Imperial Business School is the business school of Imperial College London, a public research university in London, United Kingdom. The university's origins in business education trace to its first postgraduate business degree in 1955. Imperial Business School became the college's fourth faculty in 2003, with its building opened by Queen Elizabeth II the following year. The school's MBA is ranked first in Europe and third worldwide for entrepreneurship in the QS MBA by Career Specialisation Rankings.

History

In 1851, the Great Exhibition (the first World's Fair) was organised by Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria. Prince Albert had a vision to use the Great Exhibition's profits to build the Victoria and Albert Museum, Natural History Museum, Science Museum, Royal Albert Hall and colleges in South Kensington.

In 1907, Imperial College London was established by royal charter, unifying these colleges, 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 post-graduate course in business, an MSc in Production Engineering and Management.

In 1965, Imperial College London and the London School of Economics co-sponsored the founding of the London Business School.

thumb|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.

In 1987, a 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, Imperial Business School became the fourth Faculty of Imperial College London, alongside the Faculties of Natural Science, Medicine and Engineering.

In 2004, Queen Elizabeth II held a royal opening for Imperial's new business school.

In 2021, Imperial College London's new White City campus opened, providing additional space and facilities for innovation and entrepreneurship activities.

Facilities

thumb|Royal School of Mines

Translation & Innovation Hub|thumb|uprightImperial Business School is based at Imperial College London's South Kensington campus.

Its facilities were designed by Sir Norman Foster. The business school has a glass-fronted design that drew its inspiration from the Great Exhibition's all-glass Crystal Palace, reflecting the college's historical origins. The business school's glass design incorporates the Royal School of Mines wing, including its 19th-century vaults, blending modern and Victorian architecture.

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. Resources available to the business school include 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 primarily postgraduate education, including MBAs, master's, PhDs, and executive education, as well as undergraduate education.

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

The business school is organised into five academic areas: Analytics & Operations, Economics & Public Policy, Finance, Management & Entrepreneurship, and Marketing.

Research centres

The business school hosts a number of research centres and institutes:

  • Brevan Howard Centre for Financial Analysis – conducts research in financial economics.
  • Centre for Climate Finance & Investment – researches climate finance and sustainable investment.
  • Centre for Financial Technology – studies the role of technology in finance and society.
  • Centre for Health Economics & Policy Innovation – analyses incentives and policy in healthcare.
  • Centre for Responsible Leadership – researches leadership and organisational practice.
  • Centre for Sectoral Economic Performance – studies economic performance and competitiveness in the UK economy.
  • Gandhi Centre for Inclusive Innovation – researches inclusive innovation and its social impact.
  • Imperial Business Design Studio – studies the role of design thinking in business strategy and performance.
  • Leonardo Centre on Business for Society – researches sustainable and responsible business models.
  • Institute for Deep Tech Entrepreneurship – supports the creation of ventures based on scientific research.

Rankings and reputation

As one of four faculties composing Imperial College London, the business school's reputation has been closely related to that of its parent university. In 2026, Imperial College London ranked 2nd globally and 1st in Europe in the QS World University Rankings, and 8th globally and 3rd in Europe in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

In the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF), a national assessment of research in UK higher education, the business school ranked 2nd in the UK for business and management studies. MSc in Business Analytics 8th globally, MSc in Management 9th globally and MSc in Finance 14th globally.

In 2026, the school's MBA programme was ranked 8th in Europe by the QS MBA Rankings and 10th in Europe by the Financial Times MBA Rankings. In the most recent QS MBA Rankings, its MBA spcialisation in entrepreneurship was ranked 1st in Europe and 3rd worldwide. the Guardian University Guide and the Complete University Guide.

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)

Notable academic staff

  • Franklin Allen, Professor of Finance, Executive Director of the Brevan Howard Centre for Financial Analysis
  • Patrick Bolton, Professor of Finance, Research Director of the Centre for Climate Finance & Investment
  • 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
  • Ramana Nanda, Professor of Entrepreneurial Finance
  • David Shrier, Professor of Practice, AI & Innovation
  • George Yip, Emeritus Professor of Marketing and Strategy

References

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