Imperial College London 8th University of the world 2016

Imperial College London, a science-based institution based in the centre of the capital, is regarded as one of the UK’s leading institutions.

The college has around 15,000 students and 8,000 staff, with a focus on four main areas: science, engineering, medicine and business.

The institution has its roots in the vision of Prince Albert to make London’s South Kensington a centre for education, with colleges going alongside the nearby Natural History Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum and Science Museum.

Imperial was granted its charter in 1907, merging the Royal College of Science, the Royal School of Mines and the City & Guilds College.

The institution boasts 14 Nobel Prize winners, including Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin.

Famous alumni include science fiction author H.G. Wells, Queen guitarist Brian May, former prime minister of India Rajiv Gandhi, former UK chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson, and former chief executive of Singapore Airlines Chew Choon Seng.

The college’s motto is Scientia imperii decus et tutamen, which translates as “Scientific knowledge, the crowning glory and the safeguard of the empire”.

Imperial’s most notable landmark is the Queen's Tower, a remainder of the Imperial Institute, built to mark Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887.

Imperial College London is a public research university located in the United Kingdom. Its royal patron and founder, Prince Albert, envisioned an area composed of the Natural History Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Science Museum, Royal Albert Hall and the Imperial Institute. The Imperial Institute was opened by his wife, Queen Victoria, who laid the foundation stone.  The college has expanded its coursework to medicine through mergers with St Mary's Hospital. In 2004, Queen Elizabeth II opened the Imperial College Business School.

Imperial is organised into faculties of science, engineering, medicine and business. Its main campus is based next to Kensington Palace in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Imperial's contributions to society include the discovery of penicillin, the development of holography and fibre optics. The university's focus is in science and technology and their applications for industry.

Imperial is ranked among the top universities in the world by university rankings.   According to The New York Times, students are highly recruited globally.  The university is among the most innovative in Europe.  Imperial staff and alumni include 15Nobel laureates, 2 Fields Medalists, 70 Fellows of the Royal Society, 82 Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering and 78Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences.

Entry requirements

Requirements for Graduate Studies

All entry requirements listed in the printed prospectus as well as on online course lists are in reference to UK qualifications only and reflect the minimum requirement needed to be considered for admission. Programmes often do ask for higher than our minimum requirements, due to the demanding and competitive nature of our programmes.

If you intend to apply for a Masters degree the College minimum requirement is a UK Lower Second Class Honours degree. The majority of programmes have higher requirements, usually a minimum of a UK Upper Second Class Honours.

For admission to a PhD, MPhil, MD (Res) or EngD research programme the College would normally expect you to hold or achieve a Master's degree in addition to a Bachelor's degree at UK Upper Second Class Honours Level.

For information regarding our minimum entry requirements for international qualifications please visit Country Index.  All entry requirements are devised by Imperial College London and are unique to the College.

Please note that meeting academic requirements does not guarantee entry, it is only one of the factors taken into account when selectors make their decision: other factors such as suitability for the course, proficiency in English (you will need to have passed a College-approved English test), relevant work experience and references are also important.

Note for research (PhD) applicants

If you are applying for a postgraduate research degree and are asked to present formal evidence of English language ability, you will need to fulfill the Imperial College London Postgraduate English Requirement. This involves taking the Imperial College London initial English assessment (English Assessment 1) as soon as you start your PhD studies. After this assessment, internal classes (which are free of charge) may be recommended, and you may be reassessed at a later stage to evaluate your progress.    

The aim of this requirement is to help and encourage you to work on your English language skills and to ensure that you receive the necessary support to complete your PhD successfully and communicate your work in the wider academic community.

Research

Imperial had a total income from research grants and contracts in 2010/11 of £299 million, the second-highest of any British university in that year.   Imperial was awarded a total of £114 million in grants from UK research councils for the 2013/14 financial year, the highest amount of any British university.

The 2008 Research Assessment Exercise returned 26% of the 1225 staff submitted as being world-leading (4*) and a further 47% as being internationally excellent (3*).  The 2008 Research Assessment Exercise also showed five subjects – Pure Mathematics, Epidemiology and Public Health, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering – were assessed to be the best in terms of the proportion of internationally recognised research quality.

Imperial submitted a total of 1,257 staff across 14 units of assessment to the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) assessment. In the REF results 46% of Imperial's submitted research was classified as 4*, 44% as 3*, 9% as 2* and 1% as 1*, giving an overall GPA of 3.36.

In rankings produced by Times Higher Education based upon the REF results Imperial was ranked 2nd overall for GPA and 8th for "research power" (compared to 6th and 7th respectively in the equivalent rankings for the RAE 2008).

Imperial has a dedicated technology transfer company known as Imperial Innovations. Imperial actively encourages its staff to commercialise their research and as a result has given rise to a proportionally large number of spin-out companies based on academic research.

Imperial, in conducting research on Parkinson's disease and Multiple Sclerosis, hosts the largest brain bank in the world consisting of 296 brains donated by individuals affected with either of these diseases.

In 2016, Imperial received £2million to establish a DNA Synthesis and Construction Foundry to accelerate developments in new synthetic biology technologies.