Manchester Business School

Age: 46

History: Set up in 1965 after the Franks report. It is part of the faculty of humanities at the University of Manchester.

Address: Part of the university campus on the south side of the city centre.

Ambience: Housed in a modern, purpose-built building made of red brick, appropriately enough with modern audio-visual and IT facilities, including a cyber café. The school also has a language centre, conference facilities, a bar, restaurant, around 110 ensuite bedrooms and a state-of-the-art business library that has corporate customers worldwide. It is situated in an up-and-coming part of Manchester.

Vital statistics: It is now the largest campus-based business and management school in the UK, running an 18-month full-time MBA and the Manchester Global MBA – with six blended learning options delivered by its global arm, Manchester Business School Worldwide.

Added value: There's a 10-week international business project in which students deliver live consultancy for clients such as American Express and Cadbury Schweppes.

Easy to get into? A minimum of three years' work experience and a decent degree are required, as is a GMAT score around 624.

Glittering alumni: Sir Terry Leahy, chief executive, Tesco; Don Cruickshank, former chairman of the London Stock Exchange; Jurek Piasecki, chairman and chief executive, Goldsmith Group Plc; David Varney, executive chairman, HM Revenue and Customs.

International connections: The international exchange programme is one of the largest in the world, involving more than 50 schools, including Rotterdam, SDA Bocconi and HEC Paris.

Gurus: Ismail Erturk, banking; Colin Talbot, public sector accountability; Paul Cousins, business systems; Peter Kawalek, interactive systems; Luke Georghiou, innovation; Marilyn Davidson, organisational psychology; Peter Naude, marketing; Gary Davies, corporate reputation and Andrew Stark, accounting and finance

Visiting professors: Richard Nelson, innovation policy; Barbara Krug, entrepreneurship; Dieter Zapf, organisational psychology; Michael Brennan, finance; Robert Handfield, business systems; Michael Solomon, marketing and international strategy

Student profile: The average age on the full-time MBA is 29; the male-to-female ratio is 3:1.

Cost: £35,600

Return on investment: Full-time MBA students can generally expect around a 104 per cent salary increase three years after graduation.

Who's the boss? Professor Michael Luger .

Prospectus: +44 (0)161 275 6530; www.mbs.ac.uk; mba@mbs.ac.uk