Imperial Business School

Imperial Business School

Motto	Where science means business
Established	2003
Parent institution	Imperial College London
Accreditation	AACSB, EQUIS, AMBA
Dean	Peter Todd
Location	London
Website	imperial.ac.uk/business-school

Imperial Business School is the business school of Imperial College London, based in South Kensington in London, United Kingdom. Established in 2003, the business school was opened by Queen Elizabeth II. ^[1]

Imperial Business School offers MBA, Master's, PhD and executive education programmes. It holds triple accredidation within the UK (AMBA), the US (AACSB) and Europe (EQUIS).

In the most recent Research Excellence Framework, the school ranked second in the UK for business and management studies. ^[2] In the latest QS MBA Rankings by Career Specialisation, Imperial’s MBA programme ranked third worldwide and first in Europe for entrepeneurship. ^{[3] [4]}

History

In 1851, the Great Exhibition (the first World's Fair) was organised by Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria. The Great Exhibition was a financial success, with its profits building the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, the Royal Albert Hall and colleges in South Kensington. ^[5]

In 1907, Imperial College London was established by royal charter, unifying the Royal College of Science, the Royal School of Mines and the City and Guilds of London Institute into a university.

In 1909, King Edward VII laid the foundation stone for the Royal School of Mines building, which is now part of the present-day Business School facilities.

In 1955, Imperial College London offered its first postgraduate course in business – an MSc in Production Engineering and Management. ^[6]

In 1965, Imperial College London and the London School of Economics co-sponsored the founding of the London Business School. ^{[7] [8]}

View from the entrance. Across the street is the Brevan Howard Centre for Financial Analysis.

In 1971, a Department of Management Science was established at Imperial. This was followed in 1978 by the Department of Social & Economic Studies. ^[9]

In 1987, the Management School was founded through the merger of the Departments of Management Science and Social & Economic Studies. It focused on integrating management studies with emerging technology and entrepreneurship.

In 2003, the Imperial Business School is elevated to Faculty status, alongside the Faculties of Natural Science, Medicine and Engineering.

In 2004, Queen Elizabeth II acompanied by The Duke of York held a royal opening of Imperial's new business school. ^[1]

In 2021, Imperial College London’s new White City campus opened, providing additional space and facilities for innovation and entrepreneurship activities. ^[10]

Campus

Royal School of Mines

Translation & Innovation Hub

Imperial Business School is based at Imperial College London’s South Kensington campus. The school’s main building – an all-glass structure designed by Sir Norman Foster – was inspired by the Crystal Palace of 1851, reflecting the College’s historical origins from the Great Exhibition. The glass-fronted design incorporates the 19th-century vaults of the adjacent Royal School of Mines building, blending modern architecture with Victorian heritage.

In addition to its South Kensington facilities, the Business School has a presence at Imperial’s White City campus. This campus serves as an innovation and entrepreneurship eco-system for the university. ^[11] Resources available to the Business School at White City include the Imperial’s White City Incubator, the Scale Space, the Translation & Innovation Hub, the Invention Rooms, and a hackspace for manufacturing equipment and training.

Academics

The business school offers undergraduate and postgraduate education, including MBAs, Master's degrees, PhDs, and Executive Education.

Degrees hold triple accreditation within the US (AACSB), UK (AMBA) and Europe (EQUIS).

The school is organised around five key themes:

• Entrepreneurship – how to thrive in dynamic and uncertain environments
• Digital Transformation – from AI to blockchain, how technology transforms business and society
• Healthcare Policy & Management – policy and practice to improve health and wellbeing
• Finance & Institutional Resilience – building resilient businesses and a stronger global economy
• Sustainability & Climate Change – responsible and inclusive business models for sustainable growth

Research Centres

• Brevan Howard Centre for Financial Analysis – enhances Imperial’s expertise in financial economics. ^[12]
• Centre for Climate Finance & Investment – unlocks solutions within capital markets to address global climate change. ^[13]
• Centre for Financial Technology – studies the global impact of technology on finance, business and society. ^[14]
• Centre for Responsible Leadership – helps organisations redefine their approach to leadership. ^[15]
• Centre for Sectoral Economic Performance – improves the competitiveness of the UK economy and drives growth. ^[16]
• Gandhi Centre for Inclusive Innovation – connects innovation to organisations globally to create social impact. ^[17]
• Imperial Business Design Studio – studies how design thinking influences business performance and strategy. ^[18]
• Centre for Health Economics & Policy Innovation – analyses incentives and policy in healthcare. ^[19]
• Leonardo Centre on Business for Society – explores innovative business models for a net-positive impact on humanity. ^[20]

Rankings and reputation

Business school rankings
Europe MBA Rankings
QS (2025) [21]	7
FT (2025) [22]	10
Global MBA Rankings
QS (2025) [23]	18
FT (2025) [24]	39

Imperial Business School forms part of Imperial College London, which was ranked 2nd worldwide in the 2025 QS World University Rankings and 9th worldwide in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. ^{[25] [26]}

Imperial Business School is recognised for its hardworking entrepreneurial culture. ^[27]  The School’s programmes blend business education with the university’s strengths in science and technology. ^[27]

In the latest Research Excellence Framework, Imperial ranked 2nd in the UK for business and management studies. ^[2]

The 2025 QS MBA Rankings ranked the MBA programme 7th in Europe, and the Financial Times MBA Rankings ranked the MBA programme 10th in Europe. The QS MBA Rankings by Career Specialisation in entrepreneurship ranked the MBA programme 1st in Europe. ^{[3] [4]}

The 2025 QS Business Master's Rankings ranked the MSc Marketing 6th worldwide, the MSc Business Analytics 8th worldwide, the MSc Finance 14th worldwide and the MSc Management 15th worldwide.

In 2024, Imperial College London ranked 1st in the UK for careers (highly skilled employment or further studies) according to the Complete University Guide, the "Times" Good University Guide and the Guardian University Guide. ^{[28] [29] [30]} A 2021 analysis by the Higher Education Statistics Agency found that Imperial graduates have the highest median salaries across all subjects in the UK. ^[31]

People

Directors and deans

• 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

• 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)
• Jonathan Haskel, CBE, Professor of Economics
• 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

1. Imperial College London (27 June 2014). Royal Opening of Main Entrance and Imperial College Business School 2004 . Retrieved 23 May 2025– via YouTube.
2. "REF 2021: Business and management studies". Times Higher Education. 12 May 2022.
3. "Top 10 MBA programmes for a career in entrepreneurship". TopMBA.com. 16 April 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
4. "QS MBA by Career Specialisation Rankings 2023: Entrepreneurship". TopMBA.com. 18 November 2024.
5. "History of Imperial College Business School". Imperial College London.
6. "A History of Management Science at Imperial College (1955-1989)" (PDF). Pubsonline.informs.org.
7. "A History of Management Science at Imperial College (1955-1989)" (PDF). Pubsonline.informs.org.
8. Science, London School of Economics and Political. "History of the department". London School of Economics and Political Science. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
9. 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.
10. "White City Campus | Imperial College Business School". Imperial College London.
11. "White City Campus". Imperial College London. 4 June 2025. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
12. "Brevan Howard Centre for Financial Analysis". Imperial College Business School.
13. "Centre for Climate Finance & Investment". Imperial College Business School.
14. "Centre for Financial Technology". Imperial College Business School.
15. "Centre for Responsible Leadership". Imperial College Business School.
16. "Centre for Sectoral Economic Performance". Imperial College Business School.
17. "Gandhi Centre for Inclusive Innovation". Imperial College Business School.
18. "Imperial Business Design Studio". Imperial College Business School.
19. "Centre for Health Economics & Policy Innovation". Imperial College Business School.
20. "Leonardo Centre on Business for Society". Imperial College Business School.
21. "QS Europe MBA Rankings". QS.
22. "FT Europe MBA Rankings". FT.
23. "QS Global MBA Rankings". QS.
24. "FT Global MBA Rankings". FT.
25. "QS World University Rankings 2025". Top Universities. 13 September 2024.
26. "World University Rankings 2024". Times Higher Education. 25 September 2023.
27. Hall, Rachel (24 September 2022). "Imperial College London: inside the university that is in the business of studying". The Guardian.
28. "You're hired! Imperial grads are the most likely to get good job offers in the whole UK". The Tab. 7 June 2023. Archived from the original on 17 March 2024. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
29. "The Guardian University Guide 2024 – the rankings". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 15 December 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
30. szadmin (13 September 2013). "The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide: New recruits are not job ready according to survey". News UK. Archived from the original on 16 March 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
31. "UK Graduate Salaries 2021 – Highest Paid Graduates by UK University Ranking 2021 – UACU UK". 18 September 2021. Archived from the original on 17 March 2024. Retrieved 17 March 2024.

External links

• Official site
• Imperial College Business School History and architecture of the school building

51°29′57″N0°10′29″W / 51.4992°N 0.1748°W / 51.4992; -0.1748