COVID-19: updates for 2021 entry
Updated 3 March 2021
This page provides a hub for Imperial applicants and offer holders regarding the potential impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on our admissions process for 2021 entry.
We'll also be updating this page regularly with information about the potential impact on our teaching and student experience, as more guidance is available from the UK government about the easing of national restrictions in England.
We hope that by the time you join us in autumn 2021, many of the major restrictions in place to prevent the rise of Coronavirus cases will have lifted, thanks to the vaccine rollout programme being well underway in the UK.
However, we are continuing to ensure that we have contingency plans in place for all possible scenarios.
Below is the latest information about our plans for if you are joining us in autumn 2021.
We will keep our plans under continuous review, guided by the UK Government and by our own Covid response team who have played an active role in informing national and international policy to keep people safe. So please do bookmark this page and check back for future updates.
Multi-mode teaching in autumn term 2021
When teaching restarts in autumn 2021, we expect to continue delivering a combination of on-campus (in-person) and remote (online) teaching.
We call this ‘multi-mode’ delivery and we expect this to be a feature for the first term. See our term dates.
If you are based in a part of the world where travel to the UK is still restricted and you are unable to join us on campus for the autumn term, rest assured we are assessing options and will provide more details as soon as they are confirmed.
How does multi-mode teaching working in practice?
How do you complete a challenging, practical degree during a global pandemic? How do you teach critical skills when you can rarely interact with students in a campus setting?
The answer at Imperial was the rapid development of 'multi-mode' – an innovative mixture of on-campus learning when appropriate, and remote learning when not.
Remotely controlled laboratories, medical consultations conducted entirely in augmented reality, travel-free expeditions, remote assessments were just some of the new teaching methods we have been able to introduce over the past year.
Read more about some of our technology-powered teaching innovations.
If there is a resurgence of Coronavirus cases in London in the new academic year, requiring a return to major restrictions to campus teaching for safety, we are well equipped to adapt our teaching and learning. This will allow us to continue to deliver a high quality experience, whatever the circumstances.
Applications and admissions
We are doing everything we can to limit the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on our admissions and applications process.
Our Admissions team are on hand to respond to any enquiries you may have during the process:
Contact Undergraduate Admissions teams
Contact Postgraduate Admissions teams
We also recommend checking out our Admissions FAQ pages where you can find more information about changes to the process for 2021 entry as a result of the pandemic:
Please see our Study website for the most up to date information about our courses and our entry requirements.
Safety on campus
Keeping our staff and students safe on our campus is our top priority.
Our COVID-19 safety guidance website has more information about the measures we have in place to protect people working and studying on site.
We regularly update our plans to reflect the latest Government guidance to ensure that when students and staff return to campus, they are welcomed into a safe environment.
Some of the measures we have implemented include:
- a COVID-19 testing scheme for staff and students who are asymptomatic
- a contact tracing process through the COVID-19 Contact Tracing Hub which interfaces with the NHS’s Test and Trace service
- hand sanitisers and multi-surface cleaning wipes around the College to assist with infection control
Current students
If you’re a current student please visit our current students COVID-19 information pages – they have more specific information for you.