How long is the MSc in Import and Export Management?

One year full-time, or two years part-time via online and distance routes. The MSc in Import and Export Management schedules cohort calls across UK and APAC time zones so distance learners stay synchronous.

Can the MSc in Import and Export Management be studied online?

Yes. The MSc in Import and Export Management runs on-campus in central London, fully online and by distance learning, assessed against the same dissertation and sponsor consulting project.

Is the MSc in Import and Export Management recognised by UK trade employers?

Yes. The MSc in Import and Export Management is reviewed against the IOE&IT Level 5 Advanced Diploma and ICA Advanced Certificate in Trade Compliance, so UK trade employers recognise it.

What are the entry requirements for the MSc in Import and Export Management?

A UK 2:2 honours in a relevant discipline, GCSE English at grade 5/C, and IELTS 6.5 for international applicants. Portfolio route available for candidates with three years of trade experience.

What does the MSc in Import and Export Management cost?

Tuition varies by route and domicile. Contact LSIBM admissions for the current schedule and scholarship eligibility for the MSc in Import and Export Management.

MSc Import and Export Management | LSIBM London | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The MSc in Import and Export Management at the London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) is a senior-track postgraduate degree for trade managers, customs governance leads, export-finance specialists and international-trade policy officers. Delivered inside the International Business & Trade faculty, it deepens trade strategy, customs and sanctions governance, trade finance and market-entry planning under UK and multilateral trade rules. The syllabus is refreshed each cohort to sit alongside the post-Brexit Border Target Operating Model, HMRC CDS declarations and Incoterms 2020, so classroom debates and case work track the questions UK employers are asking this year rather than last decade’s textbook.

You will complete a sponsor consulting project on a live UK exporter’s trade question, sit an MSc-level market-entry simulation, and produce a dissertation supervised by an IOE&IT-chartered practitioner and defended in front of a working panel. Curriculum is reviewed against the IOE&IT Level 6 Advanced Certificate. Across the one year full-time, you sit alongside a small tutor-visible cohort, work through applied case studies drawn from London-facing employers, and close with an assessment mix that mirrors the situations working practitioners actually face on the job. The MSc in Import and Export Management runs on-campus in central London, fully online with UK / APAC time-zone cohort calls, or by distance learning, so applicants pick the study pattern that fits the rest of their working week.

Key Features

Level pitched at UK Master's degree standard with tutor-visible small cohorts and a single intake schedule.
Three study modes — on-campus in central London, fully online with UK / APAC time-zone cohort calls, or by distance learning.
Customs-file simulation on stylised UK exports with HMRC CDS walk-throughs.
Structured route toward the IOE&IT Level 3 to Level 6 stack with tutor mock-marking.
Assessment blend — customs file, trade strategy paper and viva rather than a single long exam.
Structured over one year full-time (two years part-time via online / distance routes), with fortnightly practitioner clinics and defined assessment milestones.
Sponsor consulting project and dissertation defended in front of a working practitioner panel.
Careers support covering CV clinics, mock interviews and warm introductions through fortnightly practitioner sessions.
Cohort networking across a single intake schedule, with London evening events at the CMI, IoD Pall Mall clubhouse and relevant professional-body chapters.

What You Will Learn

The MSc is written for people whose next role sits in a leadership meeting or a working committee. You will graduate able to build a strategy paper, defend a dissertation in front of a senior panel, and step into an executive-track role with the credential a UK employer recognises.

UK trade policy after Brexit — the TCA, FTA landscape and the Windsor Framework.
HMRC CDS declarations and the CHIEF-to-CDS migration.
Incoterms 2020 — allocation of risk, cost and responsibility.
HS commodity classification and rules of origin.
The Border Target Operating Model and UK controls on imports.
Export licensing — dual-use, military and sanctions regimes.
Trade finance — letters of credit, documentary collections and UK Export Finance products.
Sanctions screening and OFSI compliance for UK exporters.
Anti-bribery and Modern Slavery Act reporting duties.
Sector-specific trade — food and drink, engineering, pharmaceuticals and fashion.
Freight, marine insurance and cargo claims at introductory level.

Who This Course Is For

The MSc in Import and Export Management is designed for a mix of new entrants and working professionals. The five audience segments below are the ones we most often see on the Master's degree intake list, and the tutor team tailors examples so every segment is visible in the classroom.

School leavers targeting a trade-desk role at a UK freight forwarder or Chamber of Commerce.
Logistics coordinators formalising import-export credentials.
Administrative staff at exporters moving into a trade-documentation seat.
Career switchers from retail or manufacturing into international trade.
International applicants preparing a UK-facing CV for London trade roles.

Career Pathways

Graduates typically step into senior-specialist, manager and director-track roles across UK employers. The MSc strengthens applications but does not by itself guarantee job offers or visa outcomes. Typical destinations include:

Import/Export Coordinator
Customs Broker
Freight Forwarder
Trade Documentation Officer
Export Controller
Trade Finance Analyst
Sanctions Compliance Officer
International Trade Adviser

The MSc in Import and Export Management is a natural runway toward the IOE&IT Chartered Trader route and the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers pathway. Graduates leave with a portfolio of applied work, a written credential UK employers recognise, and enough classroom rehearsal of the discipline-specific conversations that a first interview panel or a promotion window feels familiar rather than intimidating. The LSIBM careers office also runs an alumni-referral programme and structured warm introductions in the closing term, so applicants leave with a working London network rather than only a certificate.

Entry Requirements

A UK 2:2 honours degree in a relevant discipline, or an equivalent international qualification. Applicants with three years of substantive trade, customs or trade-finance experience may apply on a portfolio route.
GCSE English Language at grade 5/C (or equivalent) is required for domestic applicants.
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 Import and Export Management

Step into the senior track with the MSc in Import and Export 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.