MBA in London

London has long been regarded as one of the world’s capitals, a behemoth in the worlds of finance and commerce. Getting an MBA in London is certainly, therefore, an appealing prospect for those who want to be close to where the action is happening. Unsurprisingly, the city is home to a number of top business schools. It is home to London Business School, #1 in the latest QS Global 200 rankings for Europe, Imperial College Business School, (11th in Europe), and Cass Business School, City University London, (22nd). Besides these top schools, London is a truly global city that boasts innumerable businesses of every size, easy access to rest of Europe and let’s not forget the City of London, one of the world’s leading financial hubs.

There’s more to the UK’s capital than business, of course. London is incredibly diverse – a true melting pot of a city, which among other things means that any old stereotypes about not being able to eat well in Britain can be thrown out the window! Indeed, the city has undergone something of a gastronomic revolution in recent years.  But it’s not just your sense of taste which you can indulge – in terms of art galleries, cinemas, theater, opera houses, concert halls and other cultural venues, only a handful of cities around the world can rival what London offers.

There’s something for everyone – though the city’s fast pace of life might prove a little intense to those accustomed to a more laidback lifestyle (though, sure, that can be a good thing). Moving to London can present a fairly daunting task for some international students wishing to pursue an MBA, but with a few helpful tips, the idea of relocating becomes much more realistic.

A Tier 4 student visa, or student visitor visa, is required for students located outside of the European Union (EU).  Looking for housing can also be daunting in this densely populated and expensive city, but there are plenty of advisory websites out there to help you along the way. Most students will be looking for rental properties when they are moving to London and rental listing sites like zoopla.co.uk, rightmove.co.uk and spareroom.co.uk constantly update their lists of rental properties.

Schools are of course alive to the challenges of living in this metropolis – from navigating the transport network to finding an area which suits your personality (the well-heeled north and west of the city form a stark contrast to the edgier charms of the east and the south), so will be more than ready to help you settle in.

London Business School

Founded in 1964 LBS is, for 2014/15, ranked the best school in Europe by actively hiring MBA employers and business and management academics.  It boasts an incredibly diverse faculty body and an alumni network of 36,000 graduates from over 130 countries who are now based at some of the world’s most competitive employers. London Business School has centers in four cities worldwide: New York City, Dubai, Hong Kong, and of course, London. Students can choose between a full-time (rarely for Europe, a two-year program), part-time, or executive MBA.

Imperial College Business School

Imperial College London is one of the world’s leading institutions in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. Management, of course, is a science too, so naturally Imperial also offers very strong provision in this department through its business school. Proximity to the groundbreaking work and research at the university, of course, also means that there is no shortage of entrepreneurial opportunities at the school. The Imperial MBA is offered as a full-time, executive (weekday or weekend), or online program. The school is ranked 11th in Europe for 2014/15.

Cass Business School

Part of City University London – an institution specializing in professional degrees – Cass offers incredible proximity to London’s financial heart. Indeed the school, founded in 1966, identifies itself as the business school of the City of London. The Cass MBA is offered in three formats: full-time, executive, and modular (part-time with one long weekend per month over the course of 24 months). Cass is ranked 22nd in Europe for 2014/15.

Hult International Business School

As a business school with branches all over the world, Hult naturally has a presence in London.  A recent redesign of its MBA program saw it being awarded AMBA’s 2014 MBA Innovation Award. Hult offers a one-year full-time MBA, an executive MBA and a master’s in international business. Hult’s London campus is located in Bloomsbury, which has a rich academic and artistic history. There are also numerous options to travel to one of the school’s many other campuses.

Warwick Business School

Located in the Shard (Western Europe’s tallest building, designed by Renzo Piano). Warwick Business School’s new London campus will be home to the school’s executive MBA program - consistently ranked among the world’s best - as of this September. Its location in the Shard puts students within touching distance of some of the world’s best-known companies, including the Al Jazeera Media Network, Campari, and Tiffany & Co. It is also within spitting distance of the City.

University of Chicago Booth, London

A world-renowned and consistently top-ranked US business school, Chicago Booth also offers an executive MBA program in London, also based in the City. Well, not just London – this program is extremely global as students find themselves studying and networking on three continents, with the course delivered in Chicago, Singapore and London. Booth boasts more Nobel laureates than any other business school in the world.

London is home to some of the biggest companies and corporations in the world and, as such, is home to no small amount of MBA jobs in almost any field. Of course, the financial industry in London - as has been mentioned - is one of its biggest draws and as a global city there are naturally plenty of opportunities in professional services. London’s tech scene has also been something of a revelation in the past decade, with even politicians attempting to get involved in rebranding the east of the city.

Some of the top financial services companies offering jobs in London include:

• Barclays
• HSBC
• Lloyds Banking Group

Representing the IT industry are companies like:

• Google
• Facebook
• Amazon

Consulting firms include:

• Accenture
• McKinsey
• Bain & Co

Other top MBA employers headquartered in London:

• Unilever
• BP
• BT Group

This is by no means an exhaustive list of the MBA jobs on offer to graduates looking to work in London, but the names in this list will most certainly give you an idea of the caliber of company recruiting.