Education in London

London is home to a diverse number of universities, colleges and schools, and is a leading centre of research and development. This includes prominent universities such as Imperial College London, King’s College London, School of Oriental and African Studies, University College London, the London School of Economics and London Business School.

London has the largest student population of any British city, although not the highest per capita. Universities in London may be divided into two groups.

First, the federal University of London which, with over 100,000 students, is the largest contact teaching university in the United Kingdom and in Europe. It comprises over 50 colleges and institutes with a high degree of autonomy. Constituent colleges have their own admissions procedures, and are effectively universities in their own right, although all degrees are awarded by the University of London rather than the individual colleges.

Secondly, there are other universities not part of the University of London, some of which were polytechnics until UK polytechnics were granted university status in 1992, and others which were founded much earlier.