Executive MBA
23 months
Applications for January 2025 entry are now closed
£76,500
Blended: London, UK and online
A first-class MBA preparing experienced professionals for executive leadership roles in a technology-driven world
This part-time Executive MBA programme is specially designed for business professionals looking to accelerate their career either within an existing trajectory or transitioning to a new business context or role. The programme is delivered through a combination of online and in-person teaching (blended learning) minimising the number of days you need to spend away from the office.
The Imperial Executive MBA ensures you develop strong leadership skills with our carefully-curated Executive Leadership Journey, and core modules to help you master fundamental business topics, preparing you for senior general management positions. In your second year, you will build upon this knowledge, gaining specialist skills and expertise through our wide range of elective modules. You will also complete one-week international residencies in both the USA and China to better understand the global business environment. With a focus on leadership, technology and building your global network our Executive MBA is your first-class ticket for success.
Study for your MBA at a world-leading university
Programme content
The Imperial Executive MBA is a part-time 23-month programme that allows you to apply your newly acquired knoweledge and skills immediately in the workplace. In your first year you will be required to come to campus every three to four weeks on a Friday and Saturday where you will attend four four-hour class sessions, ensuring an intensive and focused learning experience.
The curriculum covers a wide range of business topics and includes a business leader speaker series that will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of business principles and practices, as well as the analytical and strategic skills necessary for effective leadership.
This unique programme offers insight into game-changing technologies and their business applications, addressing ethical and societal implications. You will examine businesses tackling grand challenges, revealing strategies for impactful change. Our year-long Executive Leadership Journey will enhance your self-awareness to leverage your strengths and is supported by your personal career coach.
Your second year provides the opportunity to follow your particular interests and develop specialised knowledge and expertise via elective modules and a substantial individual project.
View 2025 timetable and on-campus dates.
Programme structure is subject to change and will be confirmed prior to the programme start date.
Online pre-study modules
Before the start of your programme, you will be expected to complete online pre-study modules, delivered via The Hub, our bespoke virtual learning environment. These include primers in key areas including data analysis, finance, accounting, maths, corporate sustainability, social innovation and ethics.
Induction week
Your Executive MBA induction will be spent at our South Kensington Campus in London, where you will meet with the rest of your cohort, faculty and programme staff.
This two-day induction will lay the foundations of your Executive MBA experience. As well as a programme introduction, you will partake in several lectures and activities to give you a taste for the programme, as well as attending a special welcome dinner.
Each core module is assessed via some combination of exam, coursework (either group or individual) and class participation.
Accounting and Corporate Reporting Analysis
Critical skills for business leaders include understanding the language of accounting and mastering financial analysis in day-to-day and strategic decision-making. This module will focus on the use of accounting for financial management and reporting, explaining the techniques of financial and management accounting, and examining their relevance to the broader issues of decision-making and management control in organisations. The module will give you insights into the way that business performance is measured, and how business decisions can be structured and analysed.
Corporate Finance
This module will provide you with a foundation in the theoretical tools to analyse modern financial markets and the decisions of corporate firms. The module covers a variety of topics in corporate finance, with a focus on how firms and individuals (investors) make financial decisions. We first want to understand the role that financial markets play in the economy; the role of financial intermediation. Then, the module is divided in two parts: valuation and capital structure.
The first part, valuation, focuses on how to create value of the left-hand side of the balance sheet (assets), i.e. explains how companies should select the assets they want to invest in. In more detail, we will cover an introduction to present value techniques; the basics of financial statements and cash flow calculation; investment rules and project evaluation. We will also cover the valuation of the main securities: bonds and stocks, including portfolio theory and CAPM.
The second part is about financing and risk management and investigates how companies finance their activities best. The aim is to understand what factors determine the “optimal” capital structure and how the interplay of those factors can affect financing decisions in a way that creates value on the right-hand side of the balance sheet.
Corporate Innovation and Intrapreneurship
The corporate innovation & intrapreneurship module offers you a unique opportunity to build your knowledge, skills and experience in understanding innovation at industry and company level and in setting up processes and procedures to foster corporate innovation. You will be guided through different strategies that are implemented by new ventures and in the live sessions we will discuss how corporates adopt ideas from the entrepreneurship community such as acceleration, incubation and venture capital as tools for corporate renewal. In addition, you will embark on a live experience through negotiating a term sheet, typically used in corporate entrepreneurship and venture capital environments.
Economics for Business
The aim of this module is to enable you to recognise and work with the tools and concepts that economists use to explain how market conditions are determined and how the economic environment influences business performance. The objective is to develop an understanding of economic forces and the ability to apply economic analysis to problems related to business strategy and managerial decision-making.
Game-changing Technologies and Grand Challenges
This module comprises two parts. The first enables you to understand enough about selected Game-Changing Technologies to be able to productively engage in the identification of business applications. The first part also sensitises you to important ethical and societal issues raised by some of these new technologies. The second part allows you to explore how a number of businesses have sought to make an impact in the context of a 'grand challenge'. You will discover some of the levers that can be used to drive real impact and change.
Please note, this module runs over both terms 1 and 2.
Marketing Management
Among business disciplines, marketing is the primary contact point between a business and its customers. Appreciating customer needs and how to marshal the resources of an organisation to meet those needs are crucial skills in today’s business world. This module develops a general management approach to making, planning and evaluating marketing decisions, from both strategic and tactical perspectives.
You will learn how marketing decisions contribute to overall business performance and how they are affected by organisational and environmental influences. We will define and explore fundamental marketing terms, concepts, principles, ideas and theories. We will discuss the role of marketing in an organisation, explore the link between marketing and customer value creation. You will learn how to think critically about marketing, how to use the marketing toolkit to gain competitive advantage, learn about the product life cycle and how to build customer relationships, as well as retain their loyalty. We will talk about branding, channels and promotions, and explore the opportunities presented by traditional and digital marketing communications.
Organisational Behaviour
This module covers the major factors that shape organisational behaviour and effectiveness. We will analyse organisational behaviour at three levels - the micro (individual), the meso (team), and the macro (organisational) - and examine how activities at each of these three levels enable organisational performance and effectiveness.
You will learn key concepts to improve organisational performance and acquire necessary tools to design organisations that function effectively in unpredictable environments. You will develop analytical, problem-solving and leaderships skills, and come to understand the dynamics that affect individuals in organisations, including culture, decision-making, group conflict, power structures, and wider social dynamics.
Responsible Leadership and Corporate Success
The module will focus on a number of themes and will involve a blend of activities. We start the module studying individual aspects of leadership and as the module progresses, we will pay more attention to organisation-based aspects, finishing off with sessions for personal action planning. All through the module we will keep coming back to the question of ethical responsibilities and spend time thinking through the challenge of responsible leadership.
By the end of our time together, you will not only have a more thorough awareness of the personal and social characteristics that shape you as a leader, but you will have a firm contract for moving forward with your personal leadership action plan. Thus, this module should be thought of as an initial assessment of your position at the beginning of what is going to be a stimulating personal, group and academic journey.
Strategy
This module primarily focuses on ‘business strategy’: where and how a single business company or a business unit of a larger corporation competes in its business. The module will also, however, provide an introduction to ‘corporate strategy’ which is about how multi-business corporations should make decisions around the scope of the businesses in their portfolio and how they should manage them.
The prime focus is on firms participating in competitive markets, though some of the ideas can also be applied to other kinds of organisations, for example in the not-for-profit sector. While the primary focus of the module is on developing the ability to assess if a strategy is likely to be successful, it will also devote some time to exploring how managers can come up with ideas for new or improved strategies. In addition it will look briefly at the organisational process of strategy development and strategy implementation.
There are many different ways to approach an understanding of business (and corporate) strategy. This module is based on a framework which sees the role of a strategy in terms of (1) creating value and (2) capturing value. We will discuss how this core framework relates to other well-known frameworks such as Porter’s five forces and Blue/Red Oceans. We will also discuss why having an explicit strategy can be both a blessing and a curse – which explains why successful firms often subsequently fail.
1. Online modules
2. Two-week: Monday & Tuesday (week 1), Thursday & Friday (week 2)
3. Weekend: Thursday afternoon, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning
4. IB Glocal Electives: intense study abroad programmes led by Business School faculty
Electives use coursework and class participation for assessment. You can also apply to sit in on an additional two electives for which you will not be assessed.
Analytics and Operations
Big Data, AI & Machine Learning (On-campus)
Business Analytics (On-campus)
Project Management (On-campus)
Data Analytics and Visualisation for Business
Operations Management (Online)
Entrepreneurship and Innovation
AI Ventures (On-campus)
Digital Business Model Design (On-campus)
Entrepreneurial Finance and Venture Capital (On-campus)
The Entrepreneurial Journey
Leading Social Innovation (On-campus)
Venture Capital Finance (Online)
Mastering Foundational Entrepreneurial Skills
Responsible Digital Innovation: Ethics at Work
Finance
Asset Management (On-campus)
Finance for Net Zero
The Fintech Revolution: New Markets, Models and Opportunities (On-campus)
Finance in Cleantech
Entrepreneurial Finance and Venture Capital (On-campus)
Mergers and Acquisitions (On-campus and online)
Pricing Strategy (On-campus)
Private Equity (On-campus)
Venture Capital Finance (Online)
Leadership and Organisation
Decision Making for Leaders
Family Business (On-campus)
Leadership (On-campus)
Leading and Executing Strategic Change (On-campus)
Leading Social Innovation (On-campus)
Managing Negotiations
Strategy and Leadership in a Digital World (On-campus)
Marketing
Brand Management (On-campus)
Consumer Behaviour (On-campus)
Technologies in Marketing
Marketing Analytics (On-campus)
Pricing Strategy (On-campus)
Sustainable Marketing & Consumption
Strategy
Breakout Strategy (On-campus)
Business Problem Solving
Climate Change and Business Strategy (On-campus)
Energy Business (On-campus)
Global Strategy (online)
Strategic Networking (On-campus)
Strategy and Leadership in a Digital World (On-campus)
Sustainability and Competitive Advantage (On-campus)
Advanced Strategy in a Stakeholder Economy (Online)
Digital Business (Online)
You will be expected to complete approximately eight hours of online material per module prior to each campus weekend. Each block of preparation is split into manageable chunks of up to one-hour which can be completed at a time and pace that best suits you. Throughout the online preparation blocks, there are discussion points which will be drawn upon during the in-class sessions, ensuring a direct connection between learning online and on campus.
Executive Leadership Journey
The year-long Executive Leadership Journey will enhance your awareness of your own and other’s strengths. Working closely with a careers consultant throughout the programme, you will develop a plan for your future career trajectory, learning about yourself and developing key leadership skills.
Whether you hope to accelerate your career within your current organisation, or create opportunities for a change in direction, the Executive Leadership Journey offers an invaluable opportunity to maximise your potential.
Final Project
The Final Project is a formal report consisting of up to 15,000 words, completed in year two of the programme. It is your opportunity to solve a real business problem facing either your existing employer or an industry of interest.
One of the most important elements of leadership is the ability to create, propose and defend ideas that add value, solve problems or leverage untapped opportunities. During the Final Project, you will demonstrate your analytical skills, offering a strategy and implementation plan, adding real value to your employer at the highest level. This is an excellent way to show your decision-making and leadership skills, illustrating your potential as a senior business leader.
International residencies
You will complete two international residencies as part of your elective modules, visiting top business schools and organisations and gaining first-hand experience of international business contexts in other countries. Our international residency locations include:
Doing business with China
This is a one-week residency at a top business school in China. Its purpose is to enable students to appreciate what it takes to do business there, to work with Chinese companies and to develop supply chains.
The module also provides a perspective on the modern-day role of China in the world and highlights the ways that the country has become an innovator, especially in consumer digital business. The module involves lectures, company visits and group project work.
Technology and innovation in the US
The US continues to lead in technology-based entrepreneurship and this provides the focus of the trip, though we will also cover the US economy and 'doing business in the US'.
Watch a video about the US residency here.
Future destinations for the Executive MBA residencies are subject to change. Imperial College Business School reserves the right to alter the locations when required.
Please note that whilst the School covers teaching, accommodation, local travel and some meals, you will be required to pay for flights, transfers and other meals.
Global Experience Week
Taking place over the summer term, Global Experience Week is an unforgettable opportunity that MBA students look forward to each year. You’ll learn about the challenges faced by local organisations, and how a country’s business environment affects the way they operate.
Past Global Experience Weeks have included the Nordics, where students explored how businesses can be transformed to tackle climate action.
You will choose from the following locations aligned with our key topics:
Brazil – Market Trends in the Marvellous City
Kenya – How can business address inequality?
The cost of this trip is not included in your tuition fees.
IB Glocal Electives
Optional four-day international experiences giving you the opportunity to explore contemporary global business problems with a local perspective. Gain valuable insights into international issues in a particular geography and benefit from the in-market exposure and teaching the trips provide. These trips are shared across the MBA portfolio giving you the opportunity to build new connections. Previous locations have included Houston, Milan, Singapore.
Sustainable Transformation Made in Italy
The Future of Cities
Sales Management and Leadership
The cost of this trip is not included in your tuition fees.
Global exchanges
The optional Global Exchanges programme allows you to increase your international exposure and build your network by taking advantage of specialised electives at one of our partner schools.
Admissions
Applications for the January 2025 intake are now closed. Sign up to our mailing list to receive updates for the next intake.
Discover our admissions process for the Executive MBA including entry requirements, how to apply and key dates and deadlines.
We operate a staged admissions process with several deadlines throughout the year. This programme is highly competitive, so early application is advised; this will put you in a stronger position to be considered for a scholarship, and provide access to exclusive admitted students events.
Fees and funding
Choosing to pursue an MBA is one of the most important decisions you will make and is a substantial investment in yourself.
Many of our students fund their studies through multiple funding sources. We offer a wide range of awards, including a number of full scholarships to the most talented applicants. We’ve also provided information about the different financing options available to you.
What our students say
“The Business School's strong network of alumni, industry connections, and corporate partnerships has provided invaluable opportunities for networking, mentorship, and accessing new career prospects.”
Class of 2024-25
Meet the classMastering the MBA Application Process
8 January 2025
12.00 - 13.00
Online, webinar
Gain insider knowledge from our MBA Recruitment & Admissions team on how to craft an application that shines.
Whether you're aiming for our Full-Time MBA or exploring part-time options, this session will equip you with the tools and strategies to navigate the admissions process with confidence.
Next steps
Career impact
As an Executive MBA student, you get complete access to Careers, including a personal career coach, throughout your studies and beyond. Whether you are pursuing an MBA to accelerate progression in your current industry or you wish to make a transition, Careers will provide extensive support and resources to support you on your MBA journey.
(Financial Times Executive MBA Ranking 2021)
“My Executive MBA journey is giving me the knowledge and the skills needed to become a better leader. This programme shows that it takes time, effort, and willingness to continue learning to identify my leadership style and improve my communication skills.”
Meet your faculty
Our faculty are thought-leaders in the field of business. They combine theoretical knowledge from their cutting-edge research with the latest practical insights from their extensive work with industry and government. The majority of our Executive MBA faculty are doctorate-degree holders with experience of consulting or working for major companies such as the Boston Consulting Group, BP, EDF, Ernst & Young, the European Commission and more.
James Barlow
Michael Nowlis
Celia Moore
Kevin Corley
Omar Merlo
Start your MBA journey today
FAQs
To be eligible to apply for the programme, you would normally require:
- Ten years’ relevant postgraduate work experience; in exceptional circumstances, we will consider candidates with over eight years’ experience who can demonstrate strong significant management experience
- You will need at least a UK Second Class Honours or international equivalent or an acceptable professional qualification
- English language test results (if applicable).
More information about entry requirements can be found here.
We accept a wide range of international qualifications for postgraduate study at Imperial.
We've provided general guidance in the country and region index on how qualifications awarded by public institutions overseas may satisfy our minimum academic admission requirements.
We review our requirements annually. Updates usually happen in September each year before the next academic year of entry.
If your country or region is not listed, please contact the relevant Admissions team for further information.
Applications to the Executive MBA are made online – we do not accept paper applications.
Please refer to the how to apply section of our Admissions page to see which documents you are required to submit with your application.
We operate a staged admissions process with several deadlines throughout the year. This programme is highly competitive, so early application is strongly advised. You will receive a decision on your application within four weeks of submitting a complete application.
Please email the Executive MBA Admissions team if you would like feedback on your application. Please note that whilst limited feedback can be provided, the decision of the academic selectors is final and it will not be possible for your application to be reconsidered.
GMAT / GRE is not required for admission to this programme.
However, if you have if you have already sat or intend to take GMAT (old or new test) or GRE, you are welcome to submit your results as a good score overall can add weight to your application – particularly if you feel that your degree performance does not reflect your academic potential.
To submit a GMAT score, you must request for it to be sent to Imperial College Business School using the code S22-7S-16.
The Executive MBA is a 23-month programme. In your first year of study, you will attend lectures at our campus in South Kensington, London for two days every month, a residency in China and a three-day study trip to a European city. In the second year, you will complete electives, a residency in the United States and a final project. Please refer to the Programme page for more information on class timetables.
For each module, you will be expected to complete approximately 12-20 hours of class time plus three additional hours for every one hour in the classroom.
Our programmes are intensive periods of study. Contact hours form only part of the activity that you will be asked to undertake. You will be required to devote time to preparing for lectures, undertaking background reading, working in groups, completing assessments (both individual and in groups), revising for exams etc.
A significant amount of time will also need to be allocated to career planning and development as well as becoming an active contributor to the Business School community. This is not an exhaustive list but provides you with a flavour of what you can expect from your time as a student at Imperial College Business School.
For information on the fee and deposit amount, please visit the Admissions page
Self-funded students will have the option of selecting to pay their fees in instalments. This option will be made available at the time of responding to your offer. For further information about the instalment plan, please contact our Tuition Fee team.
There are a number of scholarships available to Executive MBA candidates.
To be considered for an award, you must submit your MBA application before the deadline listed under the specific scholarship page. To receive notifications about scholarship deadlines and programme news, please join our mailing list.
Please note that specific scholarship schemes may have earlier application deadlines, so please ensure that you check the details on the Scholarships webpage carefully before applying.
Please be aware that you do not need to submit a separate scholarship application to be considered for an award; all applications received by the stated deadline will be considered. Scholarship decisions will be made in conjunction with your Executive MBA application decision.
Students may also obtain other sources of funding. A list of potential funding sources can be found on the financing your MBA page.
Please contact the Tuition Fees team with any queries you have regarding the Careers and Professional Development Loan.
Please contact the Tuition Fees team with any queries regarding your deposit or tuition fee invoice.
If you are being sponsored by an organisation that will be responsible for paying your tuition fees, you must provide acceptable proof of the award.
Satisfactory evidence of sponsorship is usually regarded as an original, dated and duly authorised letter from your sponsor on headed paper which includes the following:
- Your name and College Identifier Number
- The programme for which you have been offered a place
- The amount of fees which will be paid by your sponsor (please report in GBP)
- The address to which the invoice should be sent
- Any Purchase Order Number required
- Confirmation that the fees will be sent directly to Imperial College
Sponsorship letters should be emailed to both the MBA Admissions team and Tuition Fees team to the following email addresses: emba@imperial.ac.uk and tuition.fees@imperial.ac.uk
A student visa is not required for this programme. A short-term study visa is required for the on-campus periods of the programme if you are an international student from a country outside the EU or EEA. If you are made an offer for a place on the Executive MBA, our team will provide all the relevant visa information and guide you through the process.
The Business School holds online information sessions throughout the year to give you the opportunity to learn more about the programmes from the Programme Director, current students and alumni. Please refer to the Recruitment events and webinars page to find out when the next event is being held.
The Business School is located on the South Kensington campus of Imperial College London. Please refer to the location page for our address and guidance on how to get here.
My Executive MBA International Residency experience: Doing Business with China
Stuart Beards, Executive MBA alum (2023) reflects on his experience on our one-week residency in China. The purpose of this residency is to enable students to appreciate what it takes to do business there, to work with Chinese companies and to develop supply chains.
Meet the Executive MBA class of 2024-25
In February, we welcomed the newest additions to our Executive MBA programme at Imperial College Business School. These ambitious individuals have commenced their transformative 22-month journey, dedicated to honing their leadership skills and broadening their global business acumen.
Mastering the juggle: balancing my Executive MBA studies and a full-time career with finesse
Moumita Mukhopadhyay, Executive MBA student shares how she manages her studies alongside her job. She provides tips on staying motivated and avoiding burnout.