118-515: The Constitution Unit is an independent and non-partisan research centre based within the Department of Political Science at University College London . It analyses constitutional change and its effects. The unit was founded in 1995 by Robert Hazell and specialises in the study of parliament and parliamentary reform; elections and referendums; monarchy, church and state; devolution; constitution-making; freedom of information legislation; courts and
236-433: A Strategy for Sustainable UCL 2019–24 , including three initiatives to promote sustainability. The Positive Climate initiative saw UCL pledge to have a 40% reduction in energy usage, all energy to come from renewables, and all UCL buildings to be carbon neutral by 2024, along with achieving net zero carbon emissions for UCL by 2030. The Positive Climate initiative was the winner in the "2030 Climate Action" category at
354-506: A Sustainable UCL was a finalist in the "Sustainable Institution of the Year" category at the 2022 Green Gown Awards. The two main bodies in UCL's governance structure are the council and the academic board , both of which are established by the royal charter and with powers defined by the statutes. There is also a University Management Committee, which is the executive committee responsible for
472-590: A campus in Iskandar Puteri , Malaysia. The university has been arranged into 16 academic schools since 2016. The annual income of the institution for 2022–23 was £322 million of which £34 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £325.7 million. The university owes its first origins to the Schools of Art and Science established in Reading in 1860 and 1870. In 1892,
590-680: A cost of £30 million. The London Road site also plays host to the university graduation ceremonies twice a year, in the Great Hall. The Greenlands Campus , on the banks of the River Thames in Buckinghamshire. Once the home of William Henry Smith , son of the founder of WH Smith , and latterly the site of the Henley Management College , this campus became part of the university on 1 August 2008, with
708-460: A course in engineering at the college's opening but no professor was appointed until 1840 or 1841, after engineering courses had started at Durham University (1837) and King's College London (1838). The Slade School of Fine Art was founded as part of University College in 1871, following a bequest from Felix Slade . In 1878, the University of London gained a supplemental charter making it
826-637: A court case to regain control of part of its campus which had been occupied by pro-Gaza protesters since May. UCL has a second campus, UCL East , at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, east London. The first building, with three floors of teaching and research space as well as accommodation for 500 students in two towers, opened in 2022, and the second, with eight floors of teaching and research space, opened in 2023. A further four buildings are planned for construction in
944-410: A free advice service to students, and facilitates over 160 different activities for students to get involved in. The Students' Union building on Whiteknights Campus contains a 2500 capacity venue called 3sixty (recently renovated in 2018), with seven bars, and a number of retail outlets. The retail outlets include an Asian supermarket, a Starbucks and a hairdressers. Student accommodation is provided in
1062-508: A further referendum. In October 2018, it published a report titled "The Mechanics of a Further Referendum on Brexit" . The report’s suggestion that such a referendum would take 22 weeks at a minimum was widely referenced during the ongoing debate. In addition to publications, the Constitution Unit runs a regular series of public seminars on these and other related topics. Contributors include politicians, journalists, academics from
1180-816: A location on Whiteknights Campus to a site nearer the town centre next to the London Road Campus. The Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology , the Cole Museum of Zoology , the University of Reading Herbarium and the Harris Garden are all on the Whiteknights Campus. The Department of Typography and Graphic Communication holds a number of lettering, printing and graphic design collections including those of Isotype, Ephemera, printing presses, Twentieth-century posters, non-Latin typefaces and
1298-530: A merger between UCL and Imperial College London were announced in 2002. The proposal provoked strong opposition from UCL teaching staff and students and the AUT union , which criticised "the indecent haste and lack of consultation", leading to its abandonment by UCL provost Sir Derek Roberts . UCL was granted its own taught and research degree awarding powers in 2005, and all UCL students registered from 2007/08 qualified with UCL degrees. The same year, UCL adopted
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#17327767752691416-645: A new Engineering and Architectural Design MEng , started in September 2018. One Pool Street, the first building on the UCL East campus, opened in November 2022. UCL East was officially opened, along with the Marshgate building that completed phase 1 of the development, in September 2023 by Olympic gold medalist and UCL alumna Christine Ohuruogu . UCL continued to grow through mergers with smaller colleges in
1534-584: A new corporate branding under which the name University College London was replaced by the initialism UCL in all external communications. UCL established the UCL School of Energy & Resources (later UCL Australia ) in Adelaide , Australia, in 2008 as the first campus of a British university in the country. The school was based in the historic Torrens Building in Victoria Square. In 2011,
1652-418: A number of halls of residence offering a mix of partially catered (19 meals per week) and self-catering accommodation, along with other self-catering accommodation. Following a major review the university is now proceeding with the integrated Halls and Catering Strategy, that will see several halls replaced as well as new ones created with social, catering & welfare facilities provided in hub areas. Most of
1770-475: A reorganisation of the University of London meant that UCL and other colleges gained direct access to government funding and the right to confer University of London degrees themselves. This led to UCL being regarded as a de facto university in its own right. Mergers were a major feature of this period of UCL's history. In 1986, the college merged with the Institute of Archaeology . In 1988, UCL merged with
1888-420: A role similar to the senate in other institutions. It is the senior academic body responsible for advising council on academic matters and also elects academic members to council. It is, however, a much larger body than the senates at many other universities, including all professors as well as elected representatives of other academic and non-academic staff. UCL's principal academic and administrative officer
2006-456: A university, and who make a firm acceptance of a place and apply for accommodation by 10 June each year, and to single overseas first-year postgraduates at UCL who have not previously lived in London while studying at a university, and who make a firm acceptance of a place and apply for accommodation by 30 June each year. Accommodation is also guaranteed for students who are under 18 at the start of
2124-692: A wide range of constitutional issues in the UK and overseas. A full list of the Unit’s publications can be found on its website. The Constitution Unit Archive is housed at the British Library . The papers can be accessed through the British Library catalogue. University College London University College London ( branded as UCL ) is a public research university in London , England. It
2242-529: A wide range of fields, including the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology and the Grant Museum of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy , and administers the annual Orwell Prize in political writing. In 2022/23, UCL had a total income of £1.93 billion, of which £527 million was from research grants and contracts. The university generates around £10 billion annually for the UK economy, primarily through
2360-487: A year and advises on areas such as student entry, assessment and awards. Membership includes deans, heads and elected representatives of schools, as well as professional staff and students. The Senate in turn reports to the Council, which is the supreme governing body of the university, setting strategic direction, ensuring compliance with statutory requirements and approving constitutional changes. The Council meets four times
2478-459: A year and comprises a broad representation of lay members drawn from commercial, community and professional organisations. On 24 March 2016, it was announced that William Waldegrave was to be the new chancellor of Reading University. Lord Waldegrave is the fourth Conservative politician to be appointed chancellor of the university, following Austen Chamberlain , Sir Samuel Hoare and Lord Carrington . Waldegrave's predecessor, Sir John Madejski
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#17327767752692596-881: A £500 million investment in its main Bloomsbury campus over 10 years, as well as the establishment of a new campus, UCL East , next to the Olympic Park in Stratford in the East End of London. In 2018, UCL opened UCL at Here East , at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, offering courses jointly between the Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment and the Faculty of Engineering Sciences . The first undergraduate students, on
2714-487: Is a member institution of the federal University of London , and is the second-largest university in the United Kingdom by total enrolment and the largest by postgraduate enrolment. Established in 1826 as London University (though without university degree-awarding powers) by founders inspired by the radical ideas of Jeremy Bentham , UCL was the first university institution to be established in London, and
2832-411: Is a faculty providing training and a range of support for doctoral researchers and related staff across the other four faculties. The university is nominally led by a chancellor , who is the titular head of the university and is normally a well-known public figure. The day-to-day chief executive role is the responsibility of the vice-chancellor , a full-time academic post. The senior management board of
2950-414: Is a lead sponsor of UTC Reading , a new university technical college which opened in September 2013. In 2016, a move to reorganise the structure of Reading University provoked student protests. On 21 March 2016, staff announced a vote of no confidence in the vice chancellor Sir David Bell . Eighty-eight per cent of those who voted backed the no confidence motion. In 2019, The Guardian reported
3068-547: Is also a supporter of, and contributor to, the Conservative Party. New students entering the university in 2020 had an average of 129 points (the equivalent of ABB at A Level). According to the 2023 Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, approximately 13% of Reading's undergraduates come from independent schools. Departments in the university have been awarded the biannual Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education five times: in 1998, in
3186-449: Is labelled as 'internationally recognised', 78% as 'internationally excellent and 27% as 'world leading'. Its School of Agriculture Policy and Development was ranked top in the UK and 11th in the world, according to the QS classification of universities by subject. Reading has been highly ranked in meteorology and atmospheric science . In the 2023 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects , it
3304-495: Is not specified in the statutes, for strategy, external engagement, advancement and operations. University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire , England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading , a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 1926 by royal charter from King George V and
3422-767: Is on levels 38 and 50 (penthouse) of One Canada Square in the financial district of Canary Wharf . The UCL Observatory is in Mill Hill and the Mullard Space Science Laboratory is based in Holmbury St Mary , Surrey. The UCL Athletics Ground is in Shenley, Hertfordshire. UCL owns 26 halls of residence with around 7,000 student beds. The university guarantees accommodation to single full-time first-year undergraduate students who have not previously lived in London while studying at
3540-558: Is the President and Provost, who is also UCL's designated accountable officer for reporting to the Office for Students on behalf of UCL. The provost is appointed by Council after consultation with the academic board, and is ex officio a member of council and chair of the academic board. Michael Spence has been president and provost since January 2021, when he succeeded Michael Arthur . Vice-provosts are appointed by council on
3658-502: Is the affiliated student organisation which represents the students' interests. The university also has a number of Junior Common Rooms that are linked to the Students' Union. The Students' Union has been the launchpad for many successful careers including Penny Mordaunt (Former MP for Portsmouth North), who was the 1994–5 president of the Students' Union. The Students' Union runs the student radio station. It broadcasts locally from
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3776-477: Is the largest and includes Whiteknights Lake, conservation meadows and woodlands as well as most of the university's departments. Though within the Reading urban area, most of the campus actually falls within Wokingham District (parish of Earley ). The campus takes its name from the nickname of the 13th century knight John De Erleigh IV or the 'White Knight', and was landscaped in the 18th century by
3894-529: The College at Reading was founded as an extension college by Christ Church , a college of the University of Oxford . The first president was the geographer Sir Halford John Mackinder , and the college's first home was the old hospitium building behind Reading Town Hall . The Schools of Art and Science were transferred to the new college by Reading Town Council in the same year. The new college received its first treasury grant in 1901. Three years later it
4012-673: The Henley Business School MBA . First announced in October 2012, it is the university's first overseas campus. The project was overseen by Tony Downes . Professor Wing Lam took over as Provost in May 2018 after the retirement of Tony Downes and restructured the campus to enable it to focus on core professional disciplines that were aligned with the region's need for talent. The former Bulmershe Court Campus in Woodley
4130-495: The Henley Management College to create the university's new Henley Business School , bringing together Henley College's expertise in MBAs with the university's existing Business School and ICMA Centre . The merger took formal effect on 1 August 2008, with the new business school split across the university's existing Whiteknights Campus and its new Greenlands Campus that formerly housed Henley Management College. A restructuring of
4248-834: The Institute of Child Health joining in 1995, the School of Podiatry in 1996 and the Institute of Neurology in 1997. In 1998, UCL merged with the Royal Free Hospital Medical School to create the Royal Free and University College Medical School (renamed the UCL Medical School in October 2008). In 1999, UCL merged with the School of Slavonic and East European Studies and the Eastman Dental Institute . Proposals for
4366-886: The London Borough of Camden , in Central London . The main campus is located around Gower Street , with many other departments close by in Bloomsbury. Many health institutes are located close to associated hospitals, including the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in Queen Square , the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children , and
4484-461: The Marquis of Blandford . The main university library, in the middle of the campus, holds nearly a million books and subscribes to around 4,000 periodicals. The URS building, designed by Howell, Killick, Partridge & Amis in concrete brutalist style in the 1970s is Grade II listed. The Whiteknights campus was voted one of the best green spaces in the United Kingdom for the seventh year running in
4602-543: The Royal Geographical Society , as the first professor of geography in Britain. Classes in medicine began at the opening of the college in 1828, and in 1834 University College Hospital (originally North London Hospital) opened as a teaching hospital for these classes, which were organised into a faculty of medicine in 1836. After almost a decade of attempting to win recognition as a university and
4720-619: The School of Pharmacy (in 2012) and the Institute of Education (in 2014). UCL has its main campus in the Bloomsbury area of central London , with a number of institutes and teaching hospitals elsewhere in central London and has a second campus, UCL East , at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford , East London. UCL is organised into 11 constituent faculties , within which there are over 100 departments, institutes and research centres. UCL operates several museums and collections in
4838-633: The UCL Eastman Dental Institute and Eastman Dental Hospital . Historic UCL buildings in Bloomsbury include the grade I listed UCL Main Building , including the original Wilkins building designed by William Wilkins , and, directly opposite on Gower Street, the early 20th century grade II listed Cruciform Building, the last major building designed by Alfred Waterhouse . Nearby are the grade II listed Kathleen Lonsdale Building, UCL's first purpose-built chemistry laboratory, and
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4956-629: The visitor , a position in English charity law that oversees the operation of the institution. That there shall be a visitor of the college is specified by the royal charter, as is that the position is to be held by the Master of the Rolls , the second most senior judge in England and Wales. UCL's council comprises 20 members, of whom 11 are members external to UCL; seven are UCL academic staff, including
5074-537: The 2017 Green Flag People's Choice awards . The smaller London Road Campus is the original university site and is closer to the town centre of Reading, sited across from the Royal Berkshire Hospital . The London Road site is home to The Institute of Education – a major provider of teacher training in the UK. The Institute moved to its new home in January 2012 after the campus was refurbished at
5192-437: The 2017/18 academic year, a rise from four cases the year before. Following pressure from victims, and after physicist Emma Chapman won the legal right to speak freely about her abuse at the university, UCL announced in 2018 that it would abandon non-disclosure settlements in settlements. In 2020, UCL became the first Russell Group university to ban romantic and sexual relationships between lecturers and their students. It
5310-461: The 2020 Green Gown Awards. A second initiative, The Loop , promotes circular economy . UCL set a target of reducing waste per person by 20% between 2019 and 2024, while aiming for an 85% recycling rate and the elimination of single-use plastics on campus. The third initiative, Wild Bloomsbury , promotes biodiversity . UCL set a target of creating 10,000 m (1.0 ha; 2.5 acres) of biodiverse green space on campus by 2024. The Strategy for
5428-852: The 2030s. UCL also operates a campus within Here East , the former Olympic park media centre. Elsewhere in Central London are the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology adjacent to Moorfields Eye Hospital in Clerkenwell , the Royal Free Hospital and the Whittington Hospital campuses of the UCL Medical School, and a number of other associated teaching hospitals. The UCL School of Management
5546-554: The ARPANET and early British academic networks was the first international heterogeneous resource sharing network. UCL played a significant role in the very earliest experimental Internet work and adopted TCP/IP in 1982, ahead of the ARPANET. The college's senior common room , the Housman Room, remained men-only until 1969. After two unsuccessful attempts, a motion was passed that ended segregation by sex at UCL. This
5664-467: The First World War in 1917, although limitations were placed on their numbers after the war ended. A new royal charter granted to the University of London in 1858 effectively removed the affiliation of colleges to the university. Dissatisfaction from the colleges and the desire for a "teaching university" in London led to royal commissions that reported in 1888 and 1892 and the reconstitution of
5782-819: The House of Commons. This recommendation was subsequently taken up by the Select Committee on the Reform of the House of Commons (the ‘ Wright committee ’) and implemented in 2010. A 2009 study by the Constitution Unit titled "Making Minority Parliament Work: Hung Parliaments and the Challenges for Westminster and Whitehall" led to the publication of a Cabinet manual by the British Government in December 2010. The Constitution Unit, in partnership with
5900-458: The Humanities, Social Sciences and Law category, for work on Shakespeare ; in 2005, in the Environment category; in 2008, again in Humanities, Social Sciences and Law; in 2011, for "teaching and design applications in typography, through print and new technologies" in Typography & Graphic Communication; and in 2021, again in the category of Environment And Conservation, for "connecting communities with climate change" through "new modelling work on
6018-404: The Institute of Laryngology & Otology, the Institute of Orthopaedics, the Institute of Urology & Nephrology and Middlesex Hospital Medical School . Middlesex and University College hospitals, together with the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital and the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, formed the University College London Hospitals NHS Trust in 1994. Mergers continued in the 1990s, with
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#17327767752696136-443: The London-based Institute for Government , played a key role in the writing of the Manual. Following the appointment of Professor Alan Renwick as deputy director, the unit has increasingly focused on deliberative democracy and constitution-making. In 2015, the unit contributed to the organisation of a citizens’ assembly on English Devolution run by Democracy Matters . In autumn 2017, it ran another citizen’s assembly, this time on
6254-402: The Reading Student Village (renamed Benyon) are leased back to the university from UPP . The cost of leasing back the Student Village to the university, according to the university accounts, was £1.3 million in 2002–03 and £1.5 million for 2003–04. In 2011 the management of the mature and international halls, Hillside and Martindale, was taken over by the "Estates management team", as
6372-421: The Senate voted to close the Department of Physics, a move confirmed by the council on 20 November. Other departments closed in recent years include Music, Sociology, Geology, and Mechanical Engineering. The university council decided in March 2009 to close the School of Health and Social Care, a school whose courses have consistently been oversubscribed. In January 2008, the university announced its merger with
6490-470: The UK and overseas, and various public officials. In 2015, former deputy director, Professor Meg Russell replaced Robert Hazell as director of the Constitution Unit. She leads the Unit’s research on parliament. In the same year, Professor Alan Renwick joined the unit from the University of Reading and took over as deputy director. He specialises in elections, referendums and deliberative democracy. After twenty years as Director, Robert Hazell stepped down from
6608-497: The United Kingdom and around the world." Historically, the unit has published extensively on issues including Freedom of Information , judicial appointments and devolution . The current Director, Professor Meg Russell, is a well-known expert on the UK parliament, and on two-chamber parliaments (i.e. bicameralism ) around the world. The unit has produced many reports and papers on the House of Lords and its reform , and most recently its work on parliament has focused extensively on
6726-510: The University College London (Transfer) Act 1905 ( 5 Edw. 7 . c. xci) and surrendered its legal independence in return for gaining a greater say in the running of the university. Its formal name became University of London, University College , although for most informal and external purposes the name "University College, London" (or the initialism UCL) was still used. As of 2022, it remains listed as "University of London: University College" on US Federal Student Aid applications. 1900 also saw
6844-412: The University of London Act 2018, which allowed member institutions to become universities in their own right while remaining part of the University of London, UCL applied for university status in 2019. The application was approved by the Office for Students in 2022 and a supplemental charter was sealed on 17 April 2023, granting UCL university status. UCL is primarily based in the Bloomsbury area of
6962-408: The University of London. On 1 January 2012 the School of Pharmacy, University of London merged with UCL, becoming the UCL School of Pharmacy within the Faculty of Life Sciences. UCL and the Institute of Education formed a strategic alliance in October 2012, followed by a full merger in December 2014. UCL paid tens of thousands of pounds to settle ten sexual harassment claims against staff in
7080-431: The Whiteknights campus in university retail outlets and over an internet live stream on a full-time basis. The station was formed in 1997 and started broadcasting in 2001 on 1287AM and transferred to solely online in 2007. It also publishes the Spark , a newspaper aimed at the student population of the university, which is published fortnightly during term-time only and student television station RU:ON. The union provides
7198-458: The Whiteknights site. The university also announced its intention to site some functions on the London Road site, and proposed a complete withdrawal from Bulmershe Court by 2012, which was accomplished. Reading University maintains four museums, the main campus library, a range of inter-departmental libraries, and a botanical garden . The largest and best known of these museums is the Museum of English Rural Life , which has recently relocated from
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#17327767752697316-528: The academic year and for students who are care-leavers. There is only limited accommodation available in university halls for returning students and others who do not meet the criteria for a guaranteed place. UCL students are also eligible, as students of a member institution of the University of London, to apply for places in the University of London intercollegiate halls of residence . In 2013, UCL's newly built New Hall student accommodation building on Caledonian Road , designed by Stephen George and Partners,
7434-450: The administration at Stanstead Bury near Ware, Hertfordshire . The first UCL student newspaper, Pi , was founded in 1946. The Institute of Jewish Studies relocated from Manchester to UCL in 1959. The Mullard Space Science Laboratory was established in 1967. In 1973, Peter Kirstein's research group at UCL became one of only two international nodes on the ARPANET , later becoming part of SATNET . UCL's interconnection between
7552-399: The archive of partners Banks and Miles. The University Library at Whiteknights makes available over 1 million physical resources, as well as a range of electronic online resources, from 14,000 square metres of space across seven floors. The secondary site library at the university's Bulmershe campus closed in 2011 and its operative collections were transferred. There is also a library in
7670-426: The charter was officially granted on 17 March 1926. With the charter, the college became the University of Reading, the only new university to be created in the United Kingdom between the two world wars. It was added to the Combined English Universities constituency in 1928 in time for the 1929 general election. In 1947, the university purchased Whiteknights Park , which was to become its principal campus. In 1984,
7788-434: The complete destruction of the Great Hall, the Carey Foster Physics Laboratory and the Ramsay Laboratory. Fires gutted the library and destroyed much of the main building, including the dome; it was not until 1954 that the main building was fully restored. The departments were dispersed across the country to Aberystwyth , Bangor, Gwynedd , Cambridge , Oxford , Rothamsted near Harpenden, Hertfordshire and Sheffield , with
7906-501: The conference. Following the revelation, UCL announced in 2018 that it would launch an enquiry into the university's historical links with eugenics. This reported in 2020, but covered only historical eugenics and did not address the 2014–17 conferences, leading to a majority of the authors refusing to sign the final report. The Galton Lecture Theatre, Pearson Lecture Theatre and Pearson Building were all renamed in 2020, and in 2021 UCL apologised for its part in promoting eugenics during
8024-436: The day-to-day operations of the institution. This comprises the President and Provost, the vice-presidents, the vice-provosts, the pro-provost of UCL East, the deans of the faculties, the chief financial officer, chief information officer, and chief people officer, the chief of staff, the general consul, the executive director of media and marketing, and the director of media relations. The senior leadership team at UCL includes
8142-421: The decision to appoint a salaried head of the college. The first incumbent was Carey Foster , who served as Principal (as the post was originally titled) from 1900 to 1904. He was succeeded by Gregory Foster (no relation), and in 1906 the title was changed to Provost to avoid confusion with the principal of the University of London. Gregory Foster remained in post until 1929. In 1906, the Cruciform Building
8260-403: The development, propagation and legitimisation of eugenics" in 2021. In 1911, UCL received an anonymous donation of £30,000 (equivalent to £3,860,000 in 2023) for a building for its school of architecture . In 1919 the donor consented to being named as Herbert Bartlett and the school was renamed in his honour. UCL sustained considerable bomb damage during the Second World War, including
8378-466: The establishment of the University of London's General Examination for Women in 1868. The Ladies' Educational Association held classes for women from 1868, taught by professors from UCL but independently of the college. From 1871 to 1872 these were held inside the college building, although still independently of the college. From 1872, some professors, particularly Edward Poynter of the Slade, started to admit women to their classes. The full opening on
8496-413: The extent to which both the House of Commons and the House of Lords influence policy. Two of Russell’s reports have had particular real-world impact. One, in 2000, explored the legality of all women shortlists for selection of parliamentary candidates, and was followed by legislation to make such shortlists explicitly legal. Another, in 2007, recommended establishment of a Backbench Business Committee for
8614-433: The faculties of arts, science and law in 1878 came two years after the admission of women alongside men at the University of Bristol from its foundation (as University College Bristol ) in 1876. The first woman to officially enrol in architecture at UCL was Gertrude Leverkus in 1915, although Ethel and Bessie Charles had been allowed to audit classes in the 1890s. Women were finally admitted to medical studies during
8732-471: The first British university to be allowed to award degrees to women. The same year, UCL admitted women to the faculties of Arts and Law and of Science, although women remained barred from the faculties of Engineering and of Medicine (with the exception of courses on public health and hygiene). UCL's admission of women in 1878 came almost three decades after Bedford College became the first institution to offer university-level education for women in Britain, and
8850-497: The first half of the 20th century. UCL was criticised (along with Oxford, Imperial and other London universities) in 2021 for accepting money from the Alexander Mosley Charitable Trust, established to hold the fortune left to Max Mosley by his father, British fascist leader Oswald Mosley . UCL received £500,000 to establish a forensic evidence interpretation laboratory. Following the passing of
8968-407: The first in England to be entirely secular and to admit students regardless of their religion. It was also among the first university colleges to admit women alongside men in 1878, two years after University College, Bristol . Intended by its founders to be England's third university , politics forced it to accept the status of a college in 1836, when it received a royal charter and became one of
9086-533: The first incumbent. In 1829, the university appointed the first professor of English in England, although the course concentrated on linguistics and the modern teaching of English – studying English literature – was introduced by King's College London in 1831. In 1830, London University founded the London University School, which would later become University College School . In 1833, the university appointed Alexander Maconochie , secretary to
9204-440: The first professor of English or History, but on both occasions his candidates were unsuccessful. However, Bentham is commonly regarded as the "spiritual father" of UCL, as his ideas on education and society were influential with the institution's founders, particularly James Mill (1773–1836) and Henry Brougham (1778–1868). In 1828, the chair of political economy at London University was created, with John Ramsay McCulloch as
9322-462: The founder of Mauritius, the first Prime Minister of Japan, one of the co-discoverers of the structure of DNA , and the members of Coldplay . UCL academics discovered five of the naturally occurring noble gases , discovered hormones , invented the vacuum tube , and made several foundational advances in modern statistics. As of 2024, 32 Nobel Prize winners and three Fields medallists have been affiliated with UCL as alumni or academic staff. UCL
9440-720: The grade II listed Rockefeller Building. Elsewhere in Bloomsbury is the 1970s grade II* Institute of Education building by Denys Lasdun and Partners. Much of the estate falls within the Bloomsbury Conservation Area , designated in 1968. Important contemporary buildings include the School of Slavonic and East European Studies building ( RIBA Award winner 2006) and the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour building ( LEAF Award for best façade design and engineering and overall winner 2016). In August 2024, UCL won
9558-491: The halls of residence lie close to the northern campus periphery and in residential areas close by. Wantage Hall is the second oldest purpose-built hall in England outside of Oxford and Cambridge, opening a year after Hulme Hall at the University of Manchester , and is built in the style of an 'Oxbridge' college. St. Andrews Hall closed in 2001 and is now the home of the Museum of English Rural Life . St. George's Hall and
9676-458: The interaction between the Earth’s climate and local weather systems, enabling the development of risk assessment, community preparedness and action to tackle climate change." Reading was ranked 35th in the UK amongst multi-faculty institutions for the quality (GPA) of its research and 28th for its Research Power in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework . In total, 98% of the university's research
9794-456: The issue of Brexit. The Unit also established an Independent Commission on Referendums including senior politicians, public officials and academics. It considered the role and conduct of referendums in the UK, and reported in July 2018. The Unit has regularly contributed to the discussion surrounding Brexit , notably concerning how Brexit is playing out in parliament and what the outlook is for
9912-426: The legal system; and the relationship between the UK and EU. The Constitution Unit was founded by Robert Hazell in 1995 to conduct detailed research and planning on constitutional reform in the UK. It aims to help policy-makers involved in constitution-making processes by researching constitutional and political developments in and beyond the UK and by assessing the effects of reforms that have taken place. Since 1995
10030-584: The merger of that college with the university's Business School to form the Henley Business School . The school's MBA and corporate learning offerings will be based at Greenlands, with undergraduate and other postgraduate courses being based at Whiteknights. An Asian campus at Iskandar , Malaysia was formally opened in February 2016. It offers a range of professional programmes at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels including
10148-748: The mining company BHP Billiton agreed to donate AU$ 10 million to UCL to fund the establishment of two energy institutes – the Energy Policy Institute, based in Adelaide, and the Institute for Sustainable Resources, based in London. UCL Australia closed in December 2017, with academic staff and student transferring to the University of South Australia . Since 2018, UCL and the University of South Australia have offered joint master's degrees in data science and in energy systems with study in Adelaide and London. In 2011, UCL announced plans for
10266-538: The nearby villages of Arborfield , Sonning and Shinfield . These support a mixed farming system including dairy cows, ewes and beef animals, and host research centres of which the flagship is the Centre for Dairy Research. As part of the proposed Whiteknights Development Plan in Autumn 2007, the university proposed spending up to £250 million on its estates over 30 years, principally to focus academic activities onto
10384-449: The provost, three UCL professors and three non-professorial staff; and two are UCL students. The chair is appointed by council for a term not normally exceeding five years. The chair is ex officio chair of the honorary degrees and fellowships committee, nominations committee and remuneration and strategy committee. As of April 2023, the chair of the council is international businessman and UCL alumnus Victor Chu. The academic board plays
10502-440: The recommendation of the provost or the academic board, to assist and advise the provost as required. The vice-provosts are members of the provost's senior management team. There are four vice-provosts (for education and student experience; health; research, innovation and global engagement; and faculties). There are also four vice-presidents, who are also members of the senior management team but whose role and manner of appointment
10620-527: The refurbishment programme. Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Science Faculty of Life Sciences Faculty of Science Henley Business School is a highly selective, top-ranking business school, among only 58 institutions worldwide to be granted Triple accreditation by the three largest and most influential business school accreditation associations: EQUIS , AMBA and the AACSB. It includes several academic areas: The university-wide Graduate School
10738-497: The right to award degrees, including an Address to the Crown from the House of Commons, the proprietors of London University accepted the government's proposal to establish the University of London as an independent examining body, accepting the status of a college for their institution. As a result, the proprietors of London University were incorporated by royal charter under the name University College, London on 28 November 1836. On
10856-400: The role in 2015. He continues to conduct research on the judiciary , civil service and monarchy . The Constitution Unit publishes a triannual newsletter called Monitor. This contains analysis of constitutional developments in the UK and overseas, and details about the Unit’s research and publications. It also has a blog that features regular posts from academics and practitioners covering
10974-466: The same day, the University of London was created by royal charter as a degree-awarding examining board for students from affiliated schools and colleges, with University College and King's College , London being named in the charter as the first two affiliates. The first students from UCL and King's matriculated as undergraduates in 1838 and the first degrees were awarded to students of the two colleges in 1839. There had been an intention to establish
11092-689: The spread of its research and knowledge (£4 billion) and the impact of its own spending (£3 billion). UCL is a member of numerous academic organisations, including the Russell Group and the League of European Research Universities , and is part of UCL Partners , the world's largest academic health science centre . It is considered part of the " golden triangle " of research-intensive universities in southeast England. UCL has publishing and commercial activities including UCL Press, UCL Business and UCL Consultants. UCL has many notable alumni, including
11210-477: The standards that cover residential buildings, such as having daylight in the rooms. The UCL East development includes 532 student rooms in One Pool Street, which opened in 2022. Further accommodation will be available in the Marshgate building, expected to open in 2023, and at the second Pool Street site. UCL's new Student Centre, which opened in 2019, was designed to be environmentally friendly and
11328-542: The two founding colleges of the University of London , although it achieved de facto recognition as a university in the 1990s and formal university status in 2023. It has grown through mergers, including with the Institute of Ophthalmology (in 1995), the Institute of Neurology (in 1997), the Royal Free Hospital Medical School (in 1998), the Eastman Dental Institute (in 1999), the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (in 1999),
11446-535: The unit has produced over 150 reports and briefings on various aspects of constitutional reform, as well as numerous books and articles. Unit members have also frequently acted as advisers to government and parliament, and regularly provide evidence to parliamentary committees and appear in the media. The Constitution Unit’s stated aim is to "conduct rigorous, independent research into constitutional change and its consequences with significant real-world impact: informing policy-makers engaged in constitutional reform both in
11564-450: The university has been beset by controversy, with the closure of departments and job losses among staff. The university lost 7.7% of its HEFCE funding in fiscal year 2010–2011. In 2016 a move to reorganise the structure of Reading University provoked protests. The Gyosei International College in the U.K. was established on property acquired from the University of Reading in 1989. The college, later renamed Witan International College,
11682-442: The university has debts of £300 million, as well as having an operating deficit of over £40 million for the past two years. In 2021, the university declared, in a statement reply to the student's union, that it would not refund tuition fees for its students. The university maintains over 1.6 square kilometres (395 acres) of grounds, in four distinct campuses: Whiteknights Campus , at 1.3 square kilometres (321 acres),
11800-443: The university is headed by the vice-chancellor, assisted by a deputy-vice-chancellor, three pro-vice-chancellors, four deans and five heads of directorate. It is responsible for the day-to-day management of the university and meets fortnightly throughout most of the year. The senior management board reports to the university's Senate, the main academic administrative body. The senate has around 100 members and meets at least four times
11918-620: The university started a merger with Bulmershe College of Higher Education, which was completed in 1989. In October 2006, the Senior Management Board proposed the closure of its Physics Department to future undergraduate application. This was ascribed to financial reasons and lack of alternative ideas and caused considerable controversy, not least a debate in Parliament over the closure which prompted heated discussion of higher education issues in general. On 10 October,
12036-408: The university under the University of London Act 1898. Following the University of London's reconstitution in 1909, transforming it from an examining board to a federal university with constituent "schools", UCL, became a school of the University of London. While most of the colleges that became schools of the university retained their autonomy, UCL chose to be merged into the university in 1907 under
12154-523: The university was announced in September 2009, which would bring together all the academic schools into three faculties, these being the Faculty of Science, the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social sciences, and Henley Business School. The move was predicted to result in the loss of some jobs, especially in the film, theatre and television department, which has since moved into a brand new £ 11.5 million building on Whiteknights Campus. In late 2009 it
12272-474: The university was in "a financial and governance crisis" after recently reporting itself to regulators over a £121 million loan. The university is sole trustee of the charitable National Institute for Research in Dairying trust, and after selling trust land had then borrowed the £121 million proceeds from the trust, despite the potential conflict of interest in the decision making. Including this loan,
12390-502: The university's Meteorology department. The library underwent refurbishment costing £40 million starting in 2016 and was re-opened in autumn 2019. The redevelopment aimed to improve the energy efficiency of the building with the installation of new windows, cladding and roofing. New lifts, additional study seating capacity, a larger Library cafe with an outside seating area, more toilets (including disabled and gender-neutral provision) and card-access security barriers were also part of
12508-458: Was Leonard Horner , who was the first scientist to head a British university. Despite the commonly held belief that the philosopher Jeremy Bentham was the founder of UCL, his direct involvement was limited to the purchase of share No. 633, at a cost of £100 paid in nine instalments between December 1826 and January 1830. In 1828, he did nominate a friend to sit on the council, and in 1827, attempted to have his disciple John Bowring appointed as
12626-462: Was achieved by Brian Woledge (Fielden Professor of French at UCL from 1939 to 1971) and David Colquhoun , at that time a young lecturer in pharmacology. In 1976, a new charter restored UCL's legal independence, although still without the power to award its own degrees. Under this charter the college became formally known as University College London . This name abandoned the comma used in its earlier name of University College, London . In 1993,
12744-591: Was acquired by the University of Reading in 2004. Witan College closed in 2008. In 2009 the university partnered with the Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology to offer Chinese students courses taught by the department of chemistry. In 2015 this was expanded to form the NUIST Reading Academy which currently offers six degree programs and enrolls nearly 400 students annually. Reading University Students' Union (RUSU)
12862-436: Was announced that the London Road Campus was to undergo a £ 30 million renovation, preparatory to becoming the new home of the university's Institute of Education. The Institute moved to its new home in January 2012. The refurbishment was partially funded by the sale of the adjoining site of Mansfield Hall , a former hall of residence, for demolition and replacement by private sector student accommodation. The university
12980-473: Was awarded the Carbuncle Cup and named the country's worst new building by Building Design magazine, with the comment "this is a building that the jury struggled to see as remotely fit for human occupation". Islington Council had originally turned down planning permission for the building, but this had been overturned on appeal. As it is classified as a hotel or guest house, it was exempt from many of
13098-467: Was discovered in 2018 that an annual eugenics conference, the London Conference on Intelligence , had been held at UCL, as an external paid event, between 2014 and 2017. An enquiry found that the organiser, an honorary lecturer, did not correctly follow the room booking procedure, including claiming that no controversial topics would be discussed, leaving the university unaware of the nature of
13216-456: Was founded on 11 February 1826 as an alternative to the Anglican universities of Oxford and Cambridge . It took the form of a joint stock company , with shares sold for £100 (equivalent to £10,600 in 2023) to proprietors, under the name of London University , although without legal recognition as a university or the associated right to award degrees. London University's first warden
13334-522: Was given a site, now the university's London Road Campus , by the Palmer family (connected with the firm of Huntley & Palmers ). The same family supported the opening of Wantage Hall in 1908 and of the Research Institute in Dairying in 1912. The college first applied for a royal charter in 1920 but was unsuccessful at that time. However a second petition, in 1925, was successful, and
13452-536: Was one of only 320 buildings worldwide (at the time) to be certified outstanding by BREEAM . This certification requires innovation throughout the design, engineering and construction process, and places the Student Centre among the top 1% of non-domestic buildings in the UK for sustainability. The UCL Student Centre was a finalist at the Green Gown Awards in 2019. Also in 2019, UCL launched
13570-474: Was opened as the new home for University College Hospital . UCL opened the first department and chair of chemical engineering in the UK, funded by the Ramsay Memorial Fund, in 1923. In 1904, Francis Galton donated £1,000 to the University of London for a eugenics laboratory; this transferred to UCL in 1907 with Karl Pearson as its director. UCL apologised for its "fundamental role in
13688-526: Was ranked 5th in the world for atmospheric science. It was ranked 15th in the world for Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences by U.S. News & World Report in 2024 and 13th among global universities in atmospheric science in the 2024 SCImago Institutions Rankings . It was ranked 2nd in the world in meteorology and atmospheric sciences by the Center for World University Rankings in 2017 (the most recent year subject rankings were published). In recent years
13806-444: Was the only university to receive such a charter between the two world wars . The university is usually categorised as a red brick university , reflecting its original foundation in the 19th century. Reading has four major campuses. In the United Kingdom, the campuses on London Road and Whiteknights are based in the town of Reading itself, and Greenlands is based on the banks of the River Thames in Buckinghamshire. It also has
13924-447: Was the site of the former Bulmershe Teaching College, which merged with The University of Reading in 1989. The campus was sold in January 2014 as the university decided to concentrate its activity on its three other campuses. It had previously moved all teaching and research at Bulmershe either to Whiteknights or to London Road, and closed the student accommodation. The university also owns 8.5 square kilometres (2,100 acres) of farmland in
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