There is no difference between the degree that an ISBF student receives and that obtained by a student pursuing the same programme in London with UOL. On the other hand, an ISBF student’s degree does look different from the one received by an LSE student; however, since an ISBF student follows the same curriculum and assessments as LSE students in London, and since their UOL degree bears LSE’s name as the examining body, this makes their education and their degree equivalent in standard to that of an LSE student in London.

ISBF students receive a BSc degree award for their undergraduate programmes because LSE, the academic director of the programmes at ISBF, recognises Economics and related subjects like Finance and Management as ‘Sciences’ and awards a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree for them.

University of London, the degree awarding body for ISBF students, is one of the most prestigious higher education institutions in the world. Besides, the UOL degree carries the name of the London School of Economics (LSE), which is among the top 10 institutions in the world for the disciplines offered at ISBF. All this makes this degree, and an ISBF student’s education, widely recognised and hugely valued all over the world. This is the reason that ISBF students hold a significant edge over their peers when it comes to any kind of international opportunity - right from a 2nd year transfer to a top foreign college, to a Master’s at a prestigious university abroad and an overseas job after graduating.

In reputed and credible international higher education ranking systems like those of Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) or Times Higher Education (THE), ranks are typically assigned to universities, and not to the colleges affiliated to such universities. For example, University of Oxford is ranked, not St. John’s or Magdalen College, and University of Delhi is ranked, not St. Stephen’s College or Lady Shri Ram College for Women, yet because the university concerned is the umbrella body and the programmes offered by its affiliated colleges are typically the same, the colleges enjoy the university’s rankings in effect.

Similarly, since ISBF is affiliated to University of London, and through it with the London School of Economics (LSE), it is the rankings of these institutions, and LSE in particular (being the academic director for the programmes), that apply to the education offered at ISBF. Based on the QS 2023 Rankings by Subject, LSE is ranked 7th in the world for Accounting and Finance, 7th for Economics and Econometrics and 11th for Business and Management. As ISBF offers programmes only in these subjects, all ISBF students pursue a global top 10 undergraduate education.

This, of course, leaves the question of ISBF’s ranking as a college within the LSE-UOL ecosystem. Of more than 70 such colleges from Uruguay to Japan, ISBF is recognised by LSE as one of its five featured teaching Institutions, or colleges, in the world, on account of the excellent outcomes achieved by its students on these programmes year after year.

Besides this, ISBF has also won a number of awards for its excellence - the Dewang Mehta National Education Award for Best Academic Input (Syllabus) in Finance, in both 2015 and 2016, and the ASSOCHAM India Award for Best Institute for Providing Global Exposure in 2018.

As a Member College of UOL, LSE provides all academic direction for the Economics, Management, Finance and Social Sciences (EMFSS) programmes offered under the aegis of University of London. These are the only programmes offered and taught by ISBF, so the collaboration with LSE runs very deep.

LSE faculty members design the programmes, write and update the curriculum based on the latest research and, very importantly, set and grade the final, or summative, assessments for all courses/subjects taught on the UOL Programmes. This makes the curriculum and assessments followed by ISBF students identical to those followed by LSE in London.

ISBF also enjoys several visits from LSE faculty members every year, including Visiting Lectureship by the Associate Academic Director for the UOL Programmes at LSE. All this ensures that ISBF students obtain one of the world’s leading undergraduate educations in these subject areas.

The curriculum for the BSc (Hons) Economics & Finance programme at ISBF overlaps quite significantly with that of CFA, while students of the BSc (Hons) Accounting & Finance receive exemptions from 8 out of 13 examinations required to qualify as an ACCA, making it possible for them to become fully qualified before they graduate and at less than half the cost. These students also enjoy exemptions for several other professional accounting qualifications, such as CIMA, ICAEW, ISCA and CPA Australia.

It is important to note that the UOL-LSE programmes at ISBF draw contributions from two sets of faculty members - those of LSE, who provide all academic direction except the teaching, and those of ISBF, who teach the programmes. ISBF’s esteemed faculty members come from institutions such as the London School of Economics (LSE), University of Cambridge, Yale University, Johns Hopkins University, University College London (UCL), Barcelona Graduate School of Economics (BGSE), University of Delhi (colleges like St Stephen's College and Shri Ram College of Commerce), Jawaharlal Nehru University, IIM and IIT. Along with this high academic pedigree and a wealth of teaching experience, they bring to the table extensive industry exposure across the globe, and a unique commitment to the profession of teaching.

There are several ways in which ISBF students are exposed to LSE faculty members. The first, and the most important, is via curriculum design and the setting and grading of final assessments, which are done entirely by LSE faculty members. Second, in addition to the classroom teaching at ISBF, students also utilise LSE's Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), a rich content repository curated and maintained by their faculty members. Aside from videos, digitised study material and learning activities, this also houses course-wise Discussion Forums which are moderated by LSE faculty members, and enables students to access the UOL Online Library, one of the richest in the world. Third, ISBF also enjoys several visits from LSE faculty members.

The total fee charged by ISBF is higher than that of many Indian colleges because ISBF offers international programmes in collaboration with institutions like University of London (UOL) and the London School of Economics (LSE). As a result, the tuition fee paid by an ISBF student comprises the tuition fees of both ISBF - the college and UOL - the university. Yet, the total programme cost is only one-fourth of what one would spend to obtain the same education and degree abroad, so it represents, in fact, a huge cost saving for students and their families.

Scholarships up to 25% of the ISBF Tuition Fee are offered by ISBF, and these continue for all three years of study if the scholar maintains the stipulated academic standards. Students may also obtain funding via education loans. To facilitate this, ISBF has a tie-up with Credenc, a non-banking financial company (NBFC), though students may, of course, equally approach other banks and NBFCs.

The ISBF campus is located in a very central, safe and student-friendly part of New Delhi in Lajpat Nagar. It is well-connected by several modes of public transport, with three metro stations at walking distance, the nearest one being less than 5 minutes away. The ISBF hostel, is also only a short walk away from campus, and is also located in a very safe, residential area. Both the campus and the hostel are guarded 24x7 and equipped with CCTV surveillance.

ISBF currently has twelve student societies, covering interests such as dance, music, quizzing, debating, Model United Nations, sports, events, media, fine arts, entrepreneurship, investing, women empowerment and social work. All of these are run entirely by students, and led by the popularly elected Core Council. They collectively organise at least two annual inter-college events - the Model United Nations Conference and the annual inter-college cultural festival, Xenia.