Durham University Business School is the business school of Durham University and is located in Durham, England. Established in 1965, it holds triple accreditation (AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS). It is currently ranked between 4th and 66th in the world for its MBA and MSc programmes by the Financial Times, The Economist and the Expansión.
The University's department of Economics and Finance and the Foundation for Small and Medium Enterprise Development merged with the Business School in 2002 to become the School of Economics, Finance and Business, more commonly known as Durham University Business School.
The recognition of the University's courses is governed by an Act of Parliament of Great Britain in 1832 and its Royal Charter that was conferred upon the University in 1837. Additional recognition for its courses is provided by accreditation with several organisations at the national and international level such as the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business of the United States - AACSB, the European Quality Improvement System in Europe - EQUIS, the Association of Masters of Business Administration of the United Kingdom - AMBA, and the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute of the United States - CFA.
Rankings and reputation
Rankings and accreditations of Durham University Business School include:
The Wall Street Journal MBA Rankings, which lists the Top 15 Schools outside the USA, placed Durham University Business School at 14th position overall and 2nd in the UK in 2009. The ranking placed the school ahead of Oxford Said Business School and Cambridge Judge Business School.
The Financial Times placed Durham University Business School 6th in the world for Online MBA, 35th in the world for Masters in Finance, 57th in the world for Masters in Management and 79th in the world for Global MBA in 2015.
The Economist ranked the MBA 55th in the world and 8th in the UK in 2010. In 2013, the Economist ranking was 72nd in the world and 9th in the UK.
Expansión – Mexico’s leading business magazine – places Durham University Business School 54th out of 65 schools in its International Ranking of ‘The Best Global MBAs 2011. Durham is ranked 17th in Europe and 8th in the UK.
Ranked 15th in the world ("Top Business Schools Internationally Known") by EDUNIVERSAL's International Scientific Committee in 2008.
Teaching in economics and finance received the maximum 24 score in the last QAA subject review.
The Association of MBAs recently re-accredited all MBA programmes for the maximum five-year period.
EQUIS accreditation awarded in 2005.
AACSB accredited in April, 2009.
Durham University Business School provides courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Undergraduate courses include Bachelor's degrees in the fields of economics, finance, business, marketing and accounting. Postgraduate degrees are offered in management, marketing, finance and economics, including MBA, MA, MSc, DBA and PhD. Courses are offered in full-time, part-time and distance learning formats.
The MSc programmes have Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) recognition through its partnership status with the Institute.
Durham University Business School has more than 200 research students. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, 95 per cent of the Business and Management Studies research at Durham University was assessed as being at least of International Quality (2* and above) in terms of originality, significance and rigour. This positions the School 19th in a total of 90 schools within the business and management sector (based on the Grade Point Average score) in Great Britain. In the last external assessment of teaching quality by the QAA, which reviewed Economics and Finance, the School was awarded a maximum score of 24/24.
The school's research centres and groups are diverse and extend across geographical and cultural boundaries.
Visiting academics - past and present - include:
Guangjing Cao, Chairman of the China Three Gorges Project Corporation (CTGPC) on the Yangtze River.
Glenn Carroll Stanford University and Columbia University, specialist on Population Ecology
Jack Cohen, specialist in Complexity and Chaos theory
Kenneth Davies, Senior Economist and Head of Global Relations, OECD.
Werner De Bondt DePaul University, specialist in Behavioural Finance
John Doukas Old Dominion University specialist in Mergers & Acquisitions, and Asset Price Anomalies
Robin Gilchrist, Vice President, Alcatel-Lucent
David Gravells, former Chairman of the Association of MBAs of United Kingdom
David Greatbatch, former academic of Oxford University and XEROX Research Laboratory, Cambridge
Chris Greensted, Associate Director (Quality Services) of EQUIS
Mike Hannan Stanford University, specialist on Population Ecology
Sir Roger Jackling, KCB, CBE, Former Head of The Defence Academy of the United Kingdom
Gregory Koutmos Fairfield University specialist in Asset Pricing and Volatility
Ehud Lehrer, Bar Ilan University, specialist on Game Theory;
Grigor McClelland, former Director of Manchester Business School
Bill McKelvey, Professor of Strategic Organizing and Complexity Theory at the UCLA Anderson School of Management
Ray Rist, Adviser, World Bank, Washington D.C.
The Business School has extensive links with companies, organisations and academic institutions. In particular the business school is engaged in research with:
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
British Accounting and Finance Association (BAFA)
The school's academic network includes:
Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China
Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
Euromed Marseille Ecole de Management, Marseille, France
Aix-Marseille University Marseille, France
EBS University of Business and Law, Germany
University of Mannheim, Germany
WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management, Germany
University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
University of Pisa, Italy
University of Trento, Italy
University of Udine, Italy
University of Tokyo, Japan
BI Norwegian School of Management, Norway
Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia
Institute of Business Studies (IBS-Moscow), Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Russia
Lund University, Sweden
University of Stellenbosch, South Africa
Korea University, Seoul, South Korea
The school has around 18,000 alumni from over 150 countries worldwide belonging to its "Agora" association.
The following individuals are alumni (listed by first name order and qualifications with year of graduation if known)
Andrew Thorburn, MBA(Distinction), CEO of the National Australia Bank and former CEO of Bank of New Zealand
Anwar Choudhury, MBA, British High Commissioner to Bangladesh
Balthasar Kambuaya, MBA (1996), The Minister of Environment of the Republic of Indonesia (2011–present)
Conrad Clifford, MBA, CEO of Monarch Airlines, UK
David Collins, MBA, Canadian High Commissioner to Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda; Ambassador to Burundi, Eritrea and Somalia; and Permanent Representative to the UN Organisations based in Nairobi
Finlay Scott, Chief Executive of the General Medical Council, United Kingdom
Graham Moffitt, MBA, Head of Asset Based Lending, HSBC Bank Plc and former Senior Vice-President – Senior Risk Officer, Bank of America, USA
Grahame Maxwell, MBA, Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police, United Kingdom
James Averdieck, BA in Economics (1988), founder and former managing director of Gü
John Cuthbert, MBA, Managing Director, Northumbrian Water plc, United Kingdom
Judith Ozcan, MBA, Director of Debt Markets, Capital for Enterprise UK
Kerryann Ifill, MBA, President of the Senate, Barbados
Killick Datta, MBA, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer, Global Brand Marketing Inc, United States of America
Michael Shearer OBE, MBA (1996), Deputy High Commissioner, Freetown, Sierra Leone
Norman Lacy, MSc, Minister for Educational Services and Minister for the Arts, Government of Victoria, Australia
Paul Madden, MBA (2002), British High Commissioner to Australia
Ron Emerson, MSc, Non-Executive Chairman with Fairfield Energy, UK
Tony Newton, DBA (2014), President and Board Chair, British Dental Health Foundation and International Dental Health Foundation
Will Greenwood, BA in Economics (1994), famous English rugby union footballer of the 1990s and 2000s
Zandile Mbele, MBA, Executive with Public Sector for Internet Solutions, South Africa
Joseph Stiglitz DCL – recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2001) and the John Bates Clark Medal (1979) – Honorary Doctor of Durham University Business School
