Course outline

Over 70% of the world’s economy is services. The MSc Management in a Digital Service Economy aims to equip graduates with the ability to create and deliver reliable customer centred service – a key differentiator for business today. In many industries, profit margins on product sales have shrunk enormously, leading to an increased focus on generating profits through value-added services. Thus, the best firms now bundle customer-centred service with a manufactured product and create service centred solutions. Some, like IBM have moved completely to service and solutions.

Service Management as a body of knowledge has made immense progress in the last decade. Economies are more and more service-focused and it has become imperative to study all aspects of managing service. Buckingham is among the very few universities in the world to have responded to the demand for the creation of expertise in this area and to have established a track-record of success.

Quality teaching

We offer high quality, traditional Oxbridge-style teaching, which leads to our degrees being recognised around the world. The standards of degrees and awards are safeguarded by distinguished external examiners – senior academic staff from other universities in the UK – who approve and moderate assessed work.

High calibre staff

Most of our academic staff teach for three terms out of four, with the remaining term used for research. Because of this, we have no difficulty in attracting high calibre, highly respected lecturers, many of whom also have a background in business or industry and can offer networking opportunities for students.

Teaching methods

Teaching across our postgraduate programmes is through a combination of formal lectures, tutorials and seminars. Our lectures aim to encourage healthy dialogue between faculty and students, and between students themselves, while our small tutorial groups ensure that students can engage even more closely with their teachers. Members of the Business School faculty also make a point of being available to students outside the scheduled teaching sessions – something which our postgraduate students find particularly valuable.

We frequently use case studies to examine business decisions taken in real situations, and business simulations and games give you first-hand experience of decision making in the world of work. Role-play and group problem-solving exercises help you to apply some of the theoretical concepts delivered in lectures and you will have the opportunity to undertake individual or group projects with local companies on topical business issues.

Assessment methods

The assessment of individual modules within each course varies according to the subject. Assessment is usually by examination, assessed coursework, or a combination of the two. Please check module information for more details.

Preparation for work

All our degree courses combine academic challenge with the transferable skills that will stand you in good stead for future employment. Many of our more vocationally-focused degrees offer the opportunity of work placements and experience in industry.

Graduate employment

Our graduates have gone on to further study at most of the world’s leading universities, including Harvard, London, Oxford and Cambridge and secured jobs in senior positions around the world. Among our alumni we have a graduate who became the head of his country’s civil service and one who became a leading Formula One motor-racing driver. Another secured a position as the Minister of Sabah and one female law graduate became the first British lawyer to become a French Advocate.

What might my career look like?

This degree is designed for students who intend to pursue a career in any global service sector, ranging from healthcare, consulting, hospitality and retail. You will learn and develop a unique skill set in an area that is becoming increasingly important to all business models today. Students from the Service master’s programme have gone on to work for Thames Water, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Yahoo, IBM, KPMG and Deloitte to name just a few!

What our students and alumni say

Read the comments made by our current students and alumni.