So what can ya’ll tell me about grad schools in England?
I have another year to decide (say hello to a double major 
) but I am looking at Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Washington State Uni, Kansas State Uni, Uni of Texas medical branch, Australia, and Germany.
My major would be bacteriology/microbiology, emphasis on emerging infectious diseases and I would be opting for a PhD program.
We dont have graduation schools in England, well i dont think we do.
Would that be a university?
edit, just re-read the post and seen the phd reference. We call then universities in the UK.
The Sunday Times guide is one place to look, though that is more orientated to undergrads. Last time I looked though it did include ratings for research quality.
And now I think about it there is a scoring system for individual departments based on (if I remember correctly) things like the amount of grant money attracted and number of citations. I think it was a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the best.
Liverpool is outstanding in that area (they have a dedicated Tropical and Infectious Diseases Unit) which pioneers research techniques.
Leeds University is excellent on the bioinformatics side of things, Manchester’s not bad but I think the range of courses they offer has decreased since UMIST merged with Manchester University.
I don’t know what sort of information you need beyond that, but drop me a PM if you think I can help.
I work at King’s College London specialising in the psychology of terrorism and martyrdom, so I am not 100% sure of the medical programme in the UK. I came over from the States (North Carolina) because I feel that the undergraduate education in the USA is strong, yet the postgraduate education in the UK is better (you spend less time acting as a gopher and get to crack on with your own research).
The main universities have postgraduate programmes. A number of universities are linked to hospitals, and I would keep an eye out for teaching hospitals. If you look at the King’s website (www.kcl.ac.uk), we are linked with a number of hospitals in London (e.g. Guys and St. Thomas, etc.). Pick your programme and then use the website to find your way in. I would focus on London universities because you certainly have better connections. I did work at a northern university (I don’t want to say the name because I think that they actually do some fantastic work, but the location makes it difficult) and found that all of the interesting conferences, etc., that I wanted to attend meant that I had to travel over three hours to London.
I would also start looking at research grants (e.g. ESRC, EPSRC, Medical Research Grants), etc., or find an academic whose work you are interested in and contact them directly. If you come in from overseas, you will have to pay £10,000 a year minimum just to cover the fees. If you find an academic with a good track record and an interesting topic, you can start planning and submitting a project grant proposal now. These things take months! Aim for a studentship…a normal PhD takes 3-4 years…not sure about the medical PhD. Are you more research based? If yes, then it will be 3-4 years.
I never planned on staying in England after completing my PhD, and I have now been here eight and a half years. If you wish, I can help with grant proposals, etc. Send me a PM and I am happy to help.
If I remember correclty, Imperial College are great for what you’re looking for. 
