The school's history can be traced back to the establishment of departments of marketing and of operational research at the university's foundation in 1964.

[1][2] At that time, a deliberate decision was made not to establish a general business school in competition to those being set up in the wake of the Franks report in London and Manchester, and at other universities.

[4] The school remained an assembly of largely autonomous departments until Alan Mercer was appointed to a three-year term as chair in 1982.

Partners have included: AstraZeneca, BAE Systems, Bass, British Airways, Pilkington, Rexam, Royal & Sun Alliance and Total.

[9] Through its Department of Entrepreneurship and Strategy, it also provides business support and knowledge transfer for small and medium enterprises in England's North West region.

Several LUMS postgraduate programmes have modules designed and delivered by employers – these include Accenture, Deloitte, Cisco, IBM and SAP AG.

[11][12] The School's research focuses around three main pillars: Sustainability; Social Justice; and Innovation in Place.

Each year, the School submits a number of teams into the UK IBM Business Challenge and is involved in numerous case competitions.

Many of the undergraduate programmes at LUMS include the option to study abroad for periods ranging from one term to one year.