| Imperial College Business School | |
| Motto: | Imperial means Intelligent Business |
| Established: | 2004 |
| Head Label: | Dean |
| 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 school cultivates innovative thinking and responsible leadership, preparing its students to drive global impact.
In 1851, the Great Exhibition, the first World's Fair, was 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, unifying 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 launched an MSc in Operational Research and Management Studies. In 1964, executive education short courses were first given 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.[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 introduced. 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.[5]
In 2008, the business school dropped the Tanaka name and became Imperial College Business School.[6]
In 2021, Imperial's White City Campus was opened.
The business school is on Imperial College London's main campus in South Kensington. Its modern glass architecture drew 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]
The business school offers undergraduate and postgraduate education, including a Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master’s degrees, Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD), and executive education.[8]
The business school is focused around five themes:
Imperial operates the following research centres:
| Qsglobal: | 20 |
| Ft: | 39 |
| Qse: | 9 |
| Fte: | 10 |
Imperial College Business School is a part of Imperial College London, ranked one of the top 10 universities in the world. The 2025 QS World University Rankings placed Imperial 2nd worldwide, behind MIT, and the Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked it 8th worldwide.
The business school is known for its entrepreneurial culture that merges business disciplines with a rigorous science-based curriculum. The university is also known for its fast-pace and high work load, which some have found challenging. The business school features some of the UK's best-resourced entrepreneurial facilities and the largest entrepreneurial mentoring system inspired by MIT.[9] The Enterprise Lab, with a 79% startup company survival rate, highlights the school’s commitment to practical learning and innovation.[10]
The 2023 QS MBA Rankings by Career Specialisation for Entrepreneurship ranked Imperial's MBA programme 3rd worldwide and 1st in Europe.[11] The 2024 QS MBA Rankings ranked Imperial's MBA programme 9th in Europe, and the Financial Times ranked it 10th in Europe.
The 2024 QS Business Masters Rankings ranked Imperial 4th worldwide for a Master's in Marketing, 6th worldwide for Business Analytics, 13th worldwide for Finance, and 14th worldwide for Management. The 2024 Financial Times also ranked Imperial 15th worldwide for a Master's in Finance.
In the latest Research Excellence Framework, the business school was ranked 2nd in the UK for business and management research.[12] [13]
In 2024, Imperial was ranked 1st in the UK for highly skilled employment or further studies, according to the Complete University Guide, the Guardian University Guide, and the Times Good University Guide.[14] [15] [16] A 2021 analysis by the Higher Education Statistics Agency found that Imperial graduates have the highest median salaries across all subjects in the UK.[17]
*Interim