Warwick Business School


Warwick Business School is the business school of the University of Warwick and an academic department within the Faculty of Social Sciences. It was established in 1967 as the School of Industrial and Business Studies. The business school offers undergraduate, and postgraduate degree programs, and non-degree executive education for individuals and companies.
WBS's main site is on the University of Warwick campus in Coventry. WBS also has a London site, located in The Shard in Southwark, which concentrates on executive education.
WBS alumni include Linda Jackson, CEO of Peugeot and former CEO of Citroën, and Bernardo Hees, former CEO of Kraft Heinz and of Burger King.
WWW wbs.ac.uk

History

Warwick's School of Industrial and Business Studies was founded in 1967, with five academic staff including Hugh Clegg as the first Professor of Industrial Relations, and 24 postgraduate students on three courses. The first master's courses were launched in 1968, and undergraduate courses started in 1969. In 1973, WBS joined the Conference of University Management Schools, which had been established in 1971.
In 1981, the MSc in Management was renamed the MBA. In 1985 WBS launched an evening MBA and this was followed in 1986 by an MBA by distance learning. By 1987, the department had grown to over 100 staff, 815 students and 11 programs. In 1988, SIBS was renamed Warwick Business School. In 1997, the staff tally was over 260, with 3,160 students across 17 programs. In 2007, there were a total of 304 staff and over 7,500 students on 26 courses.
In 2000, WBS became the first UK business school to hold triple accreditation from the Association of MBAs, the EFMD Quality Improvement System and from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.
In September 2014, WBS opened a second site on the 17th floor of the Shard in Southwark, London, to teach part-time MSc Finance, MSc Human Resource Management and Executive MBA courses.

Academic profile

Research

In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, Warwick was ranked joint fifth out of 108 institutions on grade point average for business and management studies, with a GPA of 3.51. It was ranked fourth for research power and third for market share. It was fifth in terms of full time equivalent staff entered, with 158 research-active academics.

Accreditation

WBS holds triple accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the Association of MBAs and the EFMD Quality Improvement System, and also holds an Athena SWAN Gold award.

Admission

The school's selection criteria for the full-time MBA encompass candidates' academic achievements, professional experience and test scores, with essay questions being used to assess whether candidates demonstrate critical thinking skills and strategic knowledge. WBS had a median GMAT score of 660 and an average admission rate of 33%. A typical demographic ratio on the distance-learning MBA in 2015 was: 36% British, 14% EU and 50% non-EU.

Partnerships

Warwick Business School is a member of the Partnership in International Management network.

Notable people

Academic staff

Alumni

Deans

Until 1998, the school was led by a chair elected by the academics. Since then, it has been led by an appointed dean.
  • Brian Houlden
  • Roger Fawthrop
  • Derek Waterworth
  • Robert Dyson
  • Thom Watson
  • Sir George Bain
  • Robin Wensley
  • Bob Galliers
  • Robert Dyson
  • Howard Thomas
  • Mark P. Taylor
  • Andy Lockett