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Motto | Imperial means Intelligent Business |
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Established | 2004 |
Parent institution | Imperial College London |
Accreditation | AACSB, EQUIS, AMBA |
Dean | Peter Todd |
Location | |
Website | imperial.ac.uk/business-school |
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.
History[edit]
In 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.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Goldsmiths_Extension_and_Main_Entrance_from_across_Exhibition_Road.jpg/220px-Goldsmiths_Extension_and_Main_Entrance_from_across_Exhibition_Road.jpg)
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.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Main-entrance.jpg/220px-Main-entrance.jpg)
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[edit]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/01/Royal_School_of_Mines_entrance_front_side%2C_Prince_Consort_Road%2C_looking_east_in_early_spring.jpg/220px-Royal_School_of_Mines_entrance_front_side%2C_Prince_Consort_Road%2C_looking_east_in_early_spring.jpg)
The 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]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/Translation_%26_Innovation_Hub%2C_White_City_North_Campus.jpg/170px-Translation_%26_Innovation_Hub%2C_White_City_North_Campus.jpg)
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 around five themes:
- Technological 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[edit]
Imperial 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 | |
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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 is recognized globally as a top-10 university. In the 2025 QS World University Rankings, Imperial ranked 2nd worldwide, behind MIT, tying its higher ever position.[13] Similarly, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked Imperial 8th worldwide and 3rd in Europe.[14]
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 research classified as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’.
The entrepreneurial culture at Imperial, which blends business with science, is supported by some of the best-resourced entrepreneurial facilities in the UK, and the largest entrepreneurial mentoring system in the country, modeled after MIT.[15] Its approach has translated into its Enterprise Lab having a startup survival rate of 79%, significantly higher than the typical 10% survival rate.[15][16]
In the 2024 QS rankings, Imperial's MBA programme was ranked 9th in Europe, and the Financial Times ranked it 10th in Europe.[17][18] The 2023 QS rankings placed Imperial's MBA programme as 3rd worldwide and 1st in Europe for career specilisation in entrepreneurship.[19]
In the 2024 QS rankings, Imperial’s master’s programmes were ranked 4th worldwide for marketing,[20] 6th worldwide for business analytics ,[21] 13th worldwide for finance,[22] and 14th worldwide for management.[23] Similarly, the Financial Times ranked Imperial 15th worldwide for a master's in finance.[24]
Imperial is also known for the high employability of its graduates. In 2024, it ranked 1st in the UK for highly skilled employment or further studies by the Complete University Guide, Guardian University Guide, and Times Good University Guide.[25][26][27] A 2021 analysis by the Higher Education Statistics Agency showed that Imperial graduates earned the highest median salaries of all UK universities, a testament to the quality and impact of their education.[28]
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 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.
- ^ Patel, Neil. "90% Of Startups Fail: Here's What You Need To Know About The 10%". Forbes. Retrieved 9 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: Marketing". 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