-visible groups, are shaped by working senior practitioners (partner-level at a Big Four firm, Fellow-level at CIM or CIPD, CFA charter-holders in investment routes) and close with a substantial dissertation, sponsor consulting project or applied capstone defended in front of a working panel.
London puts the City, Canary Wharf, Whitehall, Companies House, the FCA, the Bank of England, the West End and the major consulting, banking and multinational headquarters within a short tube ride of every classroom. LSIBM postgraduates attend a fortnightly senior-practitioner clinic and a structured executive-application coaching programme in the final term.
Apply for the MSc in Applied Strategic Management
Step into the senior track with the MSc in Applied Strategic Management. Click Enrol Now and admissions will reply within one working day with intake dates, dissertation supervisor allocation guidance and the current fee schedule. LSIBM postgraduates are supported by dedicated executive-application coaching in the final term.
