At Imperial College London, we are a community of problem solvers dedicated to finding innovative solutions to the world's biggest challenges. We believe that to truly achieve our mission, we must be a diverse and successful community that brings together the brightest minds, regardless of their background or financial resources.

What is an Access and Participation Plan (APP)?

An Access and Participation Plan sets out how a university will promote equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups. It describes the specific strategies we have put in place to ensure that all talented students have a fair chance to access an Imperial education and to succeed throughout their studies and beyond.

Our vision for 2025–2029

Our strategic ambition is to build a more diverse and inclusive community through major initiatives like Imperial Inspires and the Imperial Class of 2030. For this plan period, we are particularly focused on:

  • Widening access for students of black heritage, those eligible for free school meals, and those from socioeconomically disadvantaged areas.
  • Supporting student success by supporting students at greater risk of discontinuing their studies.
  • Enhancing progression to ensure our graduates are equipped with the skills for the jobs of the future.

Our key intervention strategies

To achieve our goals, we have developed eight core intervention strategies that cover every stage of the student journey:

  • Supporting attainment and skills: Empowering younger students to achieve the academic grades needed for STEM pathways, with a major focus on Mathematics.
  • Navigating pathways: Helping prospective students make informed, confident decisions about university through outreach and summer schools.
  • Supporting black heritage students: Targeted programmes like STEM Futures and dedicated scholarships to foster representation and reassurance.
  • A university-wide approach to admissions: Ensuring our admissions process is transparent and provides additional support for widening participation applicants.
  • Transition support: Helping new students settle in through pre-arrival residentials and support during their studies with access to peer-mentoring, and enhanced tutoring.
  • Mental health and wellbeing: Implementing a proactive strategy to promote mental wellness and reduce the "root causes" of stress.
  • Financial support: Providing one of the UK’s most generous bursary schemes for students from households with incomes up to £70,000.
  • Careers Support: Offering tailored guidance to help students build social capital and prepare for graduate employment.
     

The Annual Access and Participation Evaluation Report (AAPER)

Imperial is a data-driven, evidence-based university. We rigorously evaluate our activities to understand "what works" and share our findings to help improve practice across the entire higher education sector.

The Annual Access and Participation Evaluation Report (AAPER) brings together our latest data analysis, findings, and qualitative research to provide a transparent look at our progress. This report is governed by a cross-university group of evaluation experts to ensure our findings are rigorous and meaningful.

The first AAPER is due to be published later this year.

Explore the plans

For those who wish to read our full plan and summary plan, the documents are available below: