The post-graduate diploma in management studies,
post-nominal letters
Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...
DMS, is a university management qualification in the United Kingdom.
History
Early structure
The post-graduate qualification was originally accredited by the DMS Committee of the
DES
Des is a masculine given name, mostly a short form (hypocorism) of Desmond. People named Des include:
People
* Des Buckingham, English football manager
* Des Corcoran, (1928–2004), Australian politician
* Des Dillon (disambiguation), sever ...
. It originally required either one year full-time or 3 years part-time study, and was arranged in two discrete sections: Part A and Part B. It was compulsory to pass the Part A examinations and assessment first before being allowed to take Part B. Part B consisted of the final examinations and a project dissertation. Overall the marks achieved in coursework, examinations and the final dissertation had to exceed a weighted threshold for the candidate to pass and be awarded a DMS. It was thus quite an intensive course with a large workload. If a candidate achieved 90% or above, they were awarded a Distinction.
Entry requirements
Normally a bachelor's degree or extensive managerial experience and/or other professional qualifications. Originally there was also a lower age limit for entry of 35 years old, but this requirement was subsequently dropped as managers above that age found that the qualification had no value in achieving employment or promotion above 35.
Accreditation
Initially in the UK the qualification was accredited by the DMS committee of the DES, and later by the
Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA). It was originally accepted by the
BIM
''Bim'' is a 1974 Trinidad and Tobago film written by Raoul Pantin and directed by Hugh A. Robertson. It was described by Bruce Paddington as "one of the most important films to be produced in Trinidad and Tobago and... one of the classics of Ca ...
as its core qualification for admission as a full member. The BIM subsequently was renamed to the Institute of Management when combining with the Institute of Industrial Managers, and now has again been renamed to become the
Chartered Management Institute
The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) is a professional institution for management based in the United Kingdom.
The major membership classes are ''Member'', ''Fellow'' - for those with significant expertise - and ''Companion'' - the most sen ...
.
CIM
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Assessment
The assessment for the few DMS courses which are still run in the UK is now almost without any formal examinations being required to be passed. It is thus subjectively awarded on the basis of course performance only, according to the opinion of the academic staff responsible.
Controversy
It has been argued by some that the move away from mainly or wholly exam assessed courses has lessened the 'value of the qualification' however the change from exams to coursework, projects and assignments is fairly in keeping with most postgraduate UK qualifications, although some exams are normally required.
Recognition
The DMS is accepted by the CMI as part of the required qualification for chartered manager Chartered Manager refers to a professional certification in management:
*C.Mgr., offered by CIM , Chartered Managers Canada
*CMgr, offered by the Chartered Management Institute
The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) is a professional institu ...
.
See also
* Master of business administration
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
References
{{reflist
Management education
Educational qualifications in the United Kingdom
Business qualifications