The University of Bath is offering scholarships to UK armed forces veterans for its full-time Masters of Business Administration (MBA) programme as part of its commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant Agreement, which it signed last year.

All eligible applicants will receive a 50% scholarship towards the tuition fee for the full time MBA programmes starting in September 2024 or September 2025. That would reduce the cost of the MBA to around £18,750. Up to 10 scholarships a year are available for 2024 and 2025. They are open to veterans, and serving personnel who intend to leave the military.

"We are committed to supporting the future career of those who have served in the UK military and who are now looking to advance their service leadership experiences and develop these for a civilian pathway. Our MBA programme is designed to integrate veterans into the corporate world whilst giving them an experience of all aspects of business,” says Becky Gallagher, Head of MBA Admissions and Recruitment in the University’s School of Management.

The University signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant in July 2023. The covenant is a national responsibility involving government, businesses, local authorities, organisations, charities and the public, which acknowledges that those who serve or have served in the armed forces, and their families, should be treated with fairness and respect in the communities, economy, and society they serve with their lives.

“We are proud to have taken this step to support veterans in developing their careers on leaving the armed forces. There are typically ten scholarships available in each year of entry and applicants are invited to submit their CV before having a conversation with the MBA recruitment team,” Gallagher says.

Several veterans have joined the MBA course in recent years. Dan Tope, former officer whose last role was in Portfolio Management in Army Headquarters, graduated in 2022 and subsequently subsequently joined retail giant Amazon via their MBA recruitment scheme.

“I joined the MBA after serving for 12 years as an officer in the British Army. Having spent a considerable amount of time overseas, including diplomatic postings to India and the Middle East, it was very exciting to join such a multinational MBA cohort at the University of Bath,” Tope says.

“It gave me the broad knowledge I wanted, giving me an oversight of multiple business areas and a understanding of aspects of business to which I was previously unsighted. And the careers team was excellent, helping identify potential sectors, refining my CV and then practising for interviews.”

“From a veteran’s standpoint, the MBA was an excellent opportunity to pause and take stock of not only my career to date, but also where I wanted to go next. The qualification by itself will not secure you a job, but coupled with previous experience and hard work it can be an excellent pathway to a more senior job, or a new career sector,” he adds.