Deciding to study for an MBA involves quite a bit of research and can be a painstaking experience. Here, we have provided a selection of popular MBA courses on offer in Ireland today.
As such, we should be able to make your decision-making process a little easier.
National College of Ireland
The National College of Ireland MBA is a two-year course, providing a solid theoretical foundation in enterprise, leadership, organisational management, people management, strategy, decision-making, financial resource management and economics. Core modules range from entrepreneurial dynamics to macroeconomics in a global context to the science of decision making. Elective modules cover the likes of corporate governance, business ethics and CSR, business intelligence and marketing in the global environment. An additional international field trip is also available for an extra fee.
Block teaching is used to provide the opportunity for more in-depth development of knowledge within modules while lectures interspersed with exercises focus on independent learning.
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Fees: €6,825 annually; €13,650 total.
Website: ncirl.ie
Dublin Business School
Offered as a full-time or two-year part-time option, Dublin Business School’s MBA programme allows candidates to either study the pure, traditional MBA or choose a specialist route for an MBA award within the following programmes: HR management; project management; finance; information systems; cloud computing; or marketing. It’s central aim is to develop flexibility, management, adaptability and strategy, with a particular focus on a thorough understanding of business management. Built around advanced theory and practice relating to management, candidates will gain an appreciation of the causes and significance of managing strategy.
Lectures will be either online or in-person, with full-time students expected to attend in-person classes and part-time students given the opportunity to learn online.
Fees: €12,950 full-time; and €6,475 part-time annually.
Website: dbs.ie
TU Dublin
The AMBA-accredited MBA programme delivered by TU Dublin Graduate Business School is designed to help students transition into senior leadership roles, change career direction and/or establish their own business. Offered in three different ways – the executive MBA (two years); the life sciences leadership MBA (two years, part-time); and the flexible MBA (three years) – the programmes are developed and consistently updated to reflect current business trends and conditions.
A number of key themes are focused on, including strategy and leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship, sustainability, global business, financial and data analysis, emerging technologies and digital transformation. Candidates will benefit from an interactive experience, collaborative team projects, new concepts and challenges as well as the opportunity to hear from industry experts as guest lecturers. The business school also offers a leadership development programme, which spans the duration of the course and helps participants shape their individual leadership styles.
Fees: €12,500 for year 1; and €12,500 for year 2.
Website: tudublin.ie/mba
University of Galway
The University of Galway’s MBA offers an integrated learning experience characterised by a distinctive focus on three pillars: transformational leadership, business for society and creative edge. Focused on innovation and creativity, this MBA is designed to support candidates through inevitable challenges, with the aim of fostering an adaptive mindset with an ability to pivot in any situation.
[ UCD Smurfit School climbs global MBA programme rankingsOpens in new window ]
Blocks will be of two or three days’ duration and generally occur at intervals of every three weeks during the semester. Students are also provided with real-world learning opportunities through company-based consultancy projects and community-based learning in charitable and voluntary organisations. Among the areas studied are marketing, business analytics, financial management, business negotiations and business consulting. Key highlights of the programme include an international leadership gateway programme, career coaching, leadership lessons and access to the MBA alumni network.
Fees: For EU candidates, €16,000 annually. For non-EU candidates, €18,000 annually.
Website: universityofgalway.ie/mba/
University College Cork
The UCC CUBS Executive MBA is an AMBA-accredited, two-year, part-time executive MBA for working managers and professionals. It is delivered by the Cork University Business School (CUBS) and aims not only to provide a strong understanding of core organisational functions and disciplines, but to also move beyond that to facilitate an integrative, critical understanding of the foundations and practice of management and leadership.
Throughout the course, candidates will come to understand how all aspects of a complex organisation interconnect. They will also develop skills in the fields of decision-making, leadership, strategy, operations management, HR, financial analysis and performance, and business innovation and transformation. Over the two years, students will explore the scope and nature of their strategic thinking and learn to adapt as challenges come their way.
Fees: €16,207 annually; €32,414 for the full programme.
Website: cubsucc.com/executive-mba/
University of Limerick
The University of Limerick’s MBA programme is triple accredited by AMBA, AACSB and EQUIS, ranking it in the top 1 per cent of business schools globally. Shaped by five key themes – internationalisation, managerial vision and competencies, strategic thinking, entrepreneurship and innovation and leadership – it seeks to create confident, strategic and internationally-focused leaders.
Specialist elective modules tailor the course to participants’ career goals, while high-calibre lecturers push to help candidates tackle the challenges of tomorrow. This two-year, part-time course is structured to challenge strategic thinking processes, improve critical thinking and enhance communication skills. Due to its format of monthly three-day blocks, which are scheduled in advance, it is a popular choice among busy professionals.
Fees: €15,062 annually (subject to change).
Website: ul.ie/mba
Trinity College Dublin
Trinity Business School’s MBA is world-leading and competitive. It offers three distinct delivery modes: the one-year full-time MBA, an executive MBA (part-time) and the flexible executive MBA, which is distance-learning delivered through the Matrix Room and Canvas, a purpose-built lecture theatre and virtual learning platform, respectively.
The full-time MBA is offered over one year, while part-time is held over two. The flexible executive is also held over two years, though is adapted to fit a hybrid model; 80 per cent online and 20 per cent live synchronous content. Classes are delivered mainly on campus over three terms in one academic year, where they require students to attend 20+ hours of classes in term one.
Trinity’s offerings break away from the traditional approach and focus on live-action learning: getting participants inside real companies with real issues. Students gain experience in new industries and organisations, solving real-world business problems. There are two optional weeklong international residency electives in South Africa and Belgium for candidates on the full-time and executive courses.
Fees: Full-time is €36,600; part-time is €18,300. Successful candidates will pay a €40 application fee, a €1,500 non-refundable deposit on acceptance and then the entire fee can be paid either in September or in two instalments.
Website: tcd.ie/business/programmes/mba/
University College Dublin
The UCD Smurfit MBA is a popular one. It has been consistently featured in global rankings over the last ten years and is ranked in the global top 100 by the Financial Times. Students can access it on both a full and part-time basis.
The Smurfit MBA, which is full-time over one year, is structured over three semesters and focuses on developing practical skills in emerging business topics: finance, strategy, marketing, accounting, economics, human resources and leadership among others.
The UCD Executive MBA, on the other hand, is structured over four semesters and is delivered one day per week over two years. The programme is AMBA, AACSB and EQUIS-accredited and boasts an active network of 4,000 MBA Alumni worldwide. It also offers a leadership development programme that focuses on building skills such as effective communication, intrapersonal work and leading teams.
Candidates will be challenged and stimulated by an academic curriculum including global case studies, action-learning via global collaboration and international study trips and exchanges. This MBA offers a leadership development programme that focuses on building the necessary skills to communicate effectively, helping students understand themselves better and lead diverse teams and organisations around the globe.
Fees: Tuition for the full-time MBA (EU and non-EU) comes in at €37,910 for the academic year 2025/2026. Executive MBA tuition fees (EU and non-EU) come in at €18,940 Fees are split into three instalments per year, meaning full fees can be spread into six instalments.
Website: smurfitschool.ie/programmes/thesmurfitmba/
Dublin City University
The DCU Executive MBA is a two-year, part-time programme. Executed in a hybrid fashion, some two-thirds of lectures take place face-to-face at DCU. These lectures are held on Thursdays from 2pm to 9pm during each of the four 12-week semesters, with typically 3 additional Saturday sessions per semester.
Developed by DCU’s award-winning business school, the MBA gives the edge in key areas like leadership, innovation, strategy and sustainability. The programme is triple AMBA, AACSB and EQUIS-accredited and is designed to be a professionally and personally transformative experience for participants who come from a variety of sectors. It has also evolved through repeated reviews of the curriculum to align the content with the ever-changing needs of executives.
Fees: September 2025 fees for EU students are €13,800 annually and for non-EU students are €26,900 annually.
