South Asia

As a student in London, you'll be welcomed into a city where over 300 languages are spoken and where over 100,000 students from 200 countries come to study each year.

Each year, we welcome students from over 100 countries. South Asian nations currently represented at Imperial include:

• Bangladesh
• India
• Pakistan
• Sri Lanka

The College has a long history of links with South Asia. The first partnerships between academics at the College and the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi began in the 1950s and continues to this day.

You can find out more about these links on our Global Imperial website.

An undergraduate degree at Imperial normally lasts three years for a Bachelor’s level qualification or four years for an integrated Master’s.

Some departments offer a year abroad or a year in industry which can add to the overall length of your degree.

Applying via UCAS

To apply for a full-time undergraduate programme at Imperial, you must make an online application via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service – UCAS. The UCAS code for Imperial College London is I50.

UCAS allows you to apply to a maximum of five courses in one cycle. Find step-by-step instructions on how to apply; you can also visit the UCAS website for more in-depth advice.

If we want to offer you a place, but you have not yet taken your final school exams, then we would usually make you a 'conditional offer'. This means we will guarantee you a place at Imperial subject to you satisfying the conditions of your offer, such as achieving certain scores in your final qualifications and gaining an ATAS certificate for certain courses.

You can submit your results after you have applied; this is usual practice in the UK and is the reason why you must let us know which qualifications you are taking on your UCAS application.

Academic entry requirements

Exact entry requirements vary by course - see our course pages  for details of the range of international qualifications we accept. 

If your school qualification is not on the list of accepted qualifications, you may be considered by taking an accepted Foundation programme, or an accepted qualification at an external provider - see our course pages for details.

English language requirements

All applicants should also achieve the required level of English language and provide evidence of a valid English language qualification to qualify for a place.

There are two levels of English language requirement at Imperial:

• Standard
• Higher

See the English language requirement on the relevant course page to see whether your chosen course requires the standard or higher level. Our English language requirement page has more information about the requirements for each level.

You do not need to have reached the required level before you apply. We can assess your academic profile without your English language qualification. Should we decide to make an offer, we would give you a target grade to meet as part of your offer.

If you have studied one of our recognised English language exams as part of your High School studies (e.g. IGCSE English, IB English etc.), you may be exempt from the need to provide additional evidence of your English language ability. Check our English language requirement page for full details.

English language proficiency tests should have been obtained within two years of the start date of your chosen course.

A Master's degree at Imperial normally lasts one year, though we do offer some degrees which you can take part-time over two years and PG Certificate and PG Diploma qualifications which vary in length.

A PhD with us will usually take 3-4 years of full-time study to complete. 

How to apply

To apply for a Master's or Doctoral course, you need to submit an application via our online application system.

Find out more about how to apply for postgraduate taught or postgraduate doctoral study.

Academic entry requirements

Exact entry requirements vary per course, but to be considered for admission to a Master's e.g. MSc, MRes, MBA etc, you should hold a Bachelor's degree. 

To check if your international qualification meets the College minimum requirement, please see our accepted qualifications.

Departments may also often  set higher level requirements, due to the demanding and competitive nature of our courses. 

For the vast majority of our degrees, we do not require additional testing such as the GRE or GMAT. If we do require any additional testing it will be clearly stated on the course page.

If you're applying for a Doctoral degree, you should hold a Master's degree – the grades you require will be specified by the Department you're applying to. In addition, you'll need to hold a Bachelor's degree passed at the prescribed level.

If we want to make you an offer, but you have not yet graduated, then we would usually make you a conditional offer subject to you achieving a certain grade or score. This means your place at Imperial is guaranteed providing you meet the conditions of your offer.

You can submit your overall average after you have made your application, which is normal practice in the UK.

English language requirements

Successful applicants will need to achieve a certain level of English to qualify for a place on their chosen course.

Each course specifies either a Standard or Higher language requirement, which is the level of English required for entry on to that particular course, even if English is your first language. 

Full details can be found on the relevant course page and English language requirement page.

Re-applying

If you have previously applied to Imperial and were unsuccessful, you will need to submit a new application.

If you have successfully requested deferred entry, you do not need to complete a new application.

You can search all of our scholarships in one place.

Examples of scholarships for students from South Asia include:

Master's students

• Commonwealth Master's Scholarships
• Commonwealth Shared Scholarships
•  

Master's and Research students

• Inlaks Foundation
• India Future Leaders Scholarship

Research students

• President's PhD Scholarships
• Commonwealth PhD Scholarships

Biological Sciences with Management student Akila (Bangalore, India)

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If life at Imperial was all labs and lectures, we wouldn’t have around 350 clubs and societies to get involved with, and state-of-the-art sports facilities right on campus.  

All of our clubs, societies and projects are open to all students, though below are some that you may find of particular interest.

And if there isn’t a society for the things you love yet, you can set one up!   

All of our societies are open to all students but here are some you may find of particular interest:

• Bangladeshi Society 
• Hindu Society
• Indian National Student Association
• Indian Society
• Islamic Society
• Jain Society
• Pakistan Society
• Punjabi Society
• Sikh Society
• South Asian Society
• Sri Lankan Society

Virtual tour

To get a feel for life on our South Kensington Campus, take a virtual tour.

Cultural diversity at Imperial

In our new Shifting The Lens series, Imperial staff and students have opened up about their culture and heritage.

Read about their lives outside of the College – from the festivals they celebrate to the challenges they have faced.

Your relationship with Imperial does not end when you graduate. Some of our international alumni stay in the UK, for instance on a Start-up Visa. 

Meanwhile, the new Graduate Worker Route, launching in 2021, will enable graduates to work in the UK for two years after completing an undergraduate or postgraduate Masters degree, or three years after completing a PhD.

Others move abroad again, and as an Imperial alumnus you will join a community of over 190,000 former students in 200 countries.

We have alumni groups worldwide and you can join our online platform Imperial Plexus to help you build links with other former students.  In South Asia these include:

• Alumni Association in India (with chapters in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, New Delhi and Chennai)

• Alumni Association in Pakistan