Program
Two stages, to the degree.Within fifteen months, by design.
Stage 1, aligned with the UK qualifications system;
Stage 2, delivered directly by the university.
The whole journey — with no timetable, and with support built in.
One road to the degree.
The programme is built in two stages. In Stage 1, you complete a Diploma positioned within the UK's public qualifications frameworks; in Stage 2, you take on the University of Wolverhampton's dissertation. Everything within fifteen months — a road designed, from the start, to be completed while working.
Depending on your professional experience and existing qualifications, up to 70% of Stage 1 may be exempted as prior learning (RPL). Whether exemption is granted is confirmed by assessment, on the basis of the CV you submit at entry.
① Individual consultation
↓
② Entry / RPL assessment
↓
③ Stage 1: EduQual Diploma (around six months as standard)
↓
④ Application to the university course (January / May / September)
↓
⑤ Stage 2: dissertation (around four to six months)
↓
⑥ Degree conferred — International Master of Business Administration
Four design principles that run through this programme.
Two stages, five units, one dissertation. They are not a loose collection of parts. Four principles run through them, holding them on a single line.
1. The sovereignty of your time stays with you
No fixed day of the week, and no lecture hours. Stage 1 is self-study with text-based learning materials — early in the morning or late at night, you progress in your own time. Not stopping your reality for the sake of learning, but building learning into the middle of your reality: a design of time for people who stand at the front line of management.
2. Support is built in from the start
Every student has a dedicated tutor (in English). The channel is email — you can ask the moment a question arises. And Shibuya Web3 University trains the foundation of your learning, in Japanese. Freedom in how you learn, and a structure that keeps you going: both, as standard.
3. All in English — the same language as the world
The materials, the assignments, the dissertation, the dialogue with your supervisor, your dedicated tutor — all in English. To think, and to write it through, in the same language as the world: beyond that challenge lies this degree. The foundation that carries the challenge, we build in Japanese.
4. Generative AI is the co-pilot
We put generative AI to work not as a substitute, but as a co-pilot that accelerates your learning. The pre-processing — searching the literature, structuring information — is handed to the AI, while you concentrate on the intellectual creation only a human can do: framing the question, thinking it into your own company, making the judgement. A philosophy of learning that Shibuya Web3 University carries through every programme it runs.
Stage 1 — EduQual Diploma in Business Management (SCQF Level 11)
In Stage 1, you will complete the Diploma in Business Management awarded by EduQual, a UK awarding body accredited by SQA Accreditation, a UK qualifications regulator. The qualification is positioned at SCQF Level 11 on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework — master's level within the UK frameworks, comparable to RQF Level 7. The curriculum comprises five domains of management and 120 credits.
The Five Units
-
Change Management and Strategic Leadership — 30 credits
Examine leadership theories, from the classical to the contemporary, in the context of globalised twenty-first-century organisations, and master the management of the organisational change that underpins strategy. -
Marketing Management in Practice — 20 credits
The practical tools and techniques of marketing, and the management decisions that underpin effective planning — sharpening your diagnostic ability from both the operational and the decision-making perspectives. -
Strategic Financial Management — 20 credits
Approach strategic financial planning from a global perspective, apply financial principles in a management context, and formulate financial strategies that work. -
Strategic Management — 20 credits
Develop a deep understanding of the frameworks for reviewing current strategy, in for-profit and non-profit organisations alike, and formulate strategic plans from a global perspective. -
Strategic Resource Management in Organisations — 30 credits
Consider people, operations, quality and the supply chain, together with the role of information systems, and master the optimisation of resources to sustain competitive advantage.
Assessment: by coursework.
The five units are assessed through three integrated assignments. The assignments are work-based, rooted in real practice — for each one, you choose an organisation you know well (your own company is an option) and analyse and design against its reality, using academic frameworks. The assessment criteria are explicit on two points: generic answers are not accepted, and the academic conventions — Harvard referencing, rigorous structure — are required. The academic-practice tutorials needed for postgraduate-level learning, which we deliver in Japanese in Stage 1, are precisely this foundation.
Duration and pace
Learning materials are provided on registration. The standard duration is around six months; depending on your pace, you may take up to nine months, progressing to your own rhythm. A dedicated tutor from Chestnut Education Group (in English) supports you by email throughout.
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) — shorten the path, or study it all: your choice
Depending on your professional experience and existing qualifications, exemption from up to 70% of the units may be granted (RPL). Exemption is granted on application: it is assessed on the basis of the CV and qualifications you submit at entry, and the outcome is confirmed by that assessment.
And exemption is a right, not an obligation. If your background qualifies, you may still choose not to apply — to revisit the five domains of management as one complete system, and study all five units in full. Take the shorter path, or study the whole in depth: decide by what you seek from this learning.
Outside the curriculum, training the foundation.
The curriculum and the materials are delivered entirely in English. Our Japanese-language support stays outside them — devoted to building the foundation of how you learn.
The Harvard conventions of referencing. The habit of reading academic papers through public databases such as Google Scholar — laying, here, the groundwork for the university library databases that open in Stage 2. The craft of academic writing to a world standard. And, with Stage 2 in view, preparation in the conventions of research. Outside the curriculum, we also provide lectures on mastering generative AI as a co-pilot. This Japanese-language support is designed to be completed within Stage 1 — so that in Stage 2, you can concentrate on your research, on the foundation you have built.
It never touches the content of your learning itself. The assignments and the dissertation are yours to complete, by your own strength. That is why the ability remains with you — as the real thing.
In Stage 2, you build a research dialogue in English with a supervisor at the university. So that the dialogue bears fruit, you grow familiar with the form of research in Japanese first — a preparation that quietly underpins the quality of your dissertation.
Stage 2 — University of Wolverhampton International MBA Top-Up
On completing Stage 1, you can apply for the University of Wolverhampton's university course (official course title: International MBA Top-Up). From here, it is the dissertation stage — delivered and assessed directly by the University.
You take on a 15,000-word dissertation, in English, on a management theme of your own choosing. A dedicated supervisor at the university works with you, in dialogue, from the design of the research through to completion. Learning is 100% online, on the university's learning platform (Canvas). Workshops in research skills, critical thinking and academic writing are also provided by the university.
Intakes three times a year — January, May and September. Duration: around four to six months.
All you prepare is the documents. A CV, your passport, a personal statement, an academic reference — the Stage 1 certificate and transcript are issued on completion. Once the documents are in place, the application to the university is handled by us and by Chestnut Education Group (London), which runs this progression route in the UK. From application to completed admission usually takes seven to ten working days. You concentrate on warming the theme of your dissertation.
On completion, the degree is conferred.
And then, the degree.
Completers are conferred their degree certificate by the University of Wolverhampton. The degree inscribed on it: International Master of Business Administration.
Should you wish, to the annual graduation ceremony on the university's campus in Britain. You may also choose to receive your certificate by post. Details of the ceremony are provided by the university in your year of completion.
The conditions of entry.
-
A bachelor's degree, and at least two years of management experience.
-
Or at least five years of management experience, together with evidence of the ability to study at postgraduate level.
For English, we recommend entry for those with a certain level or above. We share the guideline at the individual consultation.
Entry to this programme is selective, through the interview at the individual consultation. Those we welcome are leaders who are actually taking action to change reality.
Is there a reality you want to change?