MPhil in Strategy, Marketing, Operations and Organisational Behaviour

The MPhil in Strategy, Marketing, Operations and Organisational Behaviour (SMOOB) is an intensive nine-month programme that prepares you for continuation to the Cambridge Judge Business School (CJBS) PhD in the fields of strategic management, marketing, operations and technology management, or organisational behaviour.

The educational aims of the programme are to prepare students for doctoral work in the fields of strategic management, marketing, operations and technology management, or organisational behaviour at CJBS. The programme is an integral part of the CJBS PhD programme for these fields, by:

• providing teaching in research methodology, in particular in econometrics and mathematical modelling; providing teaching in foundational subjects, such as economics; and
• providing research seminars in which students will learn about the current debates in their field of specialisation, and about the canonical literature that underpins these debates;
• providing guidance on the structuring, writing and critiquing of academic research papers;
• giving students the opportunity to experience research first-hand, either through an individual research project or a dissertation.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course students should have:

• critiqued research papers on the basis of content and methodology;
• developed and defended a research proposal for their subsequent PhD year, including a clearly articulated research question, its positioning in the literature, and appropriate research methodology:
• acquired or consolidated foundational knowledge and methodological skills necessary for research in their chosen field of specialisation;
• demonstrated an ability to critique research papers; and
• presented their own ideas in a public forum and learned to contribute constructively within an international environment.

Continuing

Students may apply to continue to the PhD, but success is subject to satisfactory performance at the admissions interview in the Lent Term 2025, and achieving a minimum average grade of at least 70 per cent on the MPhil in Strategy, Marketing, Operations, and Organisational Behaviour. Students are required to also achieve at least 70 per cent in their dissertation (if not replaced by additional modules).

Open Days

See further the Postgraduate Admissions Events pages for other events relating to Postgraduate study, including study fairs, visits and international events.

Cambridge Judge Business School also hosts Experience Days throughout the year. Please see Cambridge Judge Business School wide-events page for further information.

Applicants for this course should have achieved a UK First class Honours Degree. If your degree is not from the UK, please check International Qualifications to find the equivalent in your country. A degree in a discipline with a strong quantitative orientation (e.g. engineering, economics, operations research, statistics, mathematics, physics, computer science, or a similar course) will be expected. Students are required to have degree-level courses in calculus, linear algebra, probability and statistics. For the Organisational Behaviour specialisation, someone with a Psychology degree would also be acceptable as long as they did well in their undergraduate statistics courses. For the Strategic Management specialisation, someone with a degree in sociology, psychology, business, or management would also be acceptable provided they did well in their undergraduate statistics courses. University Minimum Academic Requirements Language Requirement

Listening: 7.0, Writing: 7.0, Reading: 7.0, Speaking: 7.0, Total: 7.5, Listening: 25, Writing: 25, Reading: 25, Speaking: 25, Total: 110