London Business School About This Guide The Clear Admit team has prepared this reference guide to London Business School (“London” or “LBS”) to assist you in your research of this program. Our comments are designed to be of use to individuals in all stages of the admissions pro- cess, providing information relevant to those who are deter- mining whether to apply to this program, looking for in-depth information for a planned application to LBS, preparing for an interview or deciding whether to attend. The guide is unique in that it not only addresses many aspects of life as a LBS MBA student and alumnus, covering school- specific programs in depth, but also compares LBS to other leading business schools across a range of criteria based on data from the schools, the scholarly and popular presses, and Clear Admit’s conversations with current MBA students, alum- ni, faculty and school administrators. We have normalized the data offered by each business school to allow for easy side- by-side comparisons of multiple programs. www.clearadmit.com © 2006-2015 Clear Admit, LLC. All rights reserved. Applying to business school? Learn more from Clear Admit! The Leading Independent Resource for Top-tier MBA Candidates Visit our website: www.clearadmit.com Stay up-to-date with the latest news on the world’s best business schools and sharpen your approach to your applications with insider advice on MBA admissions Want this information--and more exclusive content--delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our Newsletter Check out our unique offerings to guide you through every step of the admissions process... Publications Live Wire Interview Archive From a school’s curriculum Track the ebb and flow of Receive an invitation for an to universal admissions decisions with interview? We have col- b-school Live Wire: application re- lected thousands of in- strategy, sults in real time, submitted terview reports from MBA each of our by site visitors. candidates. Sort reports by publica- school and know what to tions series expect in your admissions provide a interview. centralized source of informa- tion that is crucial to an effective application. ...and come find us on social media Table of Contents | v Applying to business school? Learn more from Clear Admit! Contents 1 Introduction to LBS 1 Program Highlights . 1 Brief History of the MBA . 1 LBS History . .3 Student Demographics . .4 2 Academics 6 Academic Calendar . 6 Pre-Term . .7 Student Body . 8 Core Curriculum . 8 Visit our website: www.clearadmit.com Electives . .9 Language Requirement . 10 Stay up-to-date with the latest news on the world’s best business schools Accelerated MBA Options . 10 and sharpen your approach to your applications with insider advice on MBA admissions Curriculum Comparison . 11 Want this information--and more exclusive content--delivered straight to your inbox? Grading System . 12 Grade Non-Disclosure . 13 Sign up for our Newsletter Faculty . 13 3 Special Programs 15 First-Year Projects . 15 Second-Year Projects . 15 Global Business Experiences . 15 Management Report . 16 International Programs . 16 4 Life at LBS 17 Campus Spaces . 17 Life in London . 18 Regent’s Park . 18 The City of London . 19 Clubs . 20 Conferences . 22 www.clearadmit.com © 2006-2015 Clear Admit, LLC. All rights reserved. vi | Table of Contents 5 Life After LBS 24 Career Services . 24 Recruiting/Interview Procedures . 24 Career Statistics . 25 Industry . 25 Geography . 25 The UK Work Visa . 27 Alumni Network . 29 6 Admissions 30 Visiting LBS . 30 Outreach Events . 30 Application Requirements . 30 Interviewing with LBS . 31 Deadlines . 31 7 Financing the LBS MBA 32 Tuition & Expenses . 32 Financial Aid . 32 8 Appendix 34 Essay Topic Analysis . 34 Admissions Director Q&A . 36 9 Further Resources 39 Publications . 39 LBS Research Centers & Institutes . 39 Contact Information . 40 Social Media . 40 www.clearadmit.com © 2006-2015 Clear Admit, LLC. All rights reserved. Table of Contents | vii www.clearadmit.com © 2006-2015 Clear Admit, LLC. All rights reserved. Introduction | 1 Introduction to LBS 1 Program Highlights London Location – London is a center of the global economy at large and the finance industry in particular. As the European Union’s most populous city, London serves as an international travel hub; 75 percent of Fortune 500 corporations have head- quarters or branches here. Diversity – With no more than approximately one-quarter of the Class of 2016 drawn from any one region of the world, London Business School offers extraordinary exposure to a diversity of cultures, values and perspectives. Flexible Scheduling – London Business School is the only lead- ing MBA program to allow students to complete their degrees in 15, 18 or 21 months. Second-year students may also arrange their schedules so as to pursue a second internship or take a lighter course load in order to work alongside their studies. Experiential Learning – The school’s Organizational Audit and Global Business Experience, both of which are required of all students, allow MBA candidates to apply their classroom knowledge to real-world business situations, strengthening and expanding their professional networks in the process. Finance Career Placement – Twenty-eight percent of 2014 LBS graduates accepted positions in the financial services industry, a significantly higher percentage than at most leading Euro- pean business schools. Brief History of the MBA Originally conceived as an extra year of undergraduate train- ing in finance, economics and accounting, business schools shifted around the start of the 20th century to begin offering managerial training for the U.S.’s new industrialized compa- nies (see Figure 1.1). Their prestige grew throughout the Great Depression of the 1930s, when the research and train- ing generated by business schools was seen as a key to the country’s economic recovery. The unprecedented managerial needs of World War II further increased the demand for for- mal business education, and after the war, U.S. veterans used their G.I. Bill funding to finance their business studies and move into management jobs. By the 1950s, the MBA was a two-year, post-graduate pro- gram that turned business into a professional discipline on par www.clearadmit.com © 2006-2015 Clear Admit, LLC. All rights reserved. 2 | Clear Admit School Guide: London Business School Figure 1.1 Notable Developments in MBA History MBA Degree London Business School • Business schools are established in the U.S. to 1880s train managers for service in the new industrial- ized economy, especially the railroad industry. • Academic focus is on accounting and bookkeep- ing, and most professors are professionals in these fields. • Association of Collegiate Schools of Business is 1910s founded in 1916 to provide resources for the grow- ing number of U.S. business schools, which by 1919 enroll over 36,000 students. • On-campus recruiting by industry rises. 1920s • Curricula begin to include policy issues. • The research and training conducted by business 1930s schools during the Great Depression is seen as key to the U.S.’s economic revival, significantly raising public opinion of business schools. • World War II sharply increases demand for trained 1940s managers, and WWII veterans return to U.S. busi- ness schools in droves. • Most professors now hold Ph.D.s in business, and 1950s academic research begins to form the basis of business school curricula. • Strategic decision-making and quantitative and statistical analyses enter many curricula. 1960s • In 1963, Britain’s National Economic Development Council recommends establishing two high-level business schools in the United Kingdom. • London Business School is founded in 1964. • First classes take place in 1966. • MBA starting salaries rise 5-10% per year at some 1970s • Doctoral program is founded in 1970 with six full- schools, even during stagflation. time students. • Entrepreneurship enters most curricula. 1980s • Construction begins on the Plowden Building in 1981. • In 1987, London Business School begins offering the MBA. • Business schools focus on leadership, ethics and 1990s • In 1994, the school achieves its goal of drawing interpersonal skills, altering course content and in- more than 75 percent of the MBA class from out- creasing classroom emphasis on working in teams. side the United Kingdom. • High-profile corporate scandals prompt calls for 2000s • London Business School and Columbia Business greater ethics education in business schools. School form a partnership to offer the EMBA-Global • By 2004, 447,000 students are enrolled in U.S. degree in 2001. business programs. • Andrew Likierman becomes dean in 2008. 2010s • Lloyds Scholars MBA for Women Scholarship pro- gram offered in 2014. • LBS received the highest rating ever achieved by any department of business and management for the quality of its research output, according to the UK-wide Research Excellence Framework, in 2014. www.clearadmit.com © 2006-2015 Clear Admit, LLC. All rights reserved. Introduction | 3 with medicine and law, and the degree was seen as a ticket to a better, more secure career. The MBA continued increas- ing in popularity, from 21,000 business management master’s degrees awarded in the 1969-1970 academic year to 139,000 in 2003-2004. This rise came in conjunction with a growing demand for MBA graduates in the workplace and with rising starting salaries for those graduating from top schools. Since the early days of the MBA, there have been conflicts over the purpose of a business education. Initially, tension between a classical education in economics and more “practi- cal” training in business dominated the debate, and in some ways this remains the central conflict. Today, the tension be- tween theory and practice has increasingly taken center stage, as business school professors have become more academic and employers demand broader skill sets from MBA graduates. Most business schools, however, have designed programs that offer students exposure to both theory and practice – intern- ships, fieldwork and school-based consulting programs are widespread.