MANCHESTER, England, and BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and Alliance Manchester Business School in the United Kingdom announced that they are launching a joint MBA program leading to degrees from both institutions.

The joint Kelley-Manchester Global MBA brings together two of the world’s leading business schools, with a combined legacy of nearly 150 years of innovation in business and management education.

Together, they will provide students with professional development and a global literacy that enables them to succeed in today’s complex and interconnected business world.

Deans of both business schools said the new program will offer students flexibility from the top online MBA program in the United States and a top 40 global school with centers all over the globe. A unique feature is a residential component in Washington, D.C., during the fall term in the second year.

“Speaking on behalf of our faculty, the Kelley School of Business looks forward to working with our colleagues at Manchester to provide students in this program with the skills needed to lead a multi-national enterprise and provide them with real career momentum,” said Idalene Kesner, the school’s dean and the Frank P. Popoff Chair of Strategic Management.

“This is another exciting international partnership for Alliance MBS as we strengthen our global offer,” added professor Fiona Devine, head of Alliance Manchester Business School. “Together with Kelley School of Business, we will continue to build on our history of delivering world-class research-led business education through innovative programs that stretch and prepare our MBAs to meet their career ambitions.”

Alliance Manchester Business School recently benefited from a landmark donation from Lord Alliance of Manchester that will be invested in its new campus development in the city and driving forward its ambitious research agenda. Alliance Manchester is the U.K.’s largest campus-based business school. It has a long tradition of global business education with centers in Dubai, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sao Paolo.

Building on a nearly century-long foundation, IU’s Kelley School offers a curriculum built on personal development, teamwork, and experiential learning with an emphasis on global and social responsibility. In 1999, its Kelley Direct program became the first online MBA offered by a top-ranked business school. Today, it consistently ranks No. 1 or No. 2 among online graduate programs and serves as a model for similar programs.

The same faculty who teach in the schools’ other highly regarded graduate programs will teach courses to students in the Kelley-Manchester Global MBA degree program. Students will receive personalized and insightful mentoring and feedback from career coaches, advisors and professors.

While much of the coursework will be delivered online, students will work on site with each other at both the Kelley School and at Alliance Manchester campuses.

Admissions requirements are the same as for all other Kelley and Alliance Manchester graduate programs -- in-residence and online. The program also offers flexibility and access to the schools’ alumni networks, which include more than 100,000 Kelley graduates. Cost of the program is $65,000.

About Alliance Manchester Business School

Alliance Manchester Business School was established in 1965 as one of the U.K.’s first two business schools. A full-service business school, Alliance MBS provides industry-focused education to undergraduates, postgraduates and executives. Its influential research impacts business locally, nationally and internationally. In 2014 the Research Excellence Framework ranked the school second in the U.K. for research power.