Imperial was rejected from the Defence Universities Alliance. We don’t know why
The Defence Universities Alliance (DUA) is a UK government initiative that aims to support defence research and collaboration between a group of universities selected by the Ministry of Defense (MoD) and the armed forces.
The College applied to become a founding member in May 2026: amongst almost 100 applicants, Imperial was notably not selected as one of the 35 universities joining.
University of Cambridge and LSE were also amongst the five Russell Group universities absent from the list.
The DUA application form consists of four total sections. First, one self-assessed pass/fail gate, where the institution is asked to rank itself against the National Protective Security Authority Trusted Research Guidance. After that, three weighed sections: R&D, Skills & Careers, and Promotion & Collaboration. Amongst others, these assess how the institution supports the delivery of defence R&D for governments and the industrial sector, total number of defence-funded PhDs, and the university’s promotion of current Defence and National Security aims.
An FOI request made by Felix revealed the College was not made aware of the reason for the outcome.
When asked about documents withholding information about the College’s future defence plans stemming from this decision, the FOI shared “no records are held indicating implications of Imperial’s non selection”.
