An invaluable and invariable qualification

In times of uncertainty, gaining a global perspective is more important than ever

The world is an unstable place at the moment. International relations are fragile, airlines are reporting downturns and recession looms. Bad times, you might think, for business schools, many of which cost a lot to attend, and recruit students from around the world. But you would be wrong. All the top schools report that business is booming, with more students than ever flying in to the UK from all corners of the globe to invest in the sort of top-notch qualification they feel sure will help them build their careers.

"At present we're seeing what you might call the China effect," says Rick Crawley, acting director of the graduate school of management at Lancaster University's Management School. Numbers of students from the Far East have doubled, he estimates, in the last three years. "The opening up of China and the growth of China's GDP has had an enormous impact. With a market as huge as that, you only need a small percentage change in those who are interested – and who can afford it – to see a large increase in numbers."

But this kind of demand needs managing if MBA programmes are to offer students a truly international experience. Warwick Business School has capped the number of Chinese students coming onto courses to ring-fence that diversity.

At Warwick, as at other schools, European applications are also up. When economies slow down, people know it's more vital than ever to acquire new skills and networks. And they also know that the UK, which produces 10,000 MBA graduates a year, is an ideal place to do it.

Of the British students who plump for full-time programmes, many do it specifically to plunge into an international atmosphere. In a shrinking world, they know how important it is to develop a global perspective. Others choose full-time study to make a fundamental career change – specialists such as engineers, for example, can see it as a route into mainstream management. For others, an intensive year's MBA seems a good way of investing redundancy money.

Increasingly however UK students are opting for part-time or distance-learning programmes. As corporate belts tighten, fewer employers are willing to offer students sponsorship, and these more flexible routes allow self-funded students to earn while they learn.

However economic realities mean that golden job opportunities are no longer waiting around the corner for every new MBA graduate, so most schools encourage people to think hard about what they want to achieve and to understand that in times of economic uncertainty getting an MBA is not about guaranteed success, but about acquiring the strategic skills and knowledge to manage change.

One of the areas MBA students are increasingly turning their attention to is that of corporate responsibility. In the post-Enron world, there is growing demand to know more about how subjects such as business ethics. Bath has introduced a "Future Business: strategic issues and new practice in social and environmental responsibility" module which has proved popular.

Three or four years ago e-business was the big thing, but "that has pretty much died a death", according to Ronnie McMillan, director of operations at Strathclyde Graduate School of Business, where an array of electives is offered to all MBA students in intensive one-week summer school courses. "Now we're seeing a far bigger interest in things like entrepreneurial activities and knowledge management."

But core subjects such as strategic financial management and leadership remain popular. And at Strathclyde, as at other schools, more and more students have an interest in international finance, management and trade. They can see the world is getting smaller and know that an MBA programme will help them handle the changes that this entails.

10 reasons to study for an MBA

* To improve your skills and knowledge: an MBA will stretch your expertise

* To acquire new skills: an MBA is an all-round management qualification which will fill gaps in your experience

* For intellectual challenge: working with high-level tutors and students will be stimulating and thought-provoking

* To plug into a new business network: MBA graduates say that the contacts they make at business school are among the most valuable things they come away with

* To reassess your future: an MBA allows you to step back and reconsider goals and ambitions

* To make a career switch: specialists such as engineers and scientists find an MBA a good route into fast-track management

* To leap up the ladder of your existing career: a good MBA takes you to the next level of professional competence

* To widen your horizons: working with students from different countries will give you a much broader vision of the world – and your place in it

* To embellish your CV: an MBA underlines your commitment to your career, and gives you a "union ticket" to apply for top jobs

* To reposition yourself in the job market: an MBA can be a productive way to invest redundancy money and open up new opportunities.

'It's so interesting to get different perspectives'

Natasha Higman, 31, left her job as a chartered certified accountant with KPMG to do a full-time MBA at the Warwick Business School

I was working in London doing transactional services work but I was interested in learning about the non-financial aspects of running a business. Things like operations and marketing.

I looked around at different programmes, but the price for all the good ones was more or less the same. I liked the content of the programme at Warwick, and I got on with the people I met as well. I met some members of the faculty and some of last year's students, and I could see they were my kind of people. I live on campus, sharing a flat with other postgraduates, and my budget for doing it is £40,000, although I'm renting out my flat in London so that helps.

It is very international. There are people from India, China, Latin America. One of the things you have to do is get used to working with very different cultures. In all our subjects we're grouped – the work you do is the work of the group, and people have different ways of expressing an idea. But I've now got more used to things like how the Chinese students work. And it's so interesting to get these different perspectives. We were talking about inflation and a student from Argentina said: "You have no idea what inflation is!"

I've learnt about how the different parts of business fit together. Why marketing is important. And how finance, sales and production all have to work well to make things run properly. Our lecturers have one day a week when they work outside the business school and we benefit from their experience. The MBA isn't just theories – it's about real things.