University Name:
See all universitiesImperial College
UCAS Code: I50
Location: Central London Show on Map
Site: Single Kensington campus & London hospitals.
World-class research-intensive institution; a member of the Russell Group of universities.
Student Population
| Total Students: | 14,865 |
| Undergraduates: | 58% |
| Postgraduates: | 42% |
| FE Students: | 0% |
Undergraduates
| Total undergraduates: | 8,580 |
| Male: | 64% |
| Female: | 36% |
| Full Time: | 100% |
| Mature on Entry: | 8% |
| UK Students: | 65% |
| State school entry: | 63% |
Teaching Staff
1200 full- and part-time
Broad study areas
Engineering & computing; physical & life sciences; medicine; business.
Freshers
| Admission Information: | College minimum entrance requirements fully accept AS-levels although most courses have A-level requirements. Virtually all offers made on basis of specified subject grades, some with A*. |
| Points on Entry (Mean): | 488 |
| Drop Out Rate: | 6% |
| Accommodation: | All first years housed. |
Institution
| Founded: | 1907. Previously part of London University; became university in its own right 2007. |
| Site: | 16-acre site in South Kensington. Medical school sites in Hammersmith, Paddington, Chelsea, Fulham. |
| How to get there: | South Kensington and Gloucester Road underground stations and buses for main site; all medical school sites close to tube and buses |
| Special features: | Established 'to give the highest specialised instruction and to provide the fullest equipment for the most advanced training and research in various branches of science especially in its application to industry'. Applications from women are strongly encouraged. Director of Music leads a variety of musical activities. Some 180 visiting professors. |
Student services & facilities
| Student advice & services: | Vacation training scheme, careers advisory service, student accommodation office, health centre, student counsellor, welfare adviser, nightline, nursery, disabilities officer, college tutor. Information & advice centre, chaplaincy. |
| Amenities: | SU building with refectory, bar, bookshop, etc; wide range of societies. |
| Sporting facilities: | Sports centre at South Kensington campus (indoor 25m deck-level swimming pool, sauna, steam room & spa, 5-court sports hall, climbing wall, 70-station fitness gym, aerobics studio, squash courts, juice bar). Other sites have own sporting facilities. Boathouse at Putney, includes gym, workshop, physiotherapy and sports therapy. |
| Accommodation: | First years guaranteed accommodation (subject to certain conditions). 3000+ undergraduate places, all self-catering on 39-week contracts; rents £99−£236 per week (£77−£125 sharing). Privately-owned accommodation locally approx £100-£240 pw for self-catering. |
Study opportunities & careers
| Library & information services: | Central library and 5 departmental libraries at South Kensington campus; 5 medical and 2 life science campus libraries. Over 1 million volumes, 20,000+ periodical titles (print and electronic); 2000 study places. Information provision, £323 pa spent for each student (FTE). Also provides literacy training. Separate IT support service, high speed and wireless network access to on-site and off-site resources. Workstations in every department offer wide range of application programs with further general workstation access provided in the central library. Helpdesk and additional support via specialist IT staff. |
| Other learning resources: | 240-acre college field station at Silwood Park (near Ascot). Specialist collections: Haldane collection covers humanities, general reading and music including CDs and scores. |
| Study abroad: | Wide range of exchange schemes with prestigious technological institutions across Europe allows students to undertake project work for 3-12 months abroad. Strong commitment to year abroad courses (available in most departments); extensive network in EU through Socrates-Erasmus scheme. |
| Careers: | Traditionally industry; but increasing number of graduates enter accountancy, banking, insurance etc, as well as general commercial areas. |
Money
| Living expenses budget: | Minimum budget of £10,530 for each academic year recommended by college (excluding tuition fees), £14,040 for a calendar year. |
| Term-time work: | College allows term-time work; limit of 6−8 hours pw. Some work available in college bars, offices, library. |
| Financial help: | Fee reductions for all UK/EU students whose family income is up to £40k pa and bursaries where it is up to £60k pa: help of £6000 pa (£2500 fee reduction, £3500 bursary) for those whose family income is up to £25k pa, of £5000 pa (£1800 fee reduction, £3500 bursary) where it is £25k−£30k pa, of £4600 (£1100 fee reduction, £3500 bursary) where it is £30k−£35k pa, or of £3800 (£300 fee reduction, £3500 bursary) where family income is £35k−£40k pa; then bursary gradually reduced to £900 pa where family income is £55k−£60k pa. Range of scholarships, value £100−£5000 pa for eg engineering, medicine, rowing, music. Also £390,000 government funds (average award £990); £318,000 own funds (average award £780). Own funds also available for those experiencing unforeseen short-term need. Apply for help to student finance office. |
| University tuition fees: | Home students pay £9000 pa for first degrees. International students pay £22,500-£25,000 (courses except medicine), £27,500−£39,150 pa (medicine). |
Courses
Academic features:
MSci in chemistry with conservation science; 6-year MBBS. Range of humanities and language modules which can be taken for credit. Opportunity for some 300 undergraduates a year to gain hands-on experience with one of Imperial's research teams.
Awarding body:
Imperial College London
Main undergraduate awards:
MEng, BEng, BSc, MSci, MBBS.
Length of courses:
3, 4 or 5 years (science and engineering); 6 years (medicine).
Main subjects offered:
- Aeronautical Engineering
- Air Transport Engineering
- Animal Science
- Artificial Intelligence
- Bacteriology
- Biochemistry
- Biology
- Biomedical Science
- Biotechnology
- Business Administration
- Business Economics
- Business Studies
- Chemical Engineering
- Chemistry
- Civil Engineering
- Computational Mathematics
- Computer Engineering
- Computer Science
- Computing
- Conservation
- Digital Microelectronics
- Earth Sciences
- Ecology
- Electrical Engineering
- Electronic Engineering
- Electronics
- Engineering (General)
- Environmental Biology
- Environmental Engineering
- Environmental Science
- Finance
- French
- Geology
- Geophysics
- Geoscience
- German
- Information Systems
- Interactive Games Production
- Management
- Materials Science
- Materials Technology
- Mathematics
- Mechanical Engineering
- Medicinal Chemistry
- Medicine
- Microbiology
- Molecular Biology
- Music
- Nuclear Science
- Pharmacology
- Physics
- Plant Science
- Software Engineering
- Spanish
- Statistics
- Structural Engineering
- Zoology
Student view
Alexander Kendall, S U President (graduated in biology)
Living
What's it like as a place to live? South Kensington is a great place to live; it must be one of the safest neighbourhoods in London and has easy transport links to the centre of town, as well as some of the greatest cultural institutions in the World, such as the V&A Museum and the Royal Albert Hall.
How's the student accommodation? Most of the accommodation is of a very high standard as it has been recently refurbished. There are some exceptions but they are being tackled bit by bit. The prices for most halls are seen by students as too expensive but there are some cheap rooms and some sharing rooms.
What's the student population like? The student population comes from all around the world and although they are extremely studious they are also friendly and very active. We have nearly 300 Clubs and Societies and a participation rate at over 50%. Running the Clubs and Societies are over 1800 student volunteers, showing how engaged Imperial students are.
How do students and locals get on? We are surrounded by museums and embassies so there aren't too many locals to the University, though the people living behind the Union are on good terms with us.
Studying
What's it like as a place to study? The courses here are all Science, Engineering, Medicine and Business, which means they are traditional subjects but studying at the cutting edge of research. The facilities are very good, with one of the best (and free) student gyms around, as well as several catering facilities. The addition of the Student Hub, a help and advice centre, allows the College to reach out to students, and the library has a fantastic collection and is consistently voted above 90% in satisfaction surveys.
What are the teaching staff like? Academic staff vary as much as students, but on the whole they are people passionate about their research and about conveying that research to students; though this can sometimes be hard to follow, Imperial is as good as it is because of its strong tradition in research-led teaching.
Socialising
What are student societies like? We have nearly 300 societies with a participation rate of over 50% of students. Most societies are fantastic, running their own finances and putting on events, trips, socials, debates, and anything else you can think of. The calendar is never empty.
What's a typical night out? Drinks at the Union then clubbing in central London.
And how much does it cost? Union is pretty cheap.
How can you get home safely? There are night buses to most student areas.
Money
Is it an expensive place to live? It can be an expensive place to live, especially with rents, but food and drink are mostly the same as elsewhere if you know where to look.
Average price of a pint? At the Union, £2. Elsewhere, £3.50.
And the price of a takeaway? £10.
What's the part-time work situation? There are quite a few part time jobs available in shops all over London, but these tend to get snatched up by students pretty quickly, and we are competing with other London Universities. The Union hires students as casual workers, which is quite flexible, and we have never heard of the University disapproving of students working.
Summary
What's the best feature about the place? The quality of the teaching and the resources available online and in the library. Being taught by researchers means you hear about scientific breakthroughs as they happen.
And the worst? Rents are very expensive in London, especially near Imperial; this drives students to live far away from the University, which increases travel costs.
And to sum it all up? Imperial is a world class place to study, both in terms of the teaching you receive from world-class scientists and engineers, but also through the student societies which widen your life experience. There is no limit to what you can achieve at Imperial, whether your dream is to become a leading researcher, world class sports player or even just to meet people from nearly every country in the world.
Past Students
H G Wells (author), Sir Lewis Casson (actor and director), Sir Granville Bantock (composer), Joan Ruddock (politician), Sir John Egan (ex-BAA), Sir Alexander Fleming (discovered penicillin), Thomas Huxley (biologist), Dr David Livingstone (explorer), Raj Persaud (psychiatrist), Francis Wilson (meteorologist), Brian May (Queen guitarist), Trevor Philips (Equality & Human Rights Commission).
More info?
Call ICU President, tel 020 7594 8060, website www.union.imperial.ac.uk.
Open days
20th June 2012
Open days, 11.30 am to 2.30 pm (lunch included). For those interested in the undergraduate courses in geology, geophysics and geosciences. Booking essential – book online.
28th June 2012
Open day for science and engineering, 9 am to 4pm. It will include two 90-minute departmental sessions starting at 10.30 am and 2 pm. You will have a chance to speak to current staff and students, a tour of some halls of residence, further information about applying and all aspects of student life. Book online (from April 2012).
4th July 2012
Open day for medicine and geology
For those interested in the undergraduate courses in geology, geophysics and geosciences, 11.30 am to 2.30 pm (lunch included). Booking essential – book online.
For medicine: this will allow you to find out more about how to apply, see a demonstration interview; gain an understanding of the structure of the undergraduate course, how it is taught and to find out from our current medical students what it is really like to be at Imperial. You will also be able to tour some of the facilities and to ask questions of both our academic staff and current students. Book online.
26th September 2012
Open days, 11.30 am to 2.30 pm (lunch included). For those interested in the undergraduate courses in geology, geophysics and geosciences. Booking essential – book online.
Contact
Address:
Imperial College London
South Kensington
London
SW7 2AZ
Greater London
Tel:
020 7589 5111
Email:
Website:
Student enquiries:
Admissions Office
Application:
UCAS
News & Events
See AllFeatured Universities
