Birkbeck to offer business degrees at first campus in India

Birkbeck, University of London has become the latest institution to set up a hub in India, opening a campus in Bengaluru that offers both undergraduate and postgraduate business-related degrees.

Students can study at the campus in Sattva Tech Park, a technology and business district, while attaining a University of London degree. 

Although the institution is known as London’s night university because of its roots in part-time, out-of-hours education, the India campus will offer traditional three-year, full-time degrees.

“I am delighted that the government of India has given Birkbeck, University of London permission to open a campus in Bengaluru and I would like to thank all who have been involved in supporting us to do so,” said vice-chancellor Sally Wheeler.

“Birkbeck is well known in the UK for the quality of education it provides and for the transformational impact this has on its students’ lives, as well as the benefits this brings to the London, UK and wider international economy.”

The campus will offer undergraduate and master’s degrees in business management, and business analytics, with the first intakes beginning in July.

Bachelor’s degrees will be priced at 700,000 rupees (£5,500) a year, while the one-year postgraduate courses will cost 1,230,000 rupees.

The university joins a slew of higher education institutions that have launched or are on the cusp of launching branch campuses in India after encouragement from both home governments and the Indian state.

The University of Southampton became the first to secure full approval last year, launching its Delhi campus in September 2025. The universities of York and Bristol are also set to open campuses in the city.

Australian universities have also set their sights on India. The University of New South Wales has already begun teaching in Bangalore with just over 100 students and plans to scale up significantly to 8,000 students in coming years.

Alison Barrett, country director of the British Council in India, called Birkbeck’s expansion into Bengaluru “a significant milestone in advancing UK-India higher education collaboration”.

“As a leading hub for research and innovation, Bengaluru offers a strong foundation for this initiative. It will be exciting to see Birkbeck bring its distinctive strengths in research-informed, career-focused learning to this dynamic city – creating new opportunities for students to build future-ready skills and pursue global careers from within India,” she said.

seher.asaf@timeshighereducation.com