The United Kingdom has been the melting pot of culture, tourism, trade and commerce, and education ever since the Victorian Era. London hotels attract millions of travellers from across the globe each year. Some come here to explore the historic monuments and visit the renowned museums and galleries. Others visit the country to tour the beautiful countryside. An increasing number of young men and women are attracted by the excellent prospects of education that the country has to offer. Here’s a look at the top higher education institutions in the UK.

University of Oxford 

The University of Oxford is among the best known centres of higher education since about 1096. The 38 constituent colleges of Oxford University offer a full range of academic disciplines and gaining admission to one of the coveted higher education degrees and research programmes here is a great achievement for most students. The University of Oxford often tops the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

University of Cambridge

Sharing many common features with the University of Oxford is the University of Cambridge, another highly acclaimed higher education institution in the UK. The Cambridge University was set up in 1209. The university has 31 constituent Colleges and its 100 academic departments offer a number of higher education programmes and research opportunities.

Imperial College London 

Located in the highly affluent district of South Kensington, at a short distance from one of the top restaurants of London, Baluchi at The LaLiT London, is the Imperial College London. The foundation of this prestigious institution was laid by Queen Victoria in 1888. It ranks high on the list of higher education institutions offering research-based opportunities in the fields of science, medicine, engineering, and business.

University College London (UCL) 

Founded in 1826 and located in the heart of London is the University College London. The college is one of the oldest and largest higher education institutions in the UK. It has the largest postgraduate enrolment among UK universities. The UCL also has a superlative overseas education programme.

London School of Economics and Political Science 

The London School of Economics and Political Science, or the LSE was founded in 1895 by distinguished members of the Fabian Society including George Bernard Shaw. The LSE is known for its high percentage of international students. In fact about 70 percent of the 10,000 students come from outside the UK. It offers great educational and research opportunities in 25 academic departments with emphasis in medicine, sciences, social and legal studies.

The University of Edinburgh 

Bringing fame to the city of Edinburgh is this university – one of the largest in the country. Founded in 1582, the university boasts of alumni of great renown including Charles Darwin, Alexander Graham Bell, Robert Louis Stevenson, David Hume, and Arthur Conan Doyle. The university offers a variety of educational programmes in humanities and arts, social sciences, medicine, science, and engineering disciplines.

King’s College London 

Also located in London is King’s College London which was established by King George IV in 1829. KCL now has 5 different campuses in London and offers higher education and research programmes in a number of disciplines including arts and humanities, mathematics and science, life sciences and medicine, psychology and neurosciences, law, and social sciences. KCL is also very popular with international students and over 29,600 students from over 150 countries study here.