Best Universities in London 2027: 11 Compared on Rank, Fees & Rent for Indian Students

  • Last Updated on: October 15, 2026 by
  • Shiva Sai Bejawada
Best Universities in London
Best Universities in London

The best universities in London for 2027 are Imperial College London (tied 2nd in the world), UCL (tied 8th) and King’s College London (37th). LSE (62nd) and Queen Mary University of London (103rd) complete the top five in the QS World University Rankings 2027. A rank won’t tell you whether your school board or your budget fits your plan to study in the UK. The table below ranks 11 universities by QS, with each one’s latest overseas fee, whether that fee rises after year 1, and the rent near its campus.

Written by
Shiva Sai Bejawada
Senior Counsellor (British Council Certified) -UK & Ireland
Shiva Sai Bejawada is a British Council Certified overseas-education counsellor at AOEC India who guides Indian students through UK and Ireland university selection, admissions, and student visa documentation.
6 Years, 96% visa approval rate
Reviewed by
Sridhar Kongara
Managing Director
Mr. Kongara Sridhar, Director of AOEC India, has over 12 years of experience in overseas education consulting, admissions, and student visa guidance.
Over 12 years Experience

Key Takeaways

  • QS puts Imperial first in London. The UK’s Times guide 2027 puts LSE first there.
  • LSE’s GBP 41,900 (approx. INR 53,18,786) BSc Economics fee stays fixed each year, and so do UCL’s fees.
  • LSE and King’s take only CBSE or CISCE (the ISC board). For top courses, most state-board students need 95% at Queen Mary, where CBSE students need 90%. City St George’s names any board only for MBBS, at 90%.
  • UCL’s Computer Science MSc and Imperial’s Computing MSc are built for graduates of other subjects, so computer science graduates can’t join. Queen Mary’s Advanced Computer Science MSc takes them.
  • The money you must show for the visa rises to GBP 1,570 (approx. INR 1,99,296) a month in London from 30 November 2026.
Table of Contents
Best Universities in London Ranked for 2027 Scroll here ↓ Entry Requirements at London Universities for Indian Students Scroll here ↓ Rent Near Each London Campus and the Student Visa Funds Rule Scroll here ↓ Frequently Asked Questions Scroll here ↓

Best Universities in London Ranked for 2027

Overseas undergraduate fees at 11 London universities, for different courses and years, run from GBP 17,400 (approx. INR 22,08,756) to GBP 48,600 (approx. INR 61,69,284) a year. Brunel's Computer Science BSc at its 2026-27 rate is the lowest, and UCL's for 2027-28 the highest. Of London's five highest-ranked, only UCL and LSE promise to fix the fee after year 1.

UniversityQS 2027 (world; = means tied)Times and Sunday Times 2027 (UK)Named undergraduate course and overseas fee (with year)Approx. INRFee after year 1Campus borough
Imperial College London=23rdComputing BEng: GBP 47,800 a year (2027 entry)INR 60,67,732Not statedKensington and Chelsea (South Kensington)
UCL=814thComputer Science BSc: GBP 48,600 a year (2027-28)INR 61,69,284FixedCamden (Bloomsbury)
King’s College London3729thComputer Science BSc: GBP 42,900 a year (2027-28)INR 54,45,726Can rise, no cap statedWestminster (Strand), Lambeth (Waterloo), Southwark (Guy’s)
LSE622ndBSc Economics: GBP 41,900 a year (2027-28)INR 53,18,786FixedWestminster
Queen Mary University of London10336thComputer Science BSc: GBP 34,750 a year (September 2027)INR 44,11,165Capped at 10%Tower Hamlets (Mile End)
Brunel University of London353116thComputer Science BSc: GBP 17,400 a year (2026-27)INR 22,08,756Capped at 5%, or inflation if higherHillingdon (Uxbridge)
City St George’s, University of London=36156thComputer Science BSc: GBP 23,360 a year (2027-28)INR 29,65,318Not statedIslington (Northampton Square)
SOAS University of London=458112thAll full-time undergraduate degrees: GBP 23,780 a year (2026-27)INR 30,18,633Capped at 5%Camden (Bloomsbury)
Royal Holloway, University of London=48533rdComputer Science BSc: GBP 27,900 a year (2027-28)INR 35,41,626Can rise, no cap statedRunnymede, Surrey (Egham)
University of Greenwich791-800101stComputer Science BSc: GBP 17,975 a year (2026-27)INR 22,81,747Not statedGreenwich
University of Westminster851-900=107thComputer Science BSc: GBP 19,000 a year (September 2027)INR 24,11,860FixedWestminster (Cavendish)

INR figures use the live Google-published rate captured on 2026-10-12: £1 ≈ ₹126.94. Rates fluctuate intraday; figures are indicative.

QS 2027 also ranks Birkbeck (tied 354th), Kingston (tied 686th) and Goldsmiths (in the 701-710 band), along with University of the Arts London, Middlesex and London South Bank. The Times and Sunday Times London table also lists the University of East London, London Metropolitan, Roehampton, St Mary’s Twickenham and the University of West London.

Among the five highest-ranked London universities, choose by your subject before you choose by rank. Each one has a different focus.

  • Imperial focuses on science, technology, engineering, medicine and business. Shortlist it if you want to study one of those fields.
  • UCL calls itself a multidisciplinary university, one that teaches across many fields. It’s the broad choice of the five.
  • LSE, the London School of Economics and Political Science, specialises in social sciences. Shortlist it for economics, politics and related subjects.
  • King’s is usually chosen for law, the humanities and medicine.
  • Queen Mary has the lowest listed fee of the five, GBP 34,750 a year for Computer Science, and publishes Class 12 percentages for state boards. It is also commonly linked with medicine.

Use rank to build your shortlist. Then let the fee after year 1 and the campus decide which university on that list you choose. Parents: a fixed fee over three years can outweigh a few rank places. UCL keeps one exception: if a government charges it a levy or tax on tuition fees, UCL can add that to your fee.

Many London universities run scholarships for international students. Imperial, for one, lists its Imperial Inspires Scholarships for overseas undergraduates at GBP 15,000 for each year of the course. Our guide to scholarships to study in the UK lists named awards and deadlines.

Entry Requirements at London Universities for Indian Students

Class 12 board rules at each university

Your school board decides your London shortlist before your marks do. For its most demanding courses, Queen Mary asks 90% from students of CBSE or CISCE (the ISC board), 85% from West Bengal board students and 95% from every other board. So a state-board student outside West Bengal needs five points more than a CBSE or CISCE student.

Treat these as guides: Queen Mary says actual offers may differ slightly. That five-point gap is what surprises the state-board applicants we counsel most. Each of the other universities sets its own board rule.

  • LSE accepts only CBSE or CISCE. It asks for an overall average of 85%, 90% or 95% or above, depending on the course. At the 85% level, LSE may ask for 90% or above in one or more subjects. The 90% level also needs five subjects at 90% or above. The 95% level also needs three subjects at 95% or above and two subjects at 90% or above. Courses that need Maths ask for 90% or 95% in it. From 2027/28, Standard Maths is required: LSE won’t accept Applied Maths, from CBSE or ISC, on any course that requires Maths.
  • King’s accepts only CBSE or CISCE school-leaving certificates from India.
  • City St George’s asks for what it calls All India Year XII, typically at an average of 68% to 80%, depending on the course. It names any board, state or central, only for Medicine (MBBS). For MBBS you need 90% overall, including 90% in Biology and Chemistry. If you’re on a state board, ask City’s admissions team before you rule it out.
  • Queen Mary’s International Foundation Year is a foundation course you take before the degree. Queen Mary may consider you for it with Class 12 marks of 60% to 80%.

Degree marks for a master’s

For a master’s, your degree marks count, not your board. LSE normally asks for a bachelor’s degree of at least three years with a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 7.6 out of 10. LSE treats that as an upper second-class degree, written 2:1, which is the UK’s second-highest degree class. For a 2:1, Queen Mary normally asks for 60% to 70% in a bachelor’s degree of at least three years from the institutions it selects. The mark it asks of you depends on your university, so treat the range as a guide. Queen Mary doesn’t consider a Bachelor of Vocation (B.Voc) for master’s entry.

Master’s courses open to computer science graduates

If you already hold a computer science degree, these two London computing master’s courses are closed to you. UCL’s Computer Science MSc asks for a 2:1 in a subject other than computer science or information technology. Imperial’s Computing MSc asks for a first-class degree, the UK’s top degree class, in a subject without substantial computing content. Courses like these are often called conversion courses, because they teach computing to graduates of other subjects.

Queen Mary’s Advanced Computer Science MSc is open to you. It asks for a 2:1 in computer science, software engineering, information technology, maths or a related subject. Its overseas fee is GBP 36,950 for September 2027, against GBP 48,300 for Imperial’s course for 2027 entry.

Rent Near Each London Campus and the Student Visa Funds Rule

In August 2026, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) average private rent in Kensington and Chelsea, home to Imperial, was GBP 3,690 (approx. INR 4,68,409) a month. Average rent in Brunel’s Hillingdon was GBP 1,570 (approx. INR 1,99,296). Both figures are rents for a whole home, so your share of a flat costs less.

BoroughUniversities thereWhole home, any size (month)One-bedroom (month)One-bed approx. INR
Kensington and ChelseaImperial (South Kensington)GBP 3,690 (INR 4,68,409)GBP 2,640INR 3,35,122
WestminsterLSE, King’s (Strand), Westminster (Cavendish)GBP 3,196 (INR 4,05,700)GBP 2,548INR 3,23,443
IslingtonCity St George’s (Northampton Square)GBP 2,868 (INR 3,64,064)GBP 2,178INR 2,76,475
CamdenUCL, SOAS, BirkbeckGBP 2,819 (INR 3,57,844)GBP 2,054INR 2,60,735
LambethKing’s (Waterloo)GBP 2,525 (INR 3,20,524)GBP 1,882INR 2,38,901
SouthwarkKing’s (Guy’s)GBP 2,474 (INR 3,14,050)GBP 1,876INR 2,38,139
Tower HamletsQueen Mary (Mile End)GBP 2,453 (INR 3,11,384)GBP 1,992INR 2,52,864
GreenwichUniversity of GreenwichGBP 1,995 (INR 2,53,245)GBP 1,563INR 1,98,407
NewhamUniversity of East LondonGBP 1,928 (INR 2,44,740)GBP 1,630INR 2,06,912
LewishamGoldsmiths (New Cross)GBP 1,829 (INR 2,32,173)GBP 1,457INR 1,84,952
Runnymede (Surrey)Royal Holloway (Egham)GBP 1,586 (INR 2,01,327)GBP 1,084INR 1,37,603
HillingdonBrunel (Uxbridge)GBP 1,570 (INR 1,99,296)GBP 1,252INR 1,58,929

Every September 2027 applicant applies for the visa after 30 November 2026, the date the Home Office rule change raises the money you must show. So you’ll show GBP 1,570 a month in London or GBP 1,203 outside London, for up to 9 months, as your UK student visa proof of funds. Royal Holloway, a University of London college in Egham, counts as outside London, so its Egham students show GBP 1,203.

Parents, treat that figure as evidence for the visa, not as a budget. A one-bedroom flat in Westminster alone costs more each month. Price the rest with our cost of living in the UK guide.

From our counselling desk: Among the London students we counsel, those who run short usually run short on rent first, then travel. Rent jumps in year two, when you leave university halls for a private flat. Tuition rarely causes the gap, because you know the first-year fee before you apply for the visa.

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Frequently Asked Questions

There’s no official count. Some lists count each University of London college, such as UCL and King’s, as its own university, and some don’t. One current list, the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2027 London table, ranks 21, from LSE at the top to London Metropolitan in 21st place.

It depends on the table. Imperial leads London on QS and is Times and Sunday Times University of the Year 2027. LSE is the top London university in that UK guide and first in the UK for Economics. Pick by subject.

Plan to take IELTS or another English test unless your university confirms you don’t need one. LSE may ask for proof of your English, but not when you first apply, so you can send that proof after you apply. See studying in the UK without IELTS for routes that skip it.

It depends on the campus. In August 2026 ONS data, a one-bedroom flat averaged GBP 2,640 (approx. INR 3,35,122) a month in Kensington and Chelsea, near Imperial, against GBP 1,252 (approx. INR 1,58,929) in Hillingdon, near Brunel. London’s draw is its employers: companies such as Google, Amazon and Unilever recruit there. Budget for the borough’s rent before you accept.

Some do. Queen Mary takes state boards at a higher percentage, and City St George’s names any board only for MBBS. LSE and King’s take only CBSE or CISCE, ruling out Telangana and Andhra Pradesh boards. Otherwise, see studying in the UK after 12th for foundation years.

Ardent Overseas counsels Indian students from offices in Hyderabad and Tirupati. We check each shortlist of the best universities in London against your board, degree subject and family budget.

Sources

Official sources first, then reputable third-party.

Show 38 more sources

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