Imperial College Business School, a division of Imperial College London in England, was opened by Queen Elizabeth II. The business school cultivates innovative thinking and responsible leadership, preparing its students to drive global impact.
 | |
| Motto | Imperial means Intelligent Business |
|---|---|
| Established | 2004 |
Parent institution | Imperial College London |
| Accreditation | AACSB, EQUIS, AMBA |
| Dean | Peter Todd |
| Location | |
| Website | imperial.ac.uk/business-school |
History
editIn 1851, the Great Exhibition was the first World's Fair, organised by Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria. The proceeds from this event were used to establish museums and royal colleges in South Kensington, to become a centre for science, culture, and industry.[1]
In 1907, Imperial College London was established by Royal Charter, which unified the Royal College of Science, Royal School of Mines, and City and Guilds of London Institute into one university.
In 1909, King Edward VII laid the foundation stone for the Royal School of Mines building, which is part of the present-day Business School facilities.
In 1955, Imperial's first MSc in Production Engineering and Management was launched at 14 Prince's Gate.[2] In 1961, Imperial launches an MSc in Operational Research and Management Studies. In 1964, executive education short courses were launched in Operational Research.
In 1965, Imperial College London and the London School of Economics co-sponsor the founding of the London Business School.[2]
In 1971, a Department of Management Science was created.[3] In 1978, the Department of Social & Economic Studies was formed.
In 1987, the Departments of Management Science and Department of Social & Economic Studies merged to form a Management School at 53 Prince's Gate.
In 1989, an Executive MBA was launched.[4] In 2001, an Entrepreneurship Centre was established. In 2002, a Distance Learning MBA was formed. In 2003, an Innovation and Entrepreneurial group was established.
In 2003, Imperial College London elevated business to its fourth faculty, alongside science, engineering, and medicine.
In 2004, Queen Elizabeth II opened Imperial College's Tanaka Business School.[4][5]
In 2008, the business school drops the Tanaka name and becomes Imperial College Business School.[6]
In 2021, Imperial's White City Campus was opened.
Campus
editThe business school is on Imperial College London's main campus in South Kensington. Its modern glass architecture drew its inspiration from the Crystal Palace of the Great Exhibition, reflecting the college's historical origins. Designed by Sir Norman Foster & Partners, the landmark building was opened by Queen Elizabeth II and incorporates the 19th-century vaults of the Royal School of Mines.
The business school has additional facilities on Imperial College London's White City campus, which serves as an innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem for collaboration between students, faculty, entrepreneurs, and industry. Included on the White City campus is the Scale Space, set up as a community to help innovative companies accelerate growth. Located there are Imperial's Translation and Innovation Hub, Imperial's White City Incubator, Invention Rooms, and a Hackspace for manufacturing equipment and training.[7]
Academics
edit
The business school offers undergraduate and postgraduate education, including a Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master's degrees, Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD), as well as executive education.[8]
The business school is focused by five themes:
- Digital Transformation: How technologies are transforming business and society
- Entrepreneurship: How to thrive in dynamic and uncertain environments
- Healthcare Policy & Management: Policy and practice to improve health and wellbeing
- Finance & Institutional Resilience: Helping build more resilient business and a stronger global economy
- Sustainability & Climate Change: Inclusive and responsible business models for sustainable growth
Research
editImperial operates the following research centres:
- Brevan Howard Centre for Financial Analysis
- Centre for Climate Finance & Investment
- Centre for Digital Transformation
- Centre for Financial Technology
- Centre for Health Economics & Policy Innovation
- Centre for Responsible Leadership
- Gandhi Centre for Inclusive Innovation
- Imperial Business Design Studio
- Leonardo Centre on Business for Society
Rankings and reputation
edit| Business School International Rankings | |
|---|---|
| European MBA Ranking | |
| QS (2024)[9] | 9 |
| Financial Times (2024)[10] | 10 |
| Global MBA Ranking | |
| QS (2024)[11] | 20 |
| Financial Times (2024)[12] | 39 |
Imperial College London consistently ranks among the top 10 global universities. The 2025 QS World University Rankings ranked Imperial 2nd worldwide, behind MIT, tying its highest ever position.[13] The Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked Imperial 8th worldwide and 3rd in Europe.[14]
Imperial College London has a reputation for its entrepreneurial culture that integrates business and science.[15] It has some of the UK's best-resourced entrepreneurial facilities and the largest entrepreneurial mentoring system in the country, modeled after MIT.[15] The Enterprise Lab notably has a startup survival rate of 79%.[15]
According to the UK government's 2021 Research Excellence Framework, Imperial was ranked 2nd in the UK for 'business and management' research, with 97% of its business and management research classified as 'world-leading' or 'internationally excellent'.[16][17]
The 2024 QS rankings placed Imperial's MBA programme 9th in Europe, and the Financial Times ranked it 10th in Europe.[18][19] Additionally, the 2023 QS rankings highlighted the MBA programme as 3rd worldwide for career specialisation in entrepreneurship.[20]
In 2024 QS ranked Imperial's master's programmes as follows: marketing is 4th worldwide,[21] business analytics is 6th worldwide,[22] finance is 13th worldwide,[23] and management is 14th worldwide.[24] The Financial Times ranked the master's in finance 15th worldwide.[25]
Imperial also has a reputation for the high employability of its graduates. In 2024, it was ranked 1st in the UK for highly skilled employment or further studies by the Complete University Guide, the Guardian University Guide, and the Times Good University Guide.[26][27][28] An analysis of 2021 salary data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency found that Imperial graduates earn the highest median salaries across all subjects among UK universities.[29]
People
edit
Directors and deans
edit- Sam Eilon (1955–1987)
- David Norburn (1987–2003)
- David Begg (2003–2012)
- Dorothy Griffiths (2012–2013)
- G. "Anand" Anandalingam (2013–2016)
- Nelson Phillips (2016–2017)*
- Francisco Veloso (2017–2023)
- Franklin Allen (2023-2024)*
- Peter Todd (2024–present)
*Interim
Notable academic staff
edit- Franklin Allen, Professor of Finance, Executive Director of the Brevan Howard Centre for Financial Analysis (2014–present)
- Patrick Bolton, Professor of Finance, Research Director of the Centre for Climate Finance & Investment (2023–24)
- David Miles, CBE, Professor of Financial Economics
- William Perraudin, Economist (former Chair in Finance, now adjunct professor)
- Carol Propper, CBE, FBA, Chair in Economics
- Tommaso Valletti, Chair in Economics, Chief Competition Economist of the European Commission (2016–2019)
- George Yip, Emeritus Professor of Marketing and Strategy
References
edit- ^ "History of Imperial College Business School". Imperial College London.
- ^ a b "A History of Management Science at Imperial College (1955-1989)" (PDF). Pubsonline.informs.org. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ Gay, Hannah (2007). The History of Imperial College London, 1907-2007: Higher Education and Research in Science, Technology and Medicine. World Scientific. p. 578. ISBN 9781860947094.
- ^ a b Gay, p 580
- ^ Wheatcroft, Patience (25 June 2004). "One learns a lot at Imperial College". The Times (London).
- ^ Bradshaw, Della (20 August 2008). "Imperial drops Tanaka name". Financial Times. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
- ^ "White City Campus | Imperial College Business School". www.imperial.ac.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- ^ "Imperial 2023 Course Offerings". Imperial College London. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
- ^ "QS Europe MBA Rankings 2023". Quacquarelli Symonds.
- ^ "Global MBA Ranking 2022". Financial Times.
- ^ "QS Global MBA Rankings 2023". Quacquarelli Symonds.
- ^ "Global MBA Ranking 2023". Financial Times.
- ^ "QS World University Rankings 2025". Top Universities. 23 June 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
- ^ "World University Rankings". Times Higher Education (THE). 25 September 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
- ^ a b c Hall, Rachel (24 September 2022). "Imperial College London: inside the university that is in the business of studying". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
- ^ "REF 2021: Business and management studies". Times Higher Education (THE). 12 May 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ "Imperial overall scores by UoA". Imperial College London. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ "QS Global MBA Rankings 2024: Europe". Top Universities. 23 June 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ "MBA 2024 - Business school rankings from the Financial Times - FT.com". rankings.ft.com. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ "QS MBA by Career Specialisation Rankings 2023: Entrepreneurship". TopMBA.com. 8 May 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ "QS Business Master's Rankings 2024: Finance". Top Universities. 23 June 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
- ^ "QS Business Master's Rankings 2024: Business Analytics". Top Universities. 23 June 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
- ^ "QS Business Master's Rankings 2024: Finance". Top Universities. 23 June 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
- ^ "QS Business Master's Rankings 2024: Management". Top Universities. 23 June 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
- ^ "Masters in Finance pre-experience 2023 - Business school rankings from the Financial Times - FT.com". rankings.ft.com. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
- ^ "You're hired! Imperial grads are the most likely to get good job offers in the whole UK". The Tab. 7 June 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ "The Guardian University Guide 2024 – the rankings". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ szadmin (13 September 2013). "The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide: New recruits are not job ready according to survey". News UK. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ "UK Graduate Salaries 2021 – Highest Paid Graduates by UK University Ranking 2021 – UACU UK". 18 September 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
External links
edit- Official site
- Imperial College Business School History and architecture of the school building