2025/26 entry

BA (Hons) Chartered Management Degree Apprenticeship (DipHE)

Start date:
September, January
Study mode:
Part-time
Course duration:
4 years
Campus:
Mt Pleasant
General enquiries:
0151 231 5090
courses@ljmu.ac.uk
International admissions
international@ljmu.ac.uk

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Why study Chartered Management Degree Apprenticeship at Liverpool John Moores University?

  • Programme follows the Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship (CMDA) Standard
  • A distinctive management programme aimed at developing confident, competent forward-thinking managers
  • Uses innovative teaching and learning methods, both in the Liverpool Business School and in the apprentice's place of work
  • Taught in block release format, encompassing on average 5 days of taught delivery, three times a semester
  • The Degree Apprenticeship partnership programme brings together the learner, the employer and the peer group of fellow learners into a wider community from within the Liverpool Business School and participating organisations
  • Shortlisted for the Times Higher Education Awards 2024 Business School of the Year

About your course

The BA (Hons) Business and Management Practice Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship at Liverpool John Moores University has been designed in conjunction with the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), to meet employer demands for business-ready graduates and provides a valuable route for upskilling experienced managers already in the workplace.

Rooted in workplace, this programme of learning provides a distinctive degree-level manager development qualification, which balances intellectual challenges with business and workplace practice across all areas of management, leadership and career development.

The CMDA is part of a wider Government initiative to support and enable the development of skills in the workplace through apprenticeships. At the Liverpool Business School we see manager and leader development as a lynchpin for the wider development of skills and talent needed to deliver improved performance in organisations.

While the apprenticeship initiative has the potential to act as a springboard for skills development, crucially it is managers and leaders who need to identify and develop talent, and it is managers that can help organisations make the most of their emerging talent. How skills are brought together in an organisation matters, and managers play a pivotal role in making this happen.

Learn more about Degree Apprenticeships.

The aim of the CMDA is to prepare people for management roles and to develop those already in such roles to help them be more effective in the workplace. The programme focuses on the following four key themes, each representing a year of part-time study, culminating in an in-company project, providing a marriage of learning development with practice:

  • Self-development and performance through others: good management development begins with the individual, their needs and how best to help the person develop as a manager and leader within their organisational context. However, to be effective as a manager, others with whom they work need to perform effectively. This programme begins where it is possible to make an impact quickly: with the individual learner's performance and with whom they work
  • Organisational effectiveness: organising to deliver value for customers combines business finances to inform management decision making and the management of key processes and projects. Good management is about delivering value for customers, and that means understanding how to get the best out of the core operations in the organisation.
  • Seeing the bigger picture: connecting customers to strategy and the leadership to energise and bring strategy to life. Such leadership creates advantage and brings together the outwards focus of customer and markets with the strengths and capabilities of the organisation
  • Innovation, change and sustainability: This final theme opens up the broader manager roles of continually improving and innovating, with being a good corporate citizen, enhancing the wider society of which they are a part, in ways that contribute to the long-term purpose of the organisation.
"Our philosophy is to build learning programmes that are inherently personalised to individuals and customised for businesses."
Dr Anthony Sturgess, Director: Corporate Development, Liverpool Business School

Professional accreditation/links

The Liverpool Business School CMDA is designed in conjunction with the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), to meet employer demands for business-ready graduates and provides a valuable route for upskilling experienced managers already in the workplace, who may lack formal management education. It offers a world-class business and management degree, work-based learning, and ongoing professional development through to chartered status (Chartered Management Institute).

Fees and funding

There are many ways to fund study for home and international students

Fees

The fees quoted above cover registration, tuition, supervision, assessment and examinations as well as:

  • library membership with access to printed, multimedia and digital resources
  • access to programme-appropriate software
  • library and student IT support
  • free on-campus wifi via eduroam

Additional costs

Although not all of the following are compulsory/relevant, you should keep in mind the costs of:

  • accommodation and living expenditure
  • books (should you wish to have your own copies)
  • printing, photocopying and stationery
  • PC/laptop (should you prefer to purchase your own for independent study and online learning activities)
  • mobile phone/tablet (to access online services)
  • field trips (travel and activity costs)
  • placements (travel expenses and living costs)
  • student visas (international students only)
  • study abroad opportunities (travel costs, accommodation, visas and immunisations)
  • academic conferences (travel costs)
  • professional-body membership
  • graduation (gown hire etc)

Funding

There are many ways to fund study for home and international students. From loans to International Scholarships and subject-specific funding, you'll find all of the information you need on our specialist funding pages.

Degree Apprenticeships are funded courses, with learning costs being paid to the university by the employer, through the Degree Apprenticeship levy, if a large company, or with the help of the government’s co-investment model, if a smaller company.

If you aren’t already employed by a company that is willing to sponsor you through an apprenticeship, you’ll need to find one. You can do this by regularly checking the Government’s Find an apprenticeship website.

You can also approach an employer yourself to find out whether they would be interested in offering Degree Apprenticeships and ask them to contact us. Our team will be able to explain to them how they can access the correct funding and the next steps.

Information for potential employers

If an employer has a wage bill of over £3 million, it would automatically pay the Government levy and would use this to fund learning via the company Apprenticeship Service Account.

Non- Levy companies can access funding via the Government co-investment model, whereby the Government will fund 95% of the learning costs and the company will fund the remaining 5%.

To access the Government funds, non-levy paying employers are required to set up an account on the Apprenticeship Service and reserve funding for apprentices, no earlier than three months before the course start date.  Information regarding setting up an account can be found here. LJMU will still invoice non-levy paying companies for their contribution, but without this account LJMU will be unable to draw down the Government co-investment funding for the apprentices. 

 

Employability

The aim of the CMDA is to prepare you for management roles and to develop those already in such roles to help them be more effective in the workplace.

You will apply for a CMDA through a partner employer organisation, and depending on the arrangement made between the employer and the Liverpool Business School, you will have a variety of opportunities within the employer organisation to develop your skills and career opportunities.

The CMDA will prepare you for a successful career in management by ensuring you achieve the following outcomes:

  • understanding and appreciation of the requirements of each function in an organisation; including business finance,marketing and sales, and leading people, organisational behaviour, and supply chain management
  • the ability to utilise tools and techniques, relating to the business functions required to sustain the business in a rapidly changing and ambiguous environment
  • critically evaluate; through sustained arguments and the use of problem solving techniques, identify and develop arguments to demonstrate the pivotal role of operational policies and strategies in diverse organisations
  • confidently demonstrate the need to manage Social Responsibility and have ethical and environmental policies in the business management
  • enable you to discuss the potential to innovate in business, and demonstrate the knowledge of how the utilisation of data and digital technologies can deliver strategic developments in the digital business environment
  • identify, measure and critically evaluate the contribution of strategic and operational management initiatives through the critical review of academic research data and current business techniques
  • gain the skills and knowledge to conduct and evaluate a systematic review of the business management practice tools and the wider business community

Student Futures - Careers, Employability and Enterprise Service

A wide range of opportunities and support is available to you, within and beyond your course, to ensure our students experience a transformation in their career trajectory. Every undergraduate curriculum includes Future Focus during Level 4, an e-learning resource and workshop designed to help you to develop your talents, passion and purpose.

Every student has access to Careers Zone 24/7, LJMU's suite of online Apps, resources and jobs board via the LJMU Student Futures website. There are opportunities for flexible, paid and part-time work through Unitemps, LJMU's in-house recruitment service, and we also offer fully funded Discovery Internships.

One-to-one careers and employability advice is available via our campus-based Careers Zones and we offer a year-round programme of events, including themed careers and employability workshops, employer events and recruitment fairs. Our Start-Up Hub can help you to grow your enterprise skills and to research, plan and start your own business or become a freelancer.

A suite of learning experiences, services and opportunities is available to final year students to help ensure you leave with a great onward plan. You can access LJMU's Careers, Employability and Start-up Services after you graduate and return for one-to-one support for life.

Go abroad

LJMU aims to make international opportunities available to every student. You may be able to study abroad as part of your degree at one of our 100+ partner universities across the world. You could also complete a work placement or apply for one of our prestigious worldwide internship programmes. If you wanted to go abroad for a shorter amount of time, you could attend one of our 1-4 week long summer schools.

Our Go Citizen Scheme can help with costs towards volunteering, individual projects or unpaid placements anywhere in the world. With all of these opportunities at your feet, why wouldn’t you take up the chance to go abroad?

Find out more about the opportunities we have available via our Instagram @ljmuglobalopps or email us at: goabroad@ljmu.ac.uk.

A life-changing experience 

There's so much more to university than just studying for a degree.

The university reserves the right to withdraw or make alterations to a course and facilities if necessary; this may be because such changes are deemed to be beneficial to students, are minor in nature and unlikely to impact negatively upon students or become necessary due to circumstances beyond the control of the university. Where this does happen, the university operates a policy of consultation, advice and support to all enrolled students affected by the proposed change to their course or module.
Further information on the terms and conditions of any offer made, our admissions policy and the complaints and appeals process.