Imperial College London

Imperial College London is a public research university in London specializing in science, engineering, medicine and business. It was established by Royal Charter in 1907, when the Royal College of Science, the Royal School of Mines and the City and Guilds College merged. It later absorbed several London medical schools, including St Mary's. Imperial was a constituent college of the University of London until it became independent in 2007.

The college has four faculties: Engineering, Natural Sciences, Medicine and Imperial Business School. Its main campus is in South Kensington, next to the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum. Other sites include White City, Hammersmith, St Mary's in Paddington and Silwood Park. Research strengths include infectious disease epidemiology, materials, chemical engineering, climate science and data science. Institutes include the Grantham Institute on climate and the Data Science Institute.

Imperial enrolls about 22,000 students, and postgraduates account for more than 40 percent. International students make up more than half of the student body and come from about 140 countries. More than a dozen Nobel laureates have been associated with the college, among them Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin at St Mary's in 1928. Other alumni include H.G. Wells and Brian May.

Graduate study is split between one-year taught MSc and MRes programs and research PhDs of about three to four years. Many doctoral students enter through funded Centres for Doctoral Training. Taught master's degrees usually run from October to September, with a summer research project. Funding sources include the President's PhD Scholarships and UK research council studentships. Students work in central London and have access to its museums, hospitals and industry.

In the Grad School Navigator directory, Imperial College London lists 184 graduate programs across 35 subjects: 145 master's programs and 37 doctoral programs, with the widest choice in biology, physics and health & medical sciences. Imperial College London holds rank 15 in the GSN Overall University Ranking.