About us

MBS began teaching in 1955 when the University of Melbourne offered Australia’s first residential executive education program in the summer of that year. Its first Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree was awarded in 1965, which was also the first MBA degree awarded in Australia. During the 1980s, MBS was awarded the status of a National Management School by the Australian Government and the Graduate School of Management was established within the University of Melbourne. In 1989, it was re-organized again, this time as the Graduate School of Management Ltd: a non-profit company limited by guarantee and managed by a Board of Directors which includes the chairs and directors of leading Australian corporations. This organization structure has helped create a major link between the university and those who have a responsibility for management. It is currently co-owned by the University of Melbourne (45%) and Australian businesses (55%). In 2004, Melbourne Business School Limited merged with Mt Eliza Business School, which was established in 1957, becoming the largest management education business school in Australia. In July 2009, the school announced that it was the subject of a proposed merger with the Graduate School of Management at the University of Melbourne. However, the proposal was decided not to proceed following opposition from MBS members in September 2009. In October 2012 the school signed a collaboration deal with University of Melbourne, sharing resources but retaining the school's independence and the authority of the board. MBS closed and sold its Mt Eliza campus in 2016, to concentrate on expanding the Carlton campus.