Warwick Business School is a vibrant and lively intellectual community. Among the largest business schools in Europe, our size means we can cover business issues in greater breadth and depth than smaller schools. We are the first business school in the UK to gain accreditation from the three leading management education associations in the USA, Europe and the UK.

Our teaching and research is highly-rated. Over 90% of academics are active in both teaching and research, allowing leading-edge research to feed into the classroom instantly. Many of them are also practitioners in the corporate world, undertaking projects as consultants and advisers. Our active Alumni Association has around 28,000 members around the globe.

Whether resident on or near campus or studying at a distance, you can expect top-quality teaching facilities and service. As well as the excellent facilities on campus, clever application of leading-edge technology provides an Intranet that allows students to stay in touch with each other and with faculty, and to form their own groups and networks, both by topic and location. In addition, wbsLive is a fullyfeatured, live, virtual classroom that includes audio, video, application sharing and content display. Its pedagogical design and ease-of-use ensures that educators and students can engage as if they were meeting face-to-face.

Business Links

Organisations of all sizes and sectors interact with WBS for many reasons: to recruit from the WBS student community, to sponsor their managers and directors on MBA and executive development programmes, to collaborate on and learn from leading-edge research, and to access the expertise of faculty in their own sector and subject areas. WBS works in partnership with organisations on global, national and local projects.

Research Groups

Accounting, Markets and Organisations Group

Group faculty conduct research across a wide range of areas including, but not exclusively in, financial reporting, market-based accounting research, management accounting in both private and public settings, auditing, performance analysis and measurement, corporate governance, investment analysis, financial narrative analysis, behavioural and emotional finance, mergers and acquisitions, corporate bankruptcy, accounting theory, accounting history and accounting education. The Group is also an important centre for the study of accounting practice and the accounting profession.

Behavioural Science Group

This new research group at WBS will draw on a range of social-science and science disciplines (including psychology, economics, epidemiology, decision science, statistics, and neuroscience). Behavioural science asks fundamental questions about humans. Why do people behave in the way they do? Are they behaving rationally or irrationally? What explains the dramatic herd behaviour we often see in financial markets? What are the forces that mould human happiness and mental health?

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group (EIG)

The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group is an interdisciplinary group focusing on issues relating to entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial ventures and innovation both within and across organisations. The group’s research and teaching expertise relates to issues of entrepreneurship and innovation across all different types of organisations, from public to private sector, and from new ventures to large established firms. Areas of specialism for the group include (but are not restricted to) the cognition of entrepreneurs, strategic entrepreneurship, innovation studies including open innovation, public policy and entrepreneurship and the financing of new ventures.

Finance Group

Finance research in the group encompasses corporate finance, international finance, financial econometrics, derivatives and financial markets, at both theoretical and applied levels. The group is closely allied with the Warwick Finance Research Institute.

Governance and Public Management Group

The Governance and Public Management (GPM) group is a multi-disciplinary group which focuses on organisations in their political and democratic context. Research and teaching covers governance of society, including business in society and corporate social responsibility, public policy and also public management. Key themes are concerned with economic and social governance of society; public leadership; public value; public engagement; innovation, change and improvement in public organisations, and public finance.

Industrial Relations and Organizational Behaviour Group

The Industrial Relations and Organisational Behaviour group has a wide range of research interests within industrial relations, human resource management and organisation studies. Staff members engage in individual research and collaborate with colleagues across WBS, the University, and institutions in the USA and Europe. They are active in professional associations and in the editing of major journals in the field. All teaching in the IROB group is research-driven.

Information Systems and Management Group

The ISM group pursues research on the interface between technology, people and organisations in a wide range of settings. Group members’ expertise and projects include: Global outsourcing and offshoring of services; Networked Innovation in the Health Sector; Virtual work practices and collaborative technologies; Managing knowledge and expertise within and between organisations; Enterprise systems and CRM; and Digital creativity and interdisciplinary collaboration. Members of the group work closely with industry which provides input into research and research-led teaching. Research in the ISM Group contributes primarily to the field of social science of information systems and innovation.

Marketing and Strategic Management Group

This group is one of the largest subject groups at WBS. There are 30 full-time faculty who teach across the entire range of undergraduate, postgraduate and executive programmes. Research in the group encompasses a wide range of management and business studies interests in strategy, marketing and international business, reflecting the multidisciplinary background of its membership. Several distinctive research networks, for example, Sales and Account Management, and Strategy, Organisational Learning and Resilience are based within MSM.

Operations Management

The OM Group focuses on the design, planning, control and improvement of operations in both manufacturing and service, private and public sectors. The group is known for its high quality teaching and research and has developed effective partnerships with many local and international organisations. The research falls within five broad streams: Lean Thinking and Continuous Improvement, Service Excellence, Supply Chain Management, Performance Management and Health Service Management.

Operational Research and Management Sciences Group

The group focuses on the practical application of Operational Research, the practice of OR and OR strategy as well as in strengthening its theoretical basis in model and methodology development.

Much of the research looks at how OR methods can be used to improve real world problem situations. There is also a strong interest in how OR can be performed more successfully within different sectors such as health, manufacturing and transport. We have a collaborative research project with Mathematics and Computer Science Departments called Discrete Mathematics and its Applications (DIMAP).

Special interest groups

In addition to research within formal groups and subject areas, WBS also hosts several informal collaborative cross-sector and networking activities within and beyond campus, centred around the following: Economics; Marketing, innovation and the Chinese economy; Organisation theory; Sales and Account Management Strategy; Strategy, Organisational Learning and Resilience; and Tax policy.

Specialist Research Centres

Centre for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises; Financial Econometrics Research Centre; Financial Options Research Centre; Industrial Relations Research Unit; Unit for the Study of Innovation, Knowledge and Organisational Networks; Warwick Finance Research Institute.

Research Degrees

PhD in Business and Management

Standard Duration: 3 years full-time, 5 years part-time

This is a programme of supervised, independent research leading to the submission of a thesis which makes an original contribution to knowledge. All our doctoral researchers are required to undertake a structured programme of research training, accredited by the ESRC, as well as working on their own research. As a doctoral researcher at WBS you can expect ideas, rigorous critical enquiry, international perspectives and practical relevance to shape your experience and your work. You will have the opportunity to collaborate with recognised experts in their field and to participate in the research activities of the School.

• More information on the PhD in Business and Management

PhD in Finance

Standard Duration: 3 years full-time, 5 year part-time

The PhD in Finance is a separate stream of the WBS Doctoral Programme. It is designed to develop graduates who are qualified for careers in top academic institutions and leading financial institutions, and to foster doctoral research of the highest international quality. The first year provides structured and specialist training in theoretical and empirical research in finance. Our doctoral researchers are required to pass the compulsory first year taught courses. They are also expected to participate fully in the research activities of the WBS Finance Group.

• More information on the PhD in Finance

Download prospectus entry

Prospectus Entry

Related Links:

Warwick Business School Homepage

Postgraduate Research Study at Warwick Business School

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“For me, WBS offers the perfect combination of strong curriculum, renowned lecturers, excellent reputation, fantastic personal development programme, experienced peers, and established links with major industry players.

The careers team here is truly outstanding. Through the year, you’ll hear speakers from different industries opening your eyes to new opportunities and areas beyond your experience. On top of that, you’re offered a huge variety of seminars, personal career coaching and soft skills sessions that will stand you in good stead for the rest of your career.

The WBS Alumni Association is particularly active, engaging participants from day one. It’s a fantastic resource at your fingertips with a vast network of contacts working in every conceivable industry.

The Warwick MBA has enabled me to advance my career in a way I would not have been able to do on my own. When I applied, I wanted to change my job, my sector, and my location; with the support of the WBS, I’ve done so.”

Ronan Morrissey / Full-time MBA Student / WBS