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Imperial College London

UK UK

3 Reviews

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THE World Ranking: 8

Overview

Overview

Any student who has ever considered studying in the UK has heard of Imperial College London. Imperial is one of the best universities in the world, and it has been for decades. It promises all of its students a wonderful learning experience with expert academics and high-quality facilities and amenities, and it’s respected across the world for its many famous programmes of study and well-rated courses.

 

With nine campus sites across London and the UK county of Berkshire, Imperial is large, exciting and offers students a lot of learning variety. In the large student community, there are over 12,000 international students from more than 130 countries. Support services are excellent and everyone is made to feel welcome from the application stage until after graduation. Plus, there are several great scholarships available to international students at Imperial to help reduce their fees and costs.

 

Imperial students have access to world-leading facilities and technology. The libraries, lecture halls and research centres give them comfortable, focused work and study spaces. Imperial tutors and lecturers keep standards high in all classes and keep the learning experience interactive and up-to-date. Many of the faculty are award winners and leading researchers in their fields, so students can be sure they’re learning from the best of the best.

 

Specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine, Imperial is an ideal option for any hard-working student who wants a great academic experience at a university with lots of industry connections. An academic experience that can smoothly lead to professional success and graduate job prospects, to be more specific.

 

Since Imperial is on London’s doorstep, students are also never far away from all the options and facilities of the capital city. This includes amazing internship opportunities and endless extracurricular choices. For student life in London and academic life at a standard that’s very hard to top, it has to be Imperial.

 

Discover more about Imperial College:

 

Teaching quality

Entry requirements

Scholarships & funding

University structure

Facilities

Student support

Graduate outcomes

 

Teaching Quality

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022 (THE) place Imperial 12th in the world. The QS World University Rankings for 2023 raise this place to sixth. Clearly, Imperial is a respected education option with an impressive reputation. This is a reputation the university has had for many years, but it’s as well-earned and valid today as it was in the early 1900s when Imperial first opened its doors.

 

The institution employs 75 fellows of the Royal Society across its faculties, and 14 of its former students have won the Nobel Laureate prize. In 2014, alumnus Martin Hairer won the Fields Medal as a mathematician under 40 years of age.

 

Imperial also does very well in subject-specific rankings. For example, THE places the university sixth for civil and structural engineering, seventh for petroleum engineering, and eighth for medicine.  With specialisms in science, medicine, engineering and business, some of the most talented academics and professionals in all of these fields are on staff, and they are expertly passing the information and skills they have developed on to their students.

 

High-quality teaching is the only kind of teaching delivered at Imperial. The teaching quality is clear to potential applicants when they learn that Imperial has a teaching score of 80.8 per cent to go with those amazing global university ranking positions.

 

How does Imperial make sure quality teaching is always on offer? With a clear academic strategy and defined values of sustainability, creativity and leadership. Every lecturer aims to help every student develop these values, and students are taught to look for all the ways that they might be able to make the world around them a better place.

 

Entry Requirements

The entry requirements for Imperial change depending on the course, though there are some general university requirements applied to all candidates, too. International students should make themselves aware of the qualification equivalents Imperial accepts from their country at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

 

For undergraduates, these will be the equivalent of A Levels, one of the basic standard university entry requirements in the UK. For postgraduates, previous university qualifications in relevant subjects will be requested, usually a minimum of a bachelor’s degree. At both study levels, students will also need to prove a certain level of English understanding. Plus, as Imperial is a very competitive university, better grades will come with a higher chance of being approved for admission.

 

Course-specific entry requirements can include certain grades and certain previous subjects having been studied. For example, postgraduate applicants for the master’s in digital chemistry at Imperial will need an existing upper second-class (at minimum) bachelor’s degree in chemistry or a related field.

 

English Score Required

English is the language of teaching and assessment at Imperial. This means that all international applicants must prove their level of English language understanding to be considered for admission to the London university.

 

For applicants who can’t show their proficiency in another way (things like English fluency, previous education in English or residency in certain home countries), an English test will be required, and applicants will need to present a certain minimum score to be considered. Many testing methods are accepted, including the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

 

At Imperial, there are two levels of English language understanding that might be required – the Standard Level and the Higher Level. Each course page will let an applicant know whether they need to meet the minimum requested scores for the Standard Level or the Higher Level. At the Standard Level, that means an IELTS overall band score of 6.5 with no individual band scores below 6, and at the Higher Level, that means an IELTS overall band score of 7 with no individual band scores below 6.5

 

These score requirements apply to postgraduate and undergraduate courses, and it’s up to applicants to figure out which level they need to be at through their chosen course’s details page. The university only accepts IELTS results/other English test scores that are less than two years old. Students who don’t quite meet the requirements but really want to study at Imperial will often decide to take one of the university’s pre-sessional English programmes.

 

Admission

At Imperial, international postgraduate applicants apply to the university directly online and can only apply for a maximum of two programmes at a time. International undergraduates submit a student admission application through UCAS and can apply to up to five courses at five different UK universities at one time. When applying, they should remember to include a personal statement explaining why they want to study their chosen course.

 

This is the most individual and unique part of the application, so it’s an important thing to include, especially for a competitive university like Imperial. Application tips are easy to find online, including on the Imperial website.

 

Applicants at both levels of academic study are encouraged to do all the relevant research before applying for university admission, including preparing the supporting documents they’re likely to need (e.g., academic transcripts and certificates, and for postgraduates, the details of two referees).

 

Applicants should also get to know the fees associated with admission to Imperial to make sure they can cover them. There is an application fee during the admission process of between GBP 22 and 135 (depending on when a student is starting their studies, whether they’re applying to multiple universities, and what level of study they’re applying for). Tuition fees change a lot between courses and study levels, but the average annual tuition cost for an international student at Imperial is GBP 35,000.

 

Scholarships & Funding

Imperial only offers university scholarships to postgraduate students, but the scholarships that are on offer are extremely helpful sources of funding support. The President’s PhD Scholarships are directed at students with amazing existing university grades who want to fund their doctoral research degree.

 

50 President’s PhD Scholarships are awarded every year to first-year PhD students who meet certain academic criteria, and then they are renewed for the next three and a half years. They give students access to opportunities and events at the Imperial Graduate School, and they cover total funding of tuition fees, a yearly stipend of GBP 22,900 to cover other living and learning costs, and a yearly consumables fund of GBP 2,000.

 

International students from displaced communities applying for a master’s programme can be awarded one of Imperial’s Sanctuary Scholarships. These are given to students with refugee or asylum seeker status, and they cover total funding of tuition fees, a yearly stipend of GBP 16,500 delivered in monthly instalments, a grant of GBP 1,500 toward the costs of a laptop/other learning materials and costs covered for any English language tests a student might need to take.

 

As a part of these Sanctuary Scholarships, Imperial can also offer private accommodation for 12 months. This accommodation includes a free brunch every weekend and access to lots of fun social activities. If students choose this option, it will be deducted from their stipend total, but they can also choose to find their own accommodation if this suits them better.

 

Other financial aid options like grants and hardship funds may be available to Imperial students (including undergraduates), and any student with questions or worries about funding and fees is encouraged to reach out to the university for financial student support.

 

University Structure

Imperial has nine campuses across the city of London. These are all in exciting, student-friendly areas close to excellent research facilities. Each of them is home to a number of different schools, faculties and departments, but they all keep up the university’s high standards of research and education. The nine Imperial locations are:

 

  • Charing Cross Campus
  • White City Campus
  • Chelsea and Westminster Campus
  • Hammersmith Campus
  • Northwest London Hospitals Campus
  • South Kensington Campus
  • St Mary’s Campus
  • Royal Brompton Campus
  • Silwood Park Campus

 

Across all Imperial sites, there are three main faculties, and each one contains a number of departments/schools/institutes/centres. There’s also the Imperial College Business School, which stands alone but contains a number of subject areas (and courses within those subject areas). The organisational structure is as follows:

 

  • The Faculty of Engineering
    • The Department of Aeronautics
    • The Department of Bioengineering
    • The Department of Chemical Engineering
    • The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
    • The Department of Computing
    • The Dyson School of Design Engineering
    • The Department of Earth Science and Engineering
    • The Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
    • The Department of Materials
    • The Department of Mechanical Engineering
  • The Faculty of Medicine
    • The Department of Brain Sciences
    • The Department of Immunology and Inflammation
    • The Department of Infectious Disease
    • The Institute of Clinical Sciences
    • The Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction
    • The National Heart and Lung Institute
    • The School of Public Health
    • The Department of Surgery and Cancer
  • The Faculty of Natural Sciences
    • The Department of Chemistry
    • The Department of Mathematics
    • The Department of Physics
    • The Department of Life Sciences
    • The Centre for Environmental Policy
  • The Imperial College Business School
    • Analytics and operations
    • Economics and public policy
    • Finance
    • Management and entrepreneurship
    • Marketing

 

Facilities

Imperial has some of the best resources and facilities in London. Whether students are learning in the Read and Pippard lecture theatres or joining a sports team, they can expect a great experience. Plus, students can benefit from all the extracurricular opportunities and student life centres available in the city of London, from restaurants and cafés to interesting museums and galleries.

 

There are lots of campus libraries, and every library is its own student activity centre for studying and research, filled with useful materials and resources (print and digital) that students can turn to for their assignments. The libraries also host useful academic skills events and workshops, and there’s an ICT Service Desk for computer-related issues.

 

The Imperial College Union is student-run and dedicated to representing all students (including international students and those from less fortunate backgrounds). The union runs events and campaigns, as well as a number of campus shops which include merchandise and products for certain projects.

 

Move Imperial is the centre of all the university’s sports and fitness facilities. Through Move Imperial, students can stay active and access a range of student recreation centres, gyms, classes and sports clubs. In total, there are over 90 clubs and societies at Imperial, and as a top 20 sports university, there are some great competition opportunities for athletic students at high levels.

 

In total, there are over 29 cafés and restaurants on Imperial premises. Options include the Roastery and the lovely Eastside Bar, which offers main meals, snacks and a relaxed evening atmosphere. It’s a great place to watch sports and catch up with friends.

 

Accommodation

At Imperial, new domestic and international students live in the same university accommodation. This is a great way to make friends and adapt to life in London with other students from around the world. All students who accept an offer from Imperial are given a place in one of the Imperial residences, and there are eight of these accommodation options across London.

 

Each option is in a different area and comes with different features, with sites ranking from North Action to Putney to Paddington. Thanks to the London Underground transport system, it’s always easy for students to get to their classes quickly, no matter what campus they’re based on.

 

Imperial student accommodation fees include all bills, and students are charged weekly for their rooms/apartments. Fees vary depending on room and accommodation type. The most expensive accommodation, for example, is found in the Eastside and Southside Halls, where rooms can cost up to GBP 331 weekly.

 

Postgraduate students can choose to live either in halls on the Silwood Park Campus, in Gradpad accommodation or in a privately rented shared student house or single studio apartment. The Silwood Park Campus is outside of London, but the accommodation is cheaper. Room costs range from GBP 101 to 233 per week, and there are five halls in total.

 

Student Support

The student support services offered by Imperial are very comprehensive. Several student support teams work together to make sure that everyone at the university has access to all the student services they need, whatever their issues happen to be.

 

There are, for example, free and private counselling and mental health services available. All counsellors are qualified and experienced, and they can act as student guides, creating safe environments for students to talk about their feelings and issues. Counsellors can help with moderate, serious and continuing mental health issues, and students are encouraged to reach out as soon as they think they might need some help/need to talk.

 

There’s also a chaplaincy service that students with and without faith can use, as well as a multi-faith prayer space, mindfulness sessions and personal development coaching opportunities. The Disability Advisory Service offers student support services for people with learning difficulties, health conditions and accessibility needs. There’s also a Sexual Violence support team and a Student Hub for administrative questions. Overall, there’s every service a student could need to feel safe and supported.

 

Graduate Outcomes

Imperial has a great reputation when it comes to graduate outcomes. It has been ranked as the 30th best university in the world for graduate employment by the QS World University Rankings 2023, and it has an employment outcomes rating of 88.8 per cent. Graduate job prospects are strong, and with a degree from Imperial, alumni have many career options.

 

The university holds students to professional standards in the classroom, and it offers them a number of career services outside the classroom to help each one on their journey to a successful future. For example, Imperial runs many events (including career fairs and networking days) across the academic year. It also gives students easy access to career guides who can help them figure out their plans for the future and connect them with useful employability resources.

 

One more great thing about Imperial’s employment services; they’re available to students for up to three years after they graduate. Truly, this is a university that gives students all the help it possibly can. Students leave Imperial with new academic, social, personal and leadership skills.

 

They also have many work experience, placement and internship opportunities available to them during their studies to help them stand out at graduation since Imperial is so conveniently located in England’s capital. Imperial alumni include Brian May, H.G. Wells and Layla Moran. The university’s ability to support and develop talented students has a long history, and they often go on to achieve big things. That opportunity is available to anybody who chooses to continue their studies at Imperial.

 

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Key facts and figures at Imperial College London

Rankings

Hotcourses Diversity Index (What is this?)

DIVERSITY INDEX
Source: HESA

137 International student nationalities at this university

FEEL AT HOME INDEX
Source: HESA

1.78% International students from USA

Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024
Source: THE

8

OVERALL SCORE

95.1%

TEACHING

90.9%

INTERNATIONAL OUTLOOK

98.3%

INDUSTRY INCOME

90.9%

RESEARCH

95.5%

CITATIONS

98.6%
QS World University Rankings 2025
Source: QS

2

Academic Ranking of World Universities 2024
Source: ARWU

25

Student life in numbers

COSTS PER YEAR
LIVING COSTS

£3,927

CAMPUS ACCOMMODATION

£8,205

AVERAGE TUITION FEE PER YEAR

UNDERGRADUATE

£40,920

POSTGRADUATE

£38,080

Student reviews

Overall experience

67% of reviewers recommend Imperial College London

Admission process

Funding/Scholarships

Study experience

Life experience

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(3 reviews)

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image Anonymous, Egypt

Lots of work

The work is stressful and difficult.
Students applying should think twice about the work load and difficulty

The work is stressful and difficult. Students applying should think twice about the work load and difficulty

image Anonymous

Imperial College London

Socially it was bad - it's a technical university so a very heavy dis-balance between number of guys and girls, which makes for a bad social atmosphere.

In other respects it was very good.

Socially it was bad - it's a technical university so a very heavy dis-balance between number of guys and girls, which makes for a bad social atmosphere. In other respects it was very good.

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