London has one of the largest concentrations of universities and higher education institutions in the world. It has 40 higher education institutions[1] (not counting foreign Universities with London branches) and has a student population of more than 400,000.[2][3] Among the institutions in London are some of the old colleges that today make up the federal University of London, modern universities, as well as a number of smaller and often highly specialised universities and colleges. Additionally, over 45,000 students in over 180 countries follow the University of London External System, established in 1858.[4]
Key (lower numbers are better):
University | GUG | TUG | CUG | UoL | AMBA | EQUIS | QS | THE | RG | GT | ARWU |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Birkbeck, University of London | 113 | 122 | 115 | 308 | 301-350 | N/A | |||||
Brunel University London | 72 | 59 | 47 | 346 | 351-400 | 401-500 | |||||
City, University of London | 32 | 75 | 42 | 343 | 351-400 | N/A | |||||
Goldsmiths, University of London | 64 | 63 | 51 | 398 | 301-350 | N/A | |||||
Imperial College London | 6 | 4 | 5 | a | 8 | 8 | 27 | ||||
King's College London | 39 | 28 | 21 | 23 | 36 | 46 | |||||
Kingston University | 81 | 117 | 102 | 501-550 | 601-800 | N/A | |||||
London Metropolitan University | 117 | 128 | 127 | 701-750 | N/A | N/A | |||||
London School of Economics | 15 | 11 | 4 | 35 | 25 | 151-200 | |||||
London South Bank University | 92 | 106 | 108 | 801-1000 | 801-1000 | N/A | |||||
Middlesex University | 70 | 91 | 73 | 701-750 | 401-500 | N/A | |||||
Queen Mary University of London | 44 | 43 | 33 | 127 | 121 | 151-200 | |||||
Royal Holloway, University of London | 40 | 28 | 34 | 259 | 197 | 501-600 | |||||
SOAS, University of London | 25 | 36 | 38 | 296 | 401-500 | N/A | |||||
St George's, University of London | N/A | 75 | 53 | N/A | 201-250 | 401-500 | |||||
St Mary's University, Twickenham | 105 | 99 | 120 | N/A | N/A | N/A | |||||
University College London | 10 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 16 | |||||
University of East London | 107 | 114 | 113 | 801-1000 | 601-800 | N/A | |||||
University of Greenwich | 95 | 109 | 93 | 801-1000 | 601-800 | N/A | |||||
University of Roehampton | 93 | 74 | 69 | N/A | 601-800 | N/A | |||||
University of the Arts London | 59 | 115 | 83 | N/A | N/A | N/A | |||||
University of West London | 58 | 56 | 80 | N/A | N/A | N/A | |||||
University of Westminster | 108 | 106 | 95 | 551-600 | 601-800 | N/A |
Notes:
a Imperial College London, was a college of the University of London but left in 2007.
The following institutions offer British undergraduate and postgraduate courses, but are usually specialised in one or two academic fields.
Colleges which form the federal University of London are in italics.
A number of foreign university institutions operate in London without Royal Charters. Some are bona fide universities with their degrees validated by recognised accreditation bodies abroad or in the UK, while others are not validated at all or are validated by unrecognised accreditation agencies.[16]
Many foreign universities run study-abroad programmes based in London, but these are often restricted to students who spend the majority of their degree studying at the university campus in their own country, and are not independent university campuses. Some of the colleges offering foreign degrees in London are listed below.