Imperial College 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
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.

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. 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.

In 1971, a Department of Management Science was created. 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. 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.

In 2008, the business school drops the Tanaka name and becomes Imperial College Business School.

In 2021, Imperial's White City Campus was opened.

Campus
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.

Academics
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.

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
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
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. Similarly, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked Imperial 8th worldwide and 3rd in Europe.

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. Its approach has translated into its Enterprise Lab having a startup survival rate of 79%, significantly higher than the typical 10% survival rate.

In the 2024 QS rankings, Imperial's MBA programme was ranked 9th in Europe, and the Financial Times ranked it 10th in Europe. The 2023 QS rankings placed Imperial's MBA programme as 3rd worldwide and 1st in Europe for career specilisation in entrepreneurship.

In the 2024 QS rankings, Imperial’s master’s programmes were ranked 4th worldwide for marketing, 6th worldwide for business analytics, 13th worldwide for finance, and 14th worldwide for management. Similarly, the Financial Times ranked Imperial 15th worldwide for a master's in finance.

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. 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.

Directors and deans
* Interim
 * 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)

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)
 * 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