Applying to Imperial College Business School

How to apply

Note: this guidance is for MBA, MSc and PhD programmes only.

Thank you for considering applying to Imperial College Business School. If you decide to apply and your application is successful, you’ll be joining one of the world’s leading universities which attracts faculty members and students of the highest calibre. We very much hope you decide to join us.

All applications are made online. We’ve tried to make it as easy as possible, allowing you to complete the application form at your own pace. You can login at any time to continue working on your application or check your work before submitting the forms. Help and instructions are provided by the online system during each step of the application process.

Supporting documents should be attached electronically to your application, reducing the possibility of paperwork being lost in the post. Once you have submitted your online application there is no need to send a hard copy of your application form.

All of our taught postgraduate programmes require payment of an application processing fee before an application can be submitted. The application processing fee is £150 for MBA applications and £100 for MSc programmes. Please pay this fee by credit card using the secure online payment system. There is no application processing fee for the Doctoral programme.

Application Guidelines

Before starting your application, please ensure that you have familiarised yourself with our programme entry requirements. Applications that do not meet our minimum requirements will not be considered.

Starting your application

To begin your application you simply create an account with a personal login and password. You can then login at any time to continue working on your documents.

Selecting your programme

Before accessing the main application form you need to choose the programme you are applying for. If you are applying for the Doctoral Programme please select Business [1+3] (MRes 1YFT) from the list of options. All subsequent questions are then tailored to your chosen programme. Please make sure that you familiarise yourself with the programme entry requirements (see the programme section of our website).

Submit your application

You will need to complete the generic sections of the application form including your personal contact details, education and work history.

Career planning questions (for MBA and MSc applications)

In the career planning questions you will need to show you have thought about the type of employer you want to work for immediately after graduating and have researched your target organisation(s) and role. You will also need to demonstrate you have the necessary skills and experience to succeed in your chosen role. If planning to set up your own business, you will need to outline what expertise or product your business will deliver and that you have researched the market. Whilst we want our students to hit the ground running, we understand that you will also be looking to develop gaps in your skillset to prepare for your chosen career and you will need to address this in the career planning questions.

Once you have completed all sections of the form and paid your application processing fee you can submit your application. You should not submit a hardcopy of your application. Sending hard copies of online applications will cause processing delays.

In order to avoid unnecessary delays you must upload all documentation required, as we cannot process incomplete applications.

References

To save you time, you simply need to provide the email addresses for two referees who are then contacted automatically and asked to complete an electronic reference once your application is submitted. The system provides each referee with a login and password by email which they use to complete the reference online. Please make sure you supply your referee’s official Academic or Professional email address as we cannot accept references sent from personal accounts such as G-mail, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.

Uploading your documents

As part of the application process you will need to upload scanned copies of the following documents:

  • Full curriculum vitae (CV): Please ensure that you provide details of your work experience.
  • Official transcripts of all degrees to date (including any not yet completed): Please ensure that you provide full detailed copies of your transcripts outlining all the modules you have studied and marks achieved. If you submit transcripts that are not in English you will also need to include translations of these.
  • Personal Statement: A short written statement (maximum 1,000 words) outlining your motivations for applying to Imperial and your programme of choice.
  • Any other supporting documents (if applicable): Copies of any other relevant documents such as language test results, professional awards and qualifications, GMAT results etc.

You should not send original copies of these documents at the initial stage of application.

Please note that your application will not be considered complete until you have submitted your application and provided all the necessary documents. If you are applying for an application deadline, please ensure you have both submitted your application and provided all your supporting documents by the deadline.

Getting help with your application

If you experience any technical problems with the online application system please contact technical support by clicking on the help link within the system to access their frequently asked questions and contact details.

Some of our programmes have application deadlines.  Please refer to your programme of interest to see if this applies to you.

Thank you for taking the time to read these instructions. We wish you all the best with your application, and hope we’ll be able to welcome you onto one of our programmes.