Student reviews
What is studying medicine at Imperial College London actually like?
The interview gets you a place; these reports are about the five or six years after that. Gathered from current student and recent graduate forums, weighted by how many independent sources agree. These are unverified community reports, not official university information.
6 reports · 6 widely reported
Despite being officially labelled an integrated curriculum, Imperial's first two years are widely described by students as traditional and lecture heavy, with a science-first foundation before clinical relevance kicks in, and the course is generally seen as more content and workload intense than comparable London schools like UCL.
Widely reported · 3 sources(spans several cycles)
Despite being officially labelled an integrated curriculum, Imperial's first two years are widely described by students as traditional and lecture heavy, with a science-first foundation before clinical relevance kicks in, and the course is generally seen as more content and workload intense than comparable London schools like UCL.
"Medicine at Imperial is known to be quite traditional, although it is officially classed as an integrated course. The first two years are very science heavy, with most teaching being lectures, small group tutorials and lab sessions."
Life of a Medic blog, first-hand account by an Imperial medical student"paraphrase from search snippet: Imperial has a bit more intense workload than UCL. Imperial's course is integrated but still has quite a few lectures like traditional courses, with a little bit of problem-based learning (PBL) thrown in. UCL apparently has a better work-life balance compared to Imperial."
The Student Room thread Do I firm UCL medicine or Imperial medicine"paraphrase from search snippet: a current UCL medical student noted that Imperial felt a little more science/academics heavy; another student described Imperial medicine as much harder in terms of academic heavy and workload but said they enjoyed that"
The Student Room, aggregated student comparison threads on Imperial vs UCLAnatomy teaching centres on real cadaver dissection in small groups of around four to ten students during years one and two, combined with prosections and living anatomy sessions, though more recent forum discussion suggests the curriculum has shifted further toward prosection over time.
Widely reported · 3 sources(spans several cycles)
Anatomy teaching centres on real cadaver dissection in small groups of around four to ten students during years one and two, combined with prosections and living anatomy sessions, though more recent forum discussion suggests the curriculum has shifted further toward prosection over time.
"Anatomy is the only course that is taught differently, we cover content in lectures, living anatomy sessions including looking at surface landmarks on one another and also in dissection sessions where we are able to dissect cadavers in groups of 4-10 students."
Life of a Medic blog, first-hand account by an Imperial medical student"paraphrase from search snippet: according to a 5th year medical student, both prosection and dissection are used in the human anatomy unit."
The Student Room thread Edinburgh, UCL, Imperial - full body dissection?"paraphrase from search snippet: Imperial's medicine programme is now fully prosection with no dissection in the core curriculum, though there is the opportunity to learn dissection in your free time with the anatomy team; the official website description had not been fully updated to reflect the change"
The Student Room thread dissection or prosection?Clinical placements are spread across a wide network of affiliated north-west London hospitals, students have no say in which hospital they are assigned and can only try to arrange a swap, and reported commute times vary hugely, from around 15 minutes for some placements to reports of nearly two hours each way with multiple buses.
Widely reported · 3 sources(spans several cycles)
Clinical placements are spread across a wide network of affiliated north-west London hospitals, students have no say in which hospital they are assigned and can only try to arrange a swap, and reported commute times vary hugely, from around 15 minutes for some placements to reports of nearly two hours each way with multiple buses.
"paraphrase from search snippet: you have no choice as to where you get placed so you may get placed at close hospitals or further ones, but there is an opportunity to swap if you can find someone to swap with. Placement hospitals include Northwick Park, Hillingdon Hospital, Ealing Hospital, St Mary's Hospital, Charing Cross Hospital and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital."
The Student Room thread Imperial College London Medical School"paraphrase from search snippet: one Imperial medical student described a commute of only 15 minutes to Northwick Park but over an hour to St Mary's Hospital; another reported a total travel time of about 1 hour 45 minutes each way requiring two buses"
The Student Room, aggregated student reports on placement commute times"paraphrase from search snippet: teaching in fifth year, the specialties year, is very hospital dependent, and students felt they had not had enough exposure to different specialties, prompting the school to restructure third year into six five-week firms rather than three ten-week ones."
The Student Room thread Imperial medicine student satisfaction (2016)Workload is reputed among students as one of the more intense in London, with a heavy exam-driven assessment style and little continuous coursework. Imperial is one of only a handful of schools, alongside UCL, Oxford and Cambridge, that force the whole cohort onto a 6-year programme with a compulsory intercalated BSc.
Widely reported · 3 sources(spans several cycles)
Workload is reputed among students as one of the more intense in London, with a heavy exam-driven assessment style and little continuous coursework. Imperial is one of only a handful of schools, alongside UCL, Oxford and Cambridge, that force the whole cohort onto a 6-year programme with a compulsory intercalated BSc.
"Throughout the year, the only work we are assigned is one formal lab report and one PBL write up. We are tested at the end of each course in the form of exams."
Life of a Medic blog, first-hand account by an Imperial medical student"paraphrase from search snippet: Imperial has a bit more intense workload than UCL; UCL apparently has a better work-life balance compared to Imperial."
The Student Room, Imperial vs UCL workload comparison threads"paraphrase from search snippet: examples of medical schools that have compulsory intercalation include UCL, Imperial College London, Oxford and Cambridge; intercalation is optional at most other medical schools, typically done in third year rather than a mandatory later year as at Imperial."
The Student Room thread why do ucl and imperial college do 6 years for medicine but bham etc do 5 years??Student opinion on the social side is genuinely split. Some report an active medic-specific social scene through over 60 medic-run societies, while at least one first-hand account says social life is weaker than at other universities because heavy workload keeps many students working most nights. Multiple students describe Imperial's general student support as thin or inconsistent, sometimes calling it toxic, though this is contested by others.
Widely reported · 3 sources(spans several cycles)
Student opinion on the social side is genuinely split. Some report an active medic-specific social scene through over 60 medic-run societies, while at least one first-hand account says social life is weaker than at other universities because heavy workload keeps many students working most nights. Multiple students describe Imperial's general student support as thin or inconsistent, sometimes calling it toxic, though this is contested by others.
"The social life is not as good as at other universities, many students are happy to stay in and work most nights."
Life of a Medic blog, first-hand account by an Imperial medical student"paraphrase from search snippet: the social life is good and it's pretty easy to make friends; Imperial has the most student clubs and societies of any university, and a good proportion are linked to the medical school and run by medics"
The Student Room, aggregated threads on Imperial medic student life"paraphrase from search snippet: Imperial is known for being extremely toxic and having very poor student support, while UCL is considered much better; other Imperial students counter that a lot of support is available to those willing to look for it"
The Student Room, comparison threads on Imperial vs UCL supportThe course runs 6 years rather than the more common 5, because the intercalated BSc is compulsory for every student rather than optional. Preclinical teaching for medics is based at Charing Cross Hospital in Hammersmith and the Sir Alexander Fleming Building in South Kensington, and the extra compulsory year plus higher fees make it one of the most expensive medicine degrees in the UK.
Widely reported · 3 sources(spans several cycles)
The course runs 6 years rather than the more common 5, because the intercalated BSc is compulsory for every student rather than optional. Preclinical teaching for medics is based at Charing Cross Hospital in Hammersmith and the Sir Alexander Fleming Building in South Kensington, and the extra compulsory year plus higher fees make it one of the most expensive medicine degrees in the UK.
"paraphrase from search snippet: schools with compulsory 6-year intercalated programmes (UCL, Imperial, Oxford, Cambridge) require an extra year compared to standard 5-year programmes where intercalation is optional."
The Student Room thread why do ucl and imperial college do 6 years for medicine but bham etc do 5 years??"paraphrase from search snippet: in year 1 and year 2, most lectures take place either at Charing Cross Hospital in Hammersmith or at the Sir Alexander Fleming Building on the main South Kensington campus."
The Student Room thread Imperial College London Medical School"paraphrase from search snippet: Imperial runs a compulsory six-year medicine course, and that extra year combined with higher annual fees makes it by far the most expensive option overall."
The Student Room thread on Imperial medicine fees/compulsory-year cost concernsGet into Imperial College London
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