A number of world-leading education institutions are based in London. In the 2014/15 QS World University Rankings, Imperial College London is ranked joint 2nd in the world (alongside The University of Cambridge), University College London (UCL) is ranked 5th, and King's College London (KCL) is ranked 16th. The London School of Economics has been described as the world's leading social science institution for both teaching and research. The London Business School is considered one of the world's leading business schools and in 2015 its MBA programme was ranked second best in the world by the Financial Times.

In terms of teaching and research, what is the world's foremost institute of social science?