A UNIVERSITY of Bradford department has been ranked among the top 25 in Europe for the number of start-up companies created by graduates.

The university's School of Management, celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, has been ranked in 25th place for its Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) course in the 2023 PitchBook Universities list of the top undergraduate, graduate and MBA rankings at institutions across Europe.

Bradford was ranked among business schools from universities in Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden in the MBA category.

PitchBook’s annual university rankings compare business schools by totalling up the number of alumni entrepreneurs who have raised venture capital in the last 10 years.

The University of Bradford posted 22 founder and business counts in PitchBook’s MBA list

The 2023 listings are based on the number of founders who received a first round of venture funding between 1 January 2013 and 1 September 2023.

Professor Sankar Sivarajah, Dean of the School of Management at the University of Bradford, said: “We are delighted that we are among Europe’s top universities in the 2023 PitchBook University rankings.

“The School of Management is proud to be a launchpad for so many successful fledgling businesses created by our students.

“Completing an MBA can provide individuals with the opportunity not only to sharpen their business acumen and skills but also to increase their credibility when seeking investment for business ideas.”

The University of Bradford is helping support the entrepreneurs of tomorrow through the £2.5 million Bradford-Renduchintala Enterprise Ecosystem (BREE).

The Dragons’ Den-style initiative is open to staff, students and members of the public.

The university is aiming to become the UK’s number one destination for entrepreneurs. It will build on the university's long history of research and innovation. BREE was launched in January 2024 through a £1.25m donation from alumnus Dr Murthy Renduchintala, and a further £1.25m from the university. 

The MBA PitchBook ranking is the latest recognition for the University of Bradford’s School of Management.

It is ranked in the top two per cent in the world last year after it received a joint re-accreditation from the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and the Business Graduates Association (BGA), who are two of the world’s leading authorities on business education. 

It is three years since the School of Management became the first business school in England to receive its initial joint accreditation from AMBA and BGA.

A total of 300 of the world’s 16,000 business schools, including Bradford, are AMBA accredited, equivalent to two per cent.