University of Birmingham

Home to the world's tallest free-standing clock tower, the Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clocktower, and at various times eight future Nobel laureates, this "redbrick" also houses the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, which displays works by Van Gogh, Picasso and Monet. European studies and international relations are among the subjects offered by the university, which educates more than 26,000 students.