Imperial College London

Unique study opportunities

• Choose a course in aeronautical engineering, bioengineering, electrical engineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, or computer science.
• Take a professional course such as Professional Engineering or Innovation Management that provide business and management skills.
• Select courses in Earth and planetary science, geology, and geophysics.

Language

Foreign language study not available.

Courses and Credit

Requirements While Abroad

To successfully complete this program:

• Take a full-time course of study: 10 courses for a minimum of 50 quarter/30 semester UC units per year. Most courses are year-long courses. Students can take up to 12 courses.
• Take up to one-third (33%) of your total unit load pass/no pass.

Current Program Courses

Imperial College does not have a general engineering degree. Therefore, students wishing to participate in the exchange need to be certain of their “major” engineering discipline.

Access to Year 1 and Year 2 courses depends on your study plan and is determined by the academic advisor at Imperial. Do not plan on taking Year 1 and 2 courses only. Courses may be lower or upper division to UC.

After arrival, on-site staff will help you find and enroll in classes.

Catalogs and resources

• Imperial College London Courses: After selecting a subject, a list of module titles can be found at the bottom of the page under Structure. Note: In the UK, a course is usually equivalent to a major academic plan at UC, and a module is equivalent to a course (or class) at UC.
• Academic Offerings: See an overview of academic offerings at UK-England host institutions.
• UCEAP Course Catalog: See a list of courses students have taken on this program. (Note: The number of units has not been updated for all courses.) This is not a current representation of course offerings on this program. Reference the above links to review recent course offerings. 
• Campus Credit Abroad: Learn the types of credit (major, minor, general education, elective) students from your campus received at this location.

Academic Culture

Studying abroad in UK-England helps you develop an independent learning style with strong writing skills and active participation in your own learning.

• Introductory courses at an English university (or uni) are comparable to sophomore level in the US.
• Many courses are the equivalent of UC upper-division, and instructors expect prior knowledge of the subject.
• There's more emphasis on writing and independent reading than at UC, and your participation can influence the final grade.
• Differences in teaching style may include less detailed instructions, fewer in-class sessions (except science classes), and fewer in-term assessments.
• Many courses are taught with lectures and seminars. Lecture class sizes can be quite large and seminar groups are smaller.
• Faculty (called lecturers) normally hold office hours but also welcome questions after seminars and lectures. The faculty at Imperial College London are typically eager to help visiting students.

Grades

Grades for the fall semester are typically available late March, and grades for the spring semester are typically available late July or early August.

Past exam papers are available and local students use them to prepare for exams. Your final grade will heavily and sometimes fully depend on the final exam. UC policy doesn't allow UCEAP participants to retake exams (called re-sits) and exam dates aren't flexible.