Imperial College London is ranked 8th globally. It is one of the most prestigious colleges and has high end research facilities. The MRes Cancer Biology is the most popular course and very competitive in terms of a research degree. I took up this course cause they offered 2 research projects and they have PhD studentships that are offered from the MRC (fully funded on home level with stipend).
Course Curriculum
The course is divided into 2 theoretical modules and 2 research projects. Since there is not a lot on intake due to strict acceptance rate it is easier to communicate with the teachers and there is time for doubt clearance , be it in person or via email. The professors are really great and they target active learning instead of reading out PPTs. The curriculum is very updated and even during the pandemic they have take quite a few measures so that the students can utilize the most of their degree. There are a variety of projects to choose from, and there are so much to do other than academically. They even allow us to design our own projects if we are not satisfied with the options available. There's something for everyone and it's a very respectful environment.
Exams
Compulsory English language requirements. My score: IELTS(Academic): 7.5/9.0. GRE not compulsory for the stream. Undergraduate requirements: 60% and above or, 7.5 CGPA and above.
Placement
More than 80% of the students opt for a PhD which is fully funded. After the doctoral degree some of the students go into research labs as junior scientists or they may even opt for a research fellowship to start their own projects in an institution. Some even apply to become professors while others get hired by pharmaceutical companies.
Events
Imperial College London has something for everyone one and the campus is buzzing with activities all throughout the year. The College Union makes sure of every little aspect and one can participate in the elections that are carried out for various terms. There are more than a 100 clubs that you can join. The main campus for research for my stream is the one at Hammersmith although some projects are carried out at UCL or Crick Hospital. The university also provides free access to reputed journals for research and the Centre for Academic English is there to help regarding everything that you could possibly need to write a research proposal, your CV, mock interviews, etc.
Scholarship
I did not apply for a scholarship but there is a department scholarship that can opted for. Students applying to Imperial are automatically considered for scholarships but these are mostly for EU students. So it is better to apply for scholarships on your own if you are an overseas student.
Faculty
The faculty to student ratio is really good, you might consider a 1:1 if you may. They are really well versed in their subjects and are very understanding of our situations. They are all genuinely polite and almost at the top of their careers. One of the teachers who left a great impact on me during the start of my course is Dr Olivier Pardo. He is the program coordinator and is a really nice fellow. I found his way of teaching and approaching the students with the subjects really different from others. He is the kind of teacher who will make sure you'll understand each and every concept and familiarize it to you in such a way that you will never forget. He runs a lab in the Hammersmith campus and also offers projects to work on, I can only think what an great opportunity it would be to get through it.
Hostel
My accommodation is at GradPad Woodlane Studios that is 7 mins away from my campus. It has a bus stop right outside the door and a tube station that is 5 mins away. They have different packages, I took the silver one that costed around 283GBP/week.
