Warwick Business School

Warwick's School of Industrial and Business Studies (SIBS) was founded in 1967, with Brian Houlden as Chair, a total of five academic staff and 24 students across three programmes (MSc Management & Business Studies, MSc Management Science & Operational Research, Doctoral programme). It quickly gained a reputation for excellent research, particularly in the field of industrial relations. The Industrial Relations Research Unit, founded by Hugh Clegg in 1970 focused on achieving a better understanding of workplace industrial relations in general and workplace trade unionism in particular, in a time when the UK was perceived to suffer greatly from industrial strife and poor economic performance.

In 1981, the MSc in Management was renamed the Warwick MBA. At its 20th anniversary in 1987, SIBS was renamed Warwick Business School. The department had grown to over 100 staff, 815 students and 11 programs. In 1997, following expansion of the distance learning MBA in particular, the staff tally was over 260, with 3,160 students across 17 programs.

In 2000, a new Executive MBA teaching centre was opened, the first of four phases of development of new premises for WBS. Further phases opened in 2001 and 2006, increasing the teaching capacity of WBS dramatically. This was followed by aggressive recruitment of academic faculty. In 2006, there were a total of 319 staff and 7,539 students across 25 degree programs, from over 100 countries worldwide.

In September 2014, WBS opened a second campus in The Shard Tower in London to teach its MSc Finance, MSc Human Resource Management and Employment Relations along with its Executive MBA courses.[10]

In August 2015, WBS opened Phase 3b of its Scarman Road building on The University of Warwick campus. The £30m extension [11] houses a 292-seat lecture theatre with a removable stage, a 120-seat lecture theatre which contains swivel chairs to allow for group work, a Behavioural Science Laboratory, a 150-seater café, nine seminar rooms, undergraduate and post-graduate learning spaces and four open plan offices for management and support staff plus a new reception.

Warwick Business School is consistently recognised as one of the world's leading research institutions in business and management. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework more than 80 per cent of WBS's research output has been judged ‘World Leading’ or ‘Internationally Excellent’.[12] The 2008 Research Assessment Exercise positioned Warwick in the top ranks for business and management research [13][14] WBS is included in the worlds Top 100 Business Schools that prioritize sustainability education by supporting core curriculum choices, dedicated institutes, and relevant faculty research.[15] WBS is also included in the UTD Top 100 worldwide business school rankings based on research contributions.[16] Its one of only 3 UK business schools to be awarded the top five-star (5*) research rating by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the others being London Business School and Lancaster School of Management.[17] WBS is a founding member of The Academy of Business in Society where primary research can be applied directly into business practises.

As of 2016, 100% of the WBS academic faculty have a doctoral degree, 54% are active researchers in the top 45 academic and practitioner journals whilst 76% are international academics.[18][19] All academics are members of a teaching subject group, a research centre or unit, and often both. Each teaching subject group has a group convenor or head, and devolved group management. Each research centre has a director, and has similarly devolved management. Research centres may have a board with external representation to ensure practical relevance of research strategy.

In 2000, WBS became the first UK business school to hold Triple accreditation: The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business AACSB, the Association of MBAs AMBA and the European Quality Improvement System EQUIS. [53][54][55]

With a median GMAT score of 660 and an average admission rate of 29%, Warwick remains highly selective.[56] However, the school strategically seeks for critical thinking skills along with creativity in its applicant pool while maintaining a very robust international outlook.[57] A typical ratio on the MBA is 36% British, 14% EU and 50% non-EU while the median age is 31.[58] Crucially, the make-up of each MBA cohort includes a mix of skills as the school holistically investigates candidate profiles including academics, professional experience and test scores and not any one factor in isolation.[59][60][61]

Warwick Business School is a member of the Partnership in International Management network (PIMS).[62]

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• Warwick Business School