University of Warwick

We’re a world-leading university with the highest academic and research standards. But we’re not letting the story end there.

That’s because we’re a place of possibility. We’re always looking for new ways to make things happen. Whether you’re a dedicated student, an innovative lecturer or an ambitious company, Warwick provides a tireless yet supportive environment in which you can make an impact.

And our students, alumni and staff are consistently making an impact - the kind that changes lives, whether close to home or on a global scale.

It’s the achievements of our people that help explain why our levels of research excellence and scholarship are recognised internationally.

It’s a prime attraction for some of the biggest names in worldwide business and industry.

It’s why we’re ranked highly in the lists of great UK and world universities.

All of this contributes to a compelling story, one that’s little more than 50 years old. But who said youth should hold you back from changing the world?

University of St Andrews

St Andrews is a unique and captivating place, and the University is a key part of its charm. Seven centuries of history link the students with the town, leading to the ancient and yet modern institution apparent today. For those interested in visiting or moving to St Andrews we recommend taking a look at the town information, which describes the facilities and opportunities open to the local community.One of the joys of St Andrews is the close integration of the University and the town. There is no University campus; instead, University buildings are scattered along charming streets, intermingling with local businesses, historic ruins and stunning sea views.

Visitors, local residents and University staff and students all benefit from the town’s facilities from playing fields through to cafes and services of worship. Whether you’re planning on staying in St Andrews for just a few days, for the course of your studies or as a permanent base, you can find out what to expect from the town here.

Durham University

Durham University is distinctive - a residential collegiate university with long traditions and modern values. We seek the highest distinction in research and scholarship and are committed to excellence in all aspects of education and transmission of knowledge. Our research and scholarship affect every continent. We are proud to be an international scholarly community which reflects the ambitions of cultures from around the world. We promote individual participation, providing a rounded education in which students, staff and alumni gain both the academic and the personal skills required to flourish.

Imperial College London

 History

• Imperial College London was established in 1907.
  In 2007 the College celebrated its 100th year of academic excellence and became independent from the University of London.
• Breakthroughs associated with the College include the discovery of penicillin, the development of holography and the foundations of fibre optics. 
• Today Imperial researchers are working to improve global health, tackle climate change, develop sustainable sources of energy technology and address security challenges.

Location and Transport

• Eight campuses in and around London, with a ninth west London campus currently under development. The main campus is in South Kensington, in central London.
• South Kensington is an area long established as a cultural centre for the arts, sciences and music. Imperial's neighbours include the Royal Albert Hall, the Science Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
• There are excellent transport links with the underground, buses and Paddington (Heathrow Express) and Victoria (Gatwick Express) mainline train stations nearby.

Entry Standards

• Entry requirements for undergraduate courses range from A*A*A to AAB at A level, or equivalent qualification, depending on the course.
• Specific A-level (or equivalent) subjects may be required to apply for some subjects.
• Find out more about entry requirements at Imperial on the website (http://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/ug/apply/requirements/ugacademic/).

Student Mix

The 16,225 students enrolled in the academic year 2013/14 comprise:

Level of study
Undergraduate 55% Postgraduate 45%
Mode of study
Full Time 91% Part Time 9%
Domicile
UK 54% EU 16% Other 30%
Student gender
Male 66% Female 34%

• Students come from more than 140 countries.

Teaching Standards

• Acknowledged worldwide as a centre of excellence for teaching.
• In the 2014 National Student Survey the College’s overall Teaching Satisfaction score was 88%, and Overall Satisfaction increased to 87% (+1% from 2013).

Research Standards

• Consistently recognised as one of the top UK university institutions for research quality.
• Research income is one of the largest in the UK – £449 million for 2013–14.
• In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014, 91% of Imperial's research activity was judged as world-leading or internationally excellent, the highest proportion of any
  
  SOURCE:theuniversityguide

3. London School of Economics and Political Science

LSE was founded in 1895 and has grown to become one of the foremost social science universities in the world, ranked alongside Harvard, UC Berkeley and Stanford.

A specialist university with an international intake, LSE's reach extends from its central London campus to around the world.

The School has a cosmopolitan student body, with around 9,600 full time students from 140 countries
It has a staff of just over 3,300, with about 44 per cent drawn from countries outside the UK
Over 100 languages are spoken on LSE's campus
An influential network of over 160,000 LSE alumni spans the world, covering over 190 countries with more than 80 active alumni groups.
Nobel Prize winners

A total of 16 Nobel Prize winners in economics, peace and literature have been either LSE staff or alumni. The first was George Bernard Shaw, one of the founders of LSE, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1925. The most recent was Professor Christopher Pissarides, professor of economics at LSE and holder of the Norman Sosnow Chair in Economics, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics in 2010. He is also a fellow of the Centre for Economic Performance at LSE and of the Centre for Economic Policy Research.

World leaders, MPs and House of Lords

In all, 37 past or present world leaders have studied or taught at LSE and 31 current members of the UK House of Commons and 42 members of the House of Lords have also either taught or studied at LSE.

Research Excellence Framework 2014 (REF)

LSE confirmed its position as a world-leading research university, with an outstanding performance in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF). It is ranked the top university in the UK in its social science disciplines.

In 2008 the UK Research Assessment Exercise found that LSE had the highest percentage of world leading research of any UK university, topping or coming close to the top of a number of rankings of research excellence. Individual subject areas, notably economics, law, social policy and European studies, headed national tables of excellence.

Research centres

The School has one of the largest concentrations of applied economic, financial and social science research of any university in the world. It has 220 research centres, including the Centre for Economic Performance and the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.

Teaching

A wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in social sciences are taught across 25 academic departments and interdisciplinary institutes and centres.

Partnerships

LSE has established a global network with a small number of high quality universities across the world. There are multi-faceted institutional academic partnerships with Columbia University (New York), Sciences Po (Paris), Peking University (Beijing), the National University of Singapore and the University of Cape Town.

Events

LSE has one of the most prestigious public events programmes in the world. Nelson Mandela, Dmitry Medvedev, Bill Clinton, Angela Merkel, Aung San Suu Kyi, David Cameron and the Dalai Lama have all spoken at LSE.

Library

The LSE Library was founded shortly after the School itself in 1896, as the British Library of Political and Economic Science. The Library collection carries Designated status as being of outstanding national and international importance.

See also:

University of Oxford

In 1188, the historian, Gerald of Wales, gave a public reading to the assembled Oxford dons and in around 1190 the arrival of Emo of Friesland, the first known overseas student, set in motion the University's tradition of international scholarly links. By 1201, the University was headed by a magister scolarum Oxonie, on whom the title of Chancellor was conferred in 1214, and in 1231 the masters were recognised as a universitas or corporation.

In the 13th century, rioting between town and gown (townspeople and students) hastened the establishment of primitive halls of residence. These were succeeded by the first of Oxford's colleges, which began as medieval 'halls of residence' or endowed houses under the supervision of a Master. University, Balliol and Merton Colleges, which were established between 1249 and 1264, are the oldest.

Less than a century later, Oxford had achieved eminence above every other seat of learning, and won the praises of popes, kings and sages by virtue of its antiquity, curriculum, doctrine and privileges. In 1355, Edward III paid tribute to the University for its invaluable contribution to learning; he also commented on the services rendered to the state by distinguished Oxford graduates.

From its early days, Oxford was a centre for lively controversy, with scholars involved in religious and political disputes. John Wyclif, a 14th-century Master of Balliol, campaigned for a Bible in the vernacular, against the wishes of the papacy. In 1530, Henry VIII forced the University to accept his divorce from Catherine of Aragon, and during the Reformation in the 16th century, the Anglican churchmen Cranmer, Latimer and Ridley were tried for heresy and burnt at the stake in Oxford.

The University was Royalist in the Civil War, and Charles I held a counter-Parliament in Convocation House. In the late 17th century, the Oxford philosopher John Locke, suspected of treason, was forced to flee the country.

The 18th century, when Oxford was said to have forsaken port for politics, was also an era of scientific discovery and religious revival. Edmund Halley, Professor of Geometry, predicted the return of the comet that bears his name; John and Charles Wesley's prayer meetings laid the foundations of the Methodist Society.

The University assumed a leading role in the Victorian era, especially in religious controversy. From 1833 onwards The Oxford Movement sought to revitalise the Catholic aspects of the Anglican Church. One of its leaders, John Henry Newman, became a Roman Catholic in 1845 and was later made a Cardinal. In 1860 the new University Museum was the scene of a famous debate between Thomas Huxley, champion of evolution, and Bishop Wilberforce.

From 1878, academic halls were established for women and they were admitted to full membership of the University in 1920. Five all-male colleges first admitted women in 1974 and, since then, all colleges have changed their statutes to admit both women and men. St Hilda's College, which was originally for women only, was the last of Oxford's single sex colleges. It has admitted both men and women since 2008.

During the 20th and early 21st centuries, Oxford added to its humanistic core a major new research capacity in the natural and applied sciences, including medicine. In so doing, it has enhanced and strengthened its traditional role as an international focus for learning and a forum for intellectual debate.
(source:ox.ac.uk)

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is one of the oldest universities in the world, and one of the largest in the United Kingdom. It has a world-wide reputation for outstanding academic achievement and the high quality of research undertaken in a wide range of science and arts subjects.

The University pioneers work in the understanding of disease, the creation of new materials, advances in telecommunications, and research into the origins of the universe. It trains doctors, veterinary surgeons, architects, engineers and teachers.

About half of the students at Cambridge study arts and humanities subjects at undergraduate or postgraduate degree level. Many of these have gone on to become prominent figures in the arts, print and broadcast media. It may be helpful to see information on all of the courses offered at Cambridge, as well as the explanation of Cambridge's degree classification system.

The University's achievements in the sciences can be measured by the sixty or more Nobel Prizes awarded to its members over the years.

Organisation and student numbers

The University of Cambridge has an undergraduate population of over 11,000 and is an international centre for advanced study and research with some 5,500 postgraduate students.

Every student is a member of the University of Cambridge, of a faculty or department, and of a college. The University organises examinations (these are mainly in the Easter Term, see exam timetable), awards degrees, and through its 21 faculties and 50 departments manages and provides teaching and research.

The 31 colleges look after their students' accommodation, general welfare and personal tuition. Each college will ensure that its students have a Tutor who is responsible for helping with any problems, a Director of Studies who oversees the individual student's academic work, and supervisors who supervise academic topics.

The University of Cambridge is not a campus university, therefore unlike other universities it has no central Students' Union building or cafeteria, nor are there any central notice boards. Contacting your target audience of students can sometimes involve a number of different routes, and the Careers Service can offer invaluable advice on advertising vacancies, presenting at Cambridge, attending careers events and effective publicity.