Africa

The College works with partners in Africa across a broad range of contexts.

In May 2016, the College launched The Centre of African Research and Engagement (ICCARE) to bring together much of the work taking place across the College. 

Africa also provides a source of inspiration for our students and our researchers. For example, in 2017, an Imperial researcher filmed his daring descent into one of the world's most spectacular active volcanoes in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Find out more about our work with Africa at Imperial Global, including Imperial Global Ghana, a regional hub for collaboration that supports research, education and innovation opportunities.

Each year, we welcome students from over 130 countries. African nations currently represented at Imperial include: Botswana, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda

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 the entry requirements section on our  course pages for details of the 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. Find out more about the English language 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 our scholarships in one place.

Examples of scholarships for students from Africa include:

Undergraduate students

• The Beacon Scholarship for University (residents of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda or Zambia)

Master's students

• Imperial Commonwealth Scholarships
• Petroleum Technology Development Fund (residents of Nigeria)

Research students

• Petroleum Technology Development Fund (residents of Nigeria)
• President's PhD Scholarships

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 you may find the following of particular interest:

• African Caribbean society
• Mauritian society
• Somali society

As well as other cultural societies, there are also clubs and societies covering arts and entertainment, charitable endeavours, departmental and academic-related societies, societies related to faith, media societies (two student newspapers, student radio and TV stations and a photography society) and over 100 sports clubs, including martial arts and indoor and outdoor sports.

Virtual tour

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

Your relationship with Imperial does not end when you graduate.

There are various options to remain in the UK and seek work after you have completed your studies. We can provide specific advice, guidance and assistance with the Graduate visa, which enables graduates to work in the UK for two years after completing an undergraduate or Master's degree, or three years after completing a PhD. We can also provide limited advice and guidance on the Skilled Worker, Global Talent, Tier 5 (Government Authorised Exchange) and Tier 5 (Youth Mobility Scheme) work visas.

Other graduates move abroad again, and as an Imperial alumnus you will join a community of over 250,000 alumni in over 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 Africa these include:

• Alumni Association of Nigeria