How long is the MSc in Small Business Management?

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

Can the MSc in Small Business Management be studied online?

Yes. The MSc in Small Business 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 Small Business Management recognised by UK small business networks?

Yes. The MSc in Small Business Management is reviewed against IOEE Level 6 to Level 7, CMI Level 7 and FSB guidance, so UK small business networks and CMI-registered advisers recognise it.

What are the entry requirements for the MSc in Small Business 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 founders with three years of SME experience.

What does the MSc in Small Business Management cost?

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

MSc in Small Business Management | LSIBM London | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The MSc in Small Business Management at the London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) is a senior-track postgraduate degree for owner-managers, family-business successors, Growth Hub leads and MBA-adjacent SME specialists. Delivered inside the Entrepreneurship & Executive Studies faculty, it deepens SME strategy, working-capital management, HR-in-the-first-100 and exit planning. The syllabus is refreshed each cohort to sit alongside the Federation of Small Businesses’ SME index, HMRC Making Tax Digital and the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans scheme, 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 SME question, sit an MSc-level cap-table exercise, and produce a dissertation supervised by an IOEE-fellow practitioner and defended in front of a working panel. Curriculum is reviewed against IOEE Level 7 and CMI Level 7 competencies. 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 Small Business 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.
SME sponsor-clinic sessions with London Growth Hub and FSB-affiliated mentors.
Structured route toward the IOEE Diploma stack with tutor mock-marking.
Assessment blend — business-plan portfolio, cash-flow model, hiring simulation and pitch defence, 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.

Registering with Companies House and choosing the right UK legal form.
HMRC Making Tax Digital and small-business VAT and corporation-tax duties.
Writing a one-page and a full business plan for a UK SME.
Cash-flow forecasting for a first-year and a three-year horizon.
Pricing and margin management on a small-business P&L.
Hiring the first employee and running payroll under UK employment law.
Marketing an SME on a lean budget — CRM basics, local SEO and PR.
SEIS, EIS and Start Up Loans through the British Business Bank.
Working-capital management, invoice finance and asset finance.
R&D tax credits for innovative SMEs.
Exit planning — trade sale, MBO and succession for family businesses.

Who This Course Is For

The MSc in Small Business 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.

Aspiring owner-managers preparing to launch a UK SME.
Family-business successors taking over a parent’s trading company.
Franchise operators buying a UK franchise brand.
SME finance and operations staff moving into a general-management seat.
Growth Hub or FSB advisers supporting UK small businesses.

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:

Small Business Owner
SME Manager
Franchise Manager
Business Growth Adviser
Family Business Successor
SME Operations Manager
SME Finance Manager
Growth Hub Adviser

The MSc in Small Business Management is a natural runway toward IOEE Fellowship and CMI Chartered Manager (CMgr) status. 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 experience running or leading a UK SME may apply on a portfolio route (bring recent P&L or trading history and a short founder story).
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 Small Business Management

Step into the senior track with the MSc in Small Business 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.