London Business School: Eshkolot’s Guide to the LBS MBA Program
December 2016
Table of Contents
Location 2
Transportation 2
Student & Campus Life 3
Class Size & Demographics 3
Work Experience 4
Graduate Placement 4
Post-MBA Salaries 6
Program Summary 6
Year One 6
Year Two 8
Alumni Base 10
Notable LBS professors 11
Financing the MBA 13
Location
London Business School (LBS) is the graduate business school of the University of London. It is located
next to Regents Park, in the centre of London.
There are no halls of residence on site, however university housing is available, although spaces are
limited. The University of London Accommodation Office (ULAO) offers a range of services to help
students find housing in London. The school has a quota of places at both University Intercollegiate
Halls, and International Student House (ISH). ISH is very popular as it is conveniently located in Regent's
Park so early application is advised.
Alternatively, students can rent in the following areas which are close to the school – Marylebone,
Regents Park, St John’s Wood. Living in these areas will cost over £1,500 per month for a 1-bedroom
apartment, though there are many other great areas to live in London which are located further away
from the city centre which will reduce costs, as will sharing an apartment with roommates.
Transportation
There are various options to get around London without the need for a car:
Buses – Buses run 24 hours and are conveniently located in most streets – it is just a case of checking
which services go where.
Tube – The tube is one of the most popular options for fast and convenient travel between districts
throughout the city. The closest underground stations to the school are Baker Street and Marylebone.
Train – Overground trains are run by National Rail for travel to destinations in London and England. The
nearest station to the school is Marylebone.
Coaches – Coaches are run by the National Express for trips in and around the city. They have various
student travel card schemes which reduce ticket costs.
Air – The city of London has five major airports, with flights to Europe and worldwide. The busiest and
most popular airports for those travelling to the centre of London are London Heathrow and London
Gatwick.
Student & campus life
Being based in London, there is a multitude of things for students to get involved with, both on and off
campus. LBS students can really make the most of living in the capital, experiencing London’s culture,
nightlife, theatres, football stadiums, museums, cuisine, festivals, parks and much more.
The school has over 70 student-run clubs that are based on a wide variety of professional, regional,
athletic and social interests. For example, students who plan to enter the field of asset management can
join the Investment Management Club, and participate in club events such as company visits, a guest
speaker series, and a stock pitch competition. The club also holds workshops on topics ranging from
interviews to alternative investment strategies.
There are also over 25 sports clubs that compete in tournaments around the world. The Cycling Club
holds weekly bike rides at Regent’s Park that are open to all skill levels, as well as mountain biking and
road biking trips to destinations throughout England.
Student clubs at LBS organise several conferences on campus each year. These include the Energy Club’s
annual Global Energy Summit, the Women in Business Club’s annual Women in Business Conference,
and the annual India Business Forum.
Additionally, LBS students compete every year in case and business plan competitions. Some, like the
London Entrepreneurs’ Challenge, are sponsored by LBS students, whereas others, such as the CFA
Global Investment Research Challenge, allow students the opportunity to compete internationally.
Class size & demographics
The LBS class of 2018 has 425 students, 35% of which are female students. In comparison to class sizes
in B-schools in America, this number falls somewhere in the middle. For example, Harvard, which boasts
one of the largest class sizes in the US, typically has 900 students per class, whereas on the other side of
the scale, UC Berkeley has around 240 students.
LBS students come from all over the world, with (in the class of 2018) only 10% of the class coming from
the UK, and 70 different countries represented. Compared to B-schools in the US, LBS students speak
more languages, with 59 languages spoken in a single MBA class, and they have more international
experience than the average student at a top US B-school.
Work experience
More than half of the class of 2018 come from the consulting and finance industries, consisting of 27%
and 26% of the student body. However, in addition, students come from a variety of different industries
including media, the military, sport, IT, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, retail, healthcare and not-for-profit
sectors.
The average amount of work experience of the class of 2018 is 5 years, however LBS does accept
students with less experience. Participants from some countries may have less work experience than the
average since their undergraduate study may be longer than others and/or national service has meant
they started work later than others.
Admission may be granted to candidates with less than three years work experience if they can
demonstrate superior academic credentials and truly outstanding evidence of leadership through
professional and personal experiences.
Graduate placement
Over the last decade, finance has lost popularity at LBS. Having taken almost half of the class in 2007,
the number has now slipped down to 27% for 2015’s graduating class. Within the industry, there were
notably fewer MBAs choosing careers in investment banking (8% as compared to 12% in 2014) with
increased interest in private equity and venture capital compensating for much of finance’s losses in this
respect.
This means that consulting continues to be the most popular industry destination for LBS MBA
graduates – a position it has held since 2011. One in three members of the school’s latest class has
signed up to join consultancy firms, with the names of McKinsey and the Boston Consulting
Group standing high at the top of LBS’s latest list of top hirers by volume.
Technology, meanwhile, accounts for 20% of post-MBA job offers accepted by the class of 2015. As well
as Amazon retaining its place as the third-largest hirer of graduates by volume, there’s a notable jump in
hiring from the school by Microsoft, as demonstrated in the table below.
Top employers at London Business School:
Source: London Business School 2014 and 2015 MBA employment reports
It is important to note, that as international as the school is, 52% of the class of 2015 chose to remain in
the country after graduation, despite only 11% of the class coming originally from the UK, so it is also an
ideal program for those planning to find a job there after completing their MBA.
In addition, Asia as a graduate destination is also growing in popularity. In 2016 LBS hosted the third
annual, joint European business schools, Asia Careers Fair at London Business School, inviting employers
across all sectors to give their students a real insight into the Asian market.
Post-MBA salaries
Post-MBA salaries attracted by LBS’s recent graduates came in at a median average of £76,127.
As in the US, the highest MBA salaries are on offer to those entering consulting firms, where the median
is £78,000. MBA salaries in finance aren’t too far off this average, however, with a median salary of
£77,250 among its class of 2015.
MBA salaries for those entering the technology industry aren’t quite as high as this, on average, and
stand at a median of £73,000 for the school’s latest graduates.
Three months on from graduation, 93% of LBS MBA graduates had accepted a full-time job offer. The
number starting their own business right after the degree, meanwhile, represents 6.7% of the total
number of graduates, a figure similar to Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan.
Program summary
Although LBS is structured like a traditional 2-year MBA program, the program is very versatile and can
be completed in 15, 18 or 21 months (excluding summer internship).
The flexibility of the program extends to a choice of more than 70 electives across a variety of subject
areas, in addition to three internship routes: summer internships, Summer Consulting Program and the
Entrepreneurship Summer School.
Year One
Upon arriving at LBS, first year students are divided into groups of approximately 75 students each that
take their core courses together. These groups are further broken down into study groups of six or
seven students. Throughout the first year of their MBA studies, students work on assignments with their
study group members. The school reports that study groups earn about 30% of their first year grade
together.
The pre-term period for first-year MBA students begins in late August and is primarily comprised of
three courses that last through the end of September. The first of these, Global Leadership Assessment
for Managers, is designed to help students work on their interpersonal and teamwork skills in a cross-
cultural setting. In this course students learn about cultural sensitivities and begin to equip themselves
with the managerial and social skills to lead diverse teams anywhere in the world.
The second, Leadership Launch, allows students to choose from a menu of courses that use practical
exercises to help them develop in a variety of areas, from speed reading to managing stress. It includes a
professional and personal development programme and talks from inspirational business leaders.
Finally, Understanding General Management teaches students about common challenges that business
managers face and how to overcome them.
Following pre-term, students spend three terms—Autumn, Spring and Summer—completing the
required curriculum. Autumn Term runs from September to December, Spring Term from January to
March, and Summer Term from April to July. Each term, first-year students complete four to five core
courses focused on foundational business disciplines. Students who have extensive prior experience in
corporate finance and accounting gained within the last 10 years may take an exam to waive out of core
courses in these areas and replace them with elective courses.
Term one: ‘Tools and Techniques for Management’ forms an intense, significant part of the course. LBS
believe that communicating in more than one language is vital for global business leaders; therefore
their language program ensures graduates leave with an additional language. A choice of seven includes
French, Portuguese, Spanish, Mandarin, German, Arabic and Russian. Students can opt to learn a third,
as one of their electives.
Core courses: Accounting, Economics, Finance, Data and Decision Making and Strategy.
Term two: ‘Managing the Organisation’ – Understand the DNA of an organisation: how it works, its
products and services, and its customers.
Core courses: Managing Organisational Behaviour, Marketing, Operations Management and
Management Accounting. Students can also choose five electives to complete in terms two and three
from the first year electives portfolio.
Term three: ‘Engaging with the World’ – London Business Experiences connect classroom to company
with visits to the British Fashion Council, Transport for London, Amazon Distribution Centre, PayPal, the
Bank of England and more. On the Business, Government and Society core course students examine the
challenges and complexities faced by businesses and their leaders as they endeavour to maximise
returns while responsibly managing their duties to both stakeholders and society.
Core courses: Discovering Entrepreneurial Opportunities, Global Economic Environment, Business,
Government and Society, and MarkStrat.
Summer:
In the summer between the first and second years, most MBA students opt to complete a summer
internship, though students may also participate in LBS’s Summer Consulting Program or
Entrepreneurship Summer School.
Students can explore a new industry or role, accelerate their current career and earn money on a
summer internship with companies such as Google, Unilever, Credit Suisse and American Express.
Students can learn how to innovate and finance a new business venture at the Entrepreneurship
Summer School, or join the Summer Consulting team and provide high-end consultancy to clients such
as Nokia, Allianz, Heinz, McKinsey & Company and BP.
How students choose to spend these 8 to 12 weeks can help define their career – and produce that
prized post-graduation job offer. Students might do an internship, or join the Summer Consulting team
to work on real client projects, or develop a new business venture at the Entrepreneurship Summer
School and learn from the mentoring process what it takes to innovate and finance in business.
Year Two
As mentioned previously, LBS allow its students to graduate after 15, 18 or 21 months of instruction. The
second year of the program follows the same three-term calendar as the first year.
During the second year, students must complete a summary course called Capstone. Having forged
individual paths in the second year, Capstone reunites students with the classmates from their original
streams and study groups for a two-day conference to meet with alumni and enjoy mind expanding talks
from business leaders.
In addition, students must take the course Global Business Experiences (GBE), through which teams of
students partake in projects at locations throughout the world alongside LBS faculty members. In this
course, students experience business practice in one of six key regions around the world. Each week-
long course offers a 360 degree view of the country’s business culture via company visits, panels,
workshops, and guest speakers.
While on a GBE, students not only gain first-hand experience of a world market, they also gain an
international perspective through exposure to senior faculty and diverse class mates while solving real-
world business challenges. For example, students might engage in debate on a hot topic in the asset
management industry, support a micro-entrepreneur with a business plan, or help a tech start-up tackle
a pressing business issue.
The GBE places emphasis on the ‘experience’ and provides an opportunity to build on academic
frameworks and apply them in dynamic world markets. The portfolio includes: Boston and New York,
Johannesburg, Tel Aviv, Mumbai, Hong Kong and Lima.
In addition to the GBE, students completing the program in 18 or 21 months also have the opportunity
to increase their global experience by participating in the International Exchange programme. Students
can immerse themselves in a new culture and grow their global network at one of more than 30 partner
schools around the world, from China to the USA, Asia to Latin America. Choice of school may be guided
by location, language and elective availability, or a desire to move career to a particular country after
graduation.
In keeping with the school’s international outlook, MBA candidates must also demonstrate competency
in a language other than English to graduate; qualifying languages are Arabic, Cantonese, French,
German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and
Turkish. Students who plan to complete their MBA studies in 18 or 21 months may also spend a term
studying abroad at one of LBS’s more than 30 partner schools. The school reports that 40% of MBA
students spend a term abroad during their second year.
To graduate, students must complete a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 12 elective courses. LBS
enables students to tailor their studies to their desired career paths by taking five or more electives in
one of seven elective concentrations. Students can also enrol in courses at University College London to
supplement elective offerings at LBS.
Students will also complete a Business Project in their second year, by sourcing a real-world business
issue and presenting a general management report appropriate for a senior manager. Students’
commercial knowledge and skills will be on display, it will challenge and explore concepts, focus in-
depth on an issue, and give back to the company students are working with. Sectors covered previously
include luxury goods and real estate, private equity and not-for-profit projects, in markets as far afield
as Brazil and South Africa. Students choose a faculty member to supervise their report.
With the support of LBS’ Career Centre team, students travel to business hubs around the world, on
‘Career Treks’. A Shanghai trip organised by the Asia Club set up visits to Dupont, L’Oréal, Roland Berger
and Jaguar Land Rover. In the USA, the Media Club met with Warner Brothers, Disney, Sony and Netflix,
while in New York, the Finance Club arranged to see a host of banking institutions including Credit
Suisse, Goldman Sachs and HSBC.
There is also the opportunity to take part in Social Trips, where students travel the world with the
insider knowledge of the LBS international student body. Annual fixtures include skiing in the Alps,
seeing the cherry blossom in Japan, and Yatra – the India trip. Every year new trips are added as
students share the highlights of their home country.
Alumni base
LBS alumni are a global community of over 40,000 successful business professionals in more than 150
countries.
As a member of the LBS alumni community, students benefit from a strong, engaged and lifelong
network – and enjoy privileged access to a wide range of services, resources and events.
Notable alumni include:
Tony Wheeler, Founder, Lonely Planet.
Nisreen Shocair, President, Virgin Megastore Middle East & North Africa (a division of Azadea Group
Holding)
Wong Kan Seng, Former Deputy Prime Minister and former Member of Parliament Singapore
Government
Jim Ratcliffe, Chairman and CEO, Ineos Chemicals Group
Jimmy Maymann, Executive Vice President and President, AOL Content and Consumer Brands, AOL
David Pyott, Former Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Allergan
Dame Mary Marsh, Non-Executive Director, HSBC Bank
Cyrus Mistry, Former Chairman, Tata Group
Notable LBS professors
Lynda Gratton, Professor of Management Practice; Executive Education Faculty Director:
Professor Lynda Gratton directs LBS’s Human Resource Strategy in Transforming Organisations –
considered the world’s leading programme on human resources – and the new programme Leading
Businesses into the Future, and is on the School’s governing body. She was awarded the Lifetime
Achievement Award by HR Magazine, in 2013, and was amongst the 15 top thought leaders in the
Thinkers50 ranking.
She is the founder of The Hot Spots Movement and for over five years has led the Future of Work
Research Consortium which has brought executives from more than 80 companies together both
virtually and on a bespoke collaborative platform.
Professor Gratton has written extensively about the interface between people and organisations. Her
eight books have been translated into more than 15 languages. They cover the link between business
and HR strategy (Human Resource Strategy: corporate rhetoric, individual realityand Living Strategy), the
new ways of working (The Democratic Enterprise), the rise of complex collaboration (Hot
Spots and Glow) and the impact of a changing world on employment and work (The Shift). Her latest
book The Key, looks at the impact of the changing world on corporate practices, processes and
leadership.
Nirmalya Kumar, Visiting Professor of Marketing:
Dr. Nirmalya Kumar is Visiting Professor of Marketing at LBS. He is one of the world’s leading thinkers on
strategy and marketing; having also taught at Harvard Business School, IMD (Switzerland) and
Northwestern University (Kellogg School of Management).
Nirmalya is an outlier among marketing professors, having attracted more than 15,000 citations on
Google Scholar for his academic research while also being a successful author, case writer, teacher and
executive. As an author, Nirmalya has written seven books, five of which are published by Harvard
Business Press: Marketing as Strategy (2004), Private Label Strategy (2007), Value Merchants (2007),
India’s Global Powerhouses (2009), and India Inside (2012). He has appeared in the Harvard Business
Review nine times as well as written more than 40 cases and teaching notes. The has won several
teaching and case writing awards. He is currently Member- Group Executive Council at Tata Sons,
responsible for strategy and reporting directly to the Chairman of the $100 billion plus group.
Costas Markides, Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship; Robert P Bauman Chair in Strategic
Leadership; Executive Education Faculty Director:
Repeatedly ranked among the world’s top 50 business thinkers by the Thinkers50, Professor Costas
Markides is recognised as one of the world’s foremost experts on strategy and innovation. An
internationally acclaimed teacher and conference speaker, Professor Markides has researched the topics
of strategic innovation, business model innovation, diversification and international acquisitions.
His work explores how established companies could pursue radical or disruptive innovation and how
they can compete with two business models in the same industry. He also examines how companies can
create a culture of continuous innovation and the role that individual managers play in making a
company more innovative.
In recent years, Professor Markides has increasingly turned his attention to social issues and studies how
management ideas can be used to address social problems such as drug related crime, poverty and
malnutrition. His forthcoming book Architects of Change explores how individuals could design
innovative solutions to social problems in ways that make them easily scalable. He also examines how a
decentralised change process could be used to scale up social innovations and diffuse them globally.
Narayan Naik, Professor of Finance; Joint Chair, Finance Faculty
Professor Narayan Naik is recognised as one of the leading experts on hedge fund investing. Over the
last decade he has authored a significant body of work in hedge funds benchmarking, performance
evaluation of long-only managers, tail-risk hedging, life settlements-longevity risk and market
microstructure.
His work has appeared in the top finance journals, leading practitioner journals and financial press.
Professor Naik’s teaching includes the following subjects: Strategic Investment Management, Equity
Investment Management and Hedge Funds.
Financing the MBA
Undertaking a life changing global MBA is a big investment of time and money, therefore LBS states that
it is essential for finance to be in place before students start their studies. Most funding sources have
strict deadlines, research should be conducted as early as possible. Living expenses should be budgeted
for well in advance, too. LBS can advise on what these are likely to include.
London Business School scholarships: LBS offers a growing number of scholarships in an extensive and
diverse portfolio to help offset fees. The majority of awards are open to all students and do not require
an application.
Regional scholarships: LBS offers a number of awards for students from the UK, North America, Latin
America, India, Israel, China, Australia/New Zealand, Africa, Sweden, Greece, Ireland, GCC, Russia and
the CIS.
Scholarships by employment sector: LBS has a range of scholarships to attract professionals from key
employment sectors. A number of awards are available for students with finance, consulting, military,
social enterprise, healthcare, energy, engineering and technology, and luxury and retail backgrounds.
They also have dedicated scholarships for entrepreneurs.
Scholarships for women: LBS has a growing number of Scholarships for women, including Forté
Foundation Fellowships, 30% Club Scholarships and several corporate scholarships.
Donor funded scholarships: LBS’ scholarship portfolio offers some outstanding corporate and
foundation awards. Scholarships currently include awards from companies such as Deutsche Bank,
Lloyds Bank, Vodafone Group Foundation, Nestlé and awards donated by alumni classes and individuals.
