On May 23, Angela Lin, the Asia Recruitment Manager from Imperial College London, visited KAIST to hold an information session about pursuing a master’s or doctorate degree at Imperial. During the session, she spoke about Imperial’s unique history and traits that make it such an exceptional university, different programs that are offered, and tips on how to submit a successful application.

Imperial College London is a world-renowned university, ranking 10th in the world and 2nd in Europe according to the latest Times Higher Education World University Rankings. It is an international institution, consisting of students from 126 countries, including 141 students from South Korea. Another indicator of its eminence that is important when considering British universities is the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), which is used by the British government to evaluate the quality of research conducted at British higher education institutions. The RAE indicated that 73% of Imperial College’s research activity was of high or excellent quality, this being the highest proportion among all of United Kingdom’s (UK) multi-faculty universities that were evaluated.

Compared to the programs in Korea and the United States, Manager Lin stressed how those in the UK are shorter and very focused, designed to systematically build up expertise. “Faster and thicker learning” is provided through the master’s degree programs that last for just one year. Doctorate students do not have a “foundation year” of required core classes - they are expected to have already obtained the academic knowledge required, and directly move into research after performing a bit of literature review. However, a new 1+3 framework that includes first year core modules have been recently implemented and is offered through Imperial Doctoral Training Centres. There are just 12 of these centers across the university, and not all departments currently offer it.

Imperial admits its students on a rolling-basis, so it is advantageous to apply as soon as applications open (usually mid to late November each year). Conducting background research and establishing contacts with professors were emphasized for doctorate students. As for English requirements, recent uncovering of fraudulent testing practices has tainted the reputation of Educational Testing Service (ETS)-administered exams, such as the TOEFL and TOEIC, in the UK, and it was recommended for students to take the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) instead. Manager Lin said she would be glad to answer any further questions students may have about Imperial at angela.lin@imperial.ac.kr.