University of Leicester School of Management

Age: 22

History: Built on a Greenfield site as part of the University of Leicester in 1989 the school has since expanded to become one of Europe's largest providers of postgraduate management education in the UK, with more than 8,000 students.

Address: Located just a mile from the city centre.

Ambience: The school has its own purpose-built, six-storey base on the university campus, the Ken Edwards Building, which opened in 1995. It has up-to-date lecture theatres, computer facilities, and study and seminar rooms.

Vital statistics: Emphasises research and teaching. Offers specialised MBAs in total quality management, employee relations, information technology management, and marketing and finance. It also has MSc programmes in finance, marketing and management. Masters courses in accounting, finance and management and finance and accounting are full-time only.

Added value: The faculty staff are energetic and acclaimed for their approach to management teaching. In-company projects often lead to new jobs and there's a dedicated careers advice service on offer.

Easy to get into? MBA students need a good first degree or equivalent and a minimum of three years of relevant work experience (most have around seven).

Glittering alumni: Chris Foster, general services manager, Samsung Electronics; Dr Saka Abadi, business development director, PT Kalbe Farma (Indonesia's largest pharmaceutical company); John Peters, a former RAF pilot and Gulf War hostage who owns UPH Ltd.

International connections: Around a third of teaching staff are from overseas, and the students hail from around 80 countries. The school has distance learning students in the Caribbean, Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe.

Student profile: The age for the full-time MBA ranges from 25 to 45 with a male-to-female ratio of 60:40 or 70:30 with distance learning.

Cost: The full-time MBA is £9,825 for UK and EU students and £15,750 for non-EU students. The distance learning option is £8,165 (for both UK and EU). For the MSc, full-time is £7,590 and £13,150 for non-EU students. Distance-learning courses cost about half that for both UK and EU citizens.

Return on investment: Many graduates claim to have almost doubled their salary within the first year of graduating.

Who's the boss? The head of department is Professor Alan Bryman, an international specialist in organisational and social research.

Prospectus: +44 (0)116 223 1818/1883; ulsmPGadmiss@le.ac.uk; www.le.ac.uk/ulsm