A number of world-leading education institutions are based in London. In the 2010 QS World University Rankings, University College London (UCL) is ranked 4th, Imperial College London 7th and King's College London 21st in the world. The London School of Economics has been described as the world's leading social science institution for both teaching and research. The London Business School is considered one of the world's leading business schools and in 2010 its MBA programme was ranked best in the world by the Financial Times.
With 125,000 students, the federal University of London is the largest contact teaching university in Europe. It includes four large multi-faculty universities – King's College London, Queen Mary, Royal Holloway and UCL – and a number of smaller and more specialised institutions including Birkbeck, the Courtauld Institute of Art, Goldsmiths, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Institute of Education, the London Business School, the London School of Economics, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the Royal Academy of Music, the Central School of Speech and Drama, the Royal Veterinary College, The School of Pharmacy and the School of Oriental and African Studies. Members of the University of London have their own admissions procedures, and some award their own degrees.
There are a number of universities in London which are outside of the University of London system, including Brunel University, City University London, Imperial College London, Kingston University, London Metropolitan University (with over 34,000 students, the largest unitary university in London), London South Bank University, Middlesex University, University of the Arts London (the largest university of art, design, fashion, communication and the performing arts in Europe), University of East London, the University of West London and the University of Westminster. In addition there are three international universities in London – Regent's College, Richmond University and Schiller International University.
London is home to five major medical schools – Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry (part of Queen Mary), King's College London School of Medicine and Dentistry (the largest medical school in Europe), Imperial College School of Medicine, UCL Medical School and St George's, University of London – and has a large number of affiliated teaching hospitals. It is also a major centre for biomedical research, and three of the UK's five academic health science centres are based in the city – Imperial College Healthcare, King's Health Partners and UCL Partners (the largest such centre in Europe). There are a number of business schools in London, including Cass Business School (part of City University London), ESCP Europe, European Business School London, Imperial College Business School and the London Business School. London is also home to many specialist arts education institutions, including the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, the London Contemporary Dance School, RADA, the Royal College of Art, the Royal College of Music and Trinity Laban.
Primary and secondary education
The majority of primary and secondary schools in London are state schools and are controlled by the London boroughs, although there are also a number of private schools in London, including old and famous schools such as the City of London School, Harrow, St Paul's School, University College School, Highgate School and Westminster School.
Universities
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 120,000 students, is the largest contact teaching university in the United Kingdom (smaller only than the distance-education Open University) and one of the largest Universities in Europe. It comprises 19 colleges and 12 institutes, as well as a distance-learning External System.Constituent colleges have a high degree of autonomy, controlling their own admissions and degree programmes, and are effectively universities in their own right. The largest and most well-known University of London colleges include (in order of size) University College London, Birkbeck, King's College London, Queen Mary, the London School of Economics and Political Science, Royal Holloway, Goldsmiths, and the Institute of Education. Smaller schools and institutes (with fewer than 5,000 students) include the School of Oriental and African Studies, the London Business School, the School of Pharmacy, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, St. George's Hospital Medical School and Central School of Speech and Drama. Traditionally all of the University of London institutions awarded degrees from the University of London itself, and not from the individual college or institution, but this changed in 2007/2008 when University College London, King's College London, the London School of Economics, and the Institute of Education remained within the University of London system, but began awarding their own degrees.
Secondly, there are other universities not part of the University of London, some of which were polytechnics until UK polytechnics were granted university status by a 1992 Act of Parliament, and others which were founded much earlier. Among these are Imperial College London, London South Bank University and University of Greenwich in south London, City University, London, Middlesex University and London Metropolitan University in north London, Brunel University and University of West London in west London, the University of East London and various other higher education institutions.
Further information: List of universities in London
Research
UCL, Imperial College London, King's College London and LSE are leading centres of research and stand alongside MIT, University of California, Berkeley and other US universities in terms of international reputation.
All or virtually all of the leading British learned societies are based in London. The Royal Institution is a historic and important repository and proponent of the acquisition of scientific knowledge through research and study.
Other institutions of higher education
There are also number of colleges in London which provide education leading to degrees validated by universities, but which are not actual universities themselves. Some of these colleges are private institutions very similar to actual universities, such as European Business School or Regent's College.
Further education
London also has many further education colleges funded by the Learning and Skills Council. Traditionally these were clearly separated from the higher education system, and offered vocational education below university level, but this distinction is breaking down and many further education colleges now offer university level courses validated by a local university and prepare students for university entrance, as well as providing vocational courses.
Arts education
London is Britain's leading centre for arts education.[citation needed] London's four music conservatories are the Royal College of Music, the Royal Academy of Music, Trinity College of Music, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Other drama schools include Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts ("RADA"), and the Central School of Speech and Drama. Art & Design schools include Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, Chelsea College of Art and Design, Camberwell College of Arts, Wimbledon School of Art and London College of Communication and London College of Fashion (all part of the University of the Arts London), and Goldsmiths College, University of London and the Slade School of Art (both part of the University of London), and the Royal College of Art. The former Hornsey College of Art is now part of Middlesex University. The University of East London has an Institute for Performing Arts Development - IPAD.
Medical education
London is an important centre of medical education.[citation needed] The city's medical schools are attached to the leading hospitals and some of them are several centuries old. The number of schools has been reduced to five by a recent series of mergers:
Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry -
King's College London School of Medicine and Dentistry (formerly Guy's, King's and St Thomas' School of Medicine) -
Imperial College School of Medicine -
University College London Medical School -
St George's Hospital Medical School -
All About London
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