The following is a list of brick-and-mortar institutions that award only postgraduate or graduate qualifications.
Some postgraduate-only institutions are specialised in a particular sector.
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) reports on the number of students and the number of qualifications awarded at various levels. [1] [2] Institutions that awarded no first-degree level qualifications and more than 50 postgraduate-level qualifications in 2023–24 are listed below. With the exception of the Royal College of Art, which offers graduate diplomas, [3] they had zero undergraduate-level qualifications. Postgraduate colleges of collegiate universities are not listed here, although postgraduate institutions of federal universities are.
Student numbers are as given by HESA except for the School of Advanced Studies, which is included under University of London (institutes and activities) by HESA rather than listed separately, where the numbers are taken from their annual metrics report. [4] Sotheby's Institute of Art have a small number of undergraduates included in their HESA student number returns for 2023/24; as of 2025, the only undergraduate programme at the institute is a for-credit summer programme for undergraduates at other institutions. [2] [5] HESA student numbers (all institutions except the School of Advanced Studies) are rounded to the nearest five, which can lead to apparent inconsistencies between the number of taught and research students and the total.
Most of the postgraduate-only institutions in the UK are small, with only three having over 1,000 students in 2023-24. Around half are teaching-focussed, with no postgraduate research students in 2023-24. A large majority of them are specialist institutions
| Institution | Number of taught postgraduate students (2023-24) [2] | Number of postgraduate research students (2023-24) [2] | Total number of postgraduate students (2023-24) [2] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cranfield University | 3,750 | 880 | 4,630 |
| Royal College of Art | 2,550 (+ 170 GradDip) | 130 | 2,680 (+ 170 GradDip) |
| London Business School | 2,155 | 100 | 2,255 |
| London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine | 555 | 425 | 980 |
| ESCP Business School | 830 | 0 | 830 |
| National Film and Television School | 565 | 0 | 565 |
| Centre for Alternative Technology | 525 | 0 | 525 |
| London Film School | 315 | 0 | 315 |
| School of Advanced Study (University of London) [4] | 119 | 153 | 272 |
| Inns of Court | 360 | 0 | 360 |
| Institute of Cancer Research | 150 | 200 | 345 |
| Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine | 180 | 70 | 245 |
| Sotheby's Institute of Art (listed as Institute of Art – London) | 145 | 0 | 145 |