University College London facts for kids

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University College London

Latin: Collegium Universitatis Londinensis
Other name	UCL
Former names	London University (1826–1836) University College, London (1836–1907) University of London, University College (1907–1976) University College London (1977–2005; remains legal name)
Motto	Latin: Cuncti adsint meritaeque expectent praemia palmae
Motto in English	Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
Type	Public research university
Established	1826; 199 years ago (1826) (University status 2023)
Endowment	£156.8 million (2023)
Budget	£1.933 billion (2022/23)
Chair	Victor L. L. Chu
Visitor	Sir Geoffrey Vos (as Master of the Rolls ex officio)
Chancellor	Anne, Princess Royal (as Chancellor of the University of London)
President and Provost	Michael Spence
Academic staff	9,585 (2021/22)
Administrative staff	6,075 (2021/22)
Students	46,830 (2021/22)
Undergraduates	23,800 (2021/22)
Postgraduates	23,030 (2021/22)
Other students	895 (studying wholly overseas; 2021/22)
Location	London, England 51°31′29″N 00°08′01″W / 51.52472°N 0.13361°W / 51.52472; -0.13361
Campus	Urban
Colours	Purple and blue celeste
Affiliations	ACU EUA LERU Russell Group SES University of London Universities UK

University College London, also known as UCL, is a large public university in London, England. It is part of the University of London and is one of the biggest universities in the United Kingdom. It has the most postgraduate students in the UK.

UCL was started in 1826 as London University. It was the first university in London and the first in England to welcome students of all religions. It was also one of the first to admit women alongside men in 1878. UCL became a formal university in 2023. Over the years, it has joined with other schools and institutes, like the Institute of Education.

The main campus of UCL is in Bloomsbury, central London. It also has a newer campus, UCL East, in Stratford, East London. UCL has 11 main sections called faculties, with over 100 departments. It also has several museums, like the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology. UCL helps the UK economy by doing research and spending money.

UCL is a member of important groups like the Russell Group, which includes leading research universities. Many famous people have studied or worked at UCL. These include people who discovered noble gases, hormones, and the structure of DNA. As of 2022, 30 Nobel Prize winners have been connected to UCL.

UCL's History

UCL was founded on February 11, 1826. It was created as a different option to the older universities of Oxford and Cambridge. These older universities were linked to the Church of England, but UCL was open to everyone, no matter their religion.

Early Years: London University (1826–1836)

Share no. 1105 in the University of London, issued February 3, 1829

The London University (now the UCL Main Building) as imagined in 1827–28. The dome and entrance were finished in 1829.

UCL was first called London University. It was set up as a company where people could buy shares. Even though it was called a university, it couldn't give out official degrees at first. Leonard Horner, a scientist, was its first leader.

Henry Tonks' 1923 painting The Four Founders of UCL

The philosopher Jeremy Bentham is often called the "spiritual father" of UCL. His ideas about education and society greatly influenced the people who founded the university, like James Mill and Henry Brougham.

In 1828, UCL created the first professor job for political economy in London. In 1829, it appointed the first professor of English in England. In 1830, UCL started a school that later became University College School. In 1834, University College Hospital opened to train medical students.

Becoming University College, London (1836–1900)

After trying for many years to be recognized as a university, London University agreed to become a college. On November 28, 1836, it was officially named University College, London. On the same day, the University of London was created. This new university would give degrees to students from colleges like UCL and King's College London.

The Slade School of Fine Art became part of University College in 1871. In 1878, the University of London allowed women to earn degrees. UCL also started admitting women to its Arts and Science departments that year. This was a big step for women's education.

Women were finally allowed to study medicine at UCL in 1917, during the First World War.

Joining the University of London (1900–1976)

After 1909, UCL officially became a "school" of the University of London. Its formal name changed to University of London, University College. However, most people still called it "University College, London" or "UCL."

The Cruciform Building, seen from inside the quadrangle of the UCL Main Building

In 1900, UCL appointed its first paid head, called a Principal. In 1906, this title changed to Provost. In 1906, the Cruciform Building opened for University College Hospital. UCL also opened the first chemical engineering department in the UK in 1923.

UCL had some historical links to eugenics, a harmful idea about human improvement. UCL has since apologized for its past role in promoting these ideas.

During the Second World War, UCL was badly damaged by bombs. Many buildings were destroyed or burned. Departments had to move to different places across the country. The main building was fully repaired by 1954.

In 1967, the Mullard Space Science Laboratory was created. UCL also played an important part in the early development of the Internet. In 1969, UCL's senior common room, which was only for men, finally allowed women.

Becoming University College London Again (1976–2005)

In 1976, UCL became legally independent again, but it still couldn't award its own degrees. It was formally renamed University College London, without the comma.

The Wilkins Building in 1956

The Wilkins Building in 2014

In 1993, UCL and other colleges of the University of London started getting government funding directly. This made UCL act more like its own university.

UCL also grew by joining with other institutes. For example, it merged with the UCL Institute of Archaeology in 1986 and the UCL Institute of Neurology in 1997. In 1998, it merged with the Royal Free Hospital Medical School to form what is now the UCL Medical School.

UCL Today (From 2005)

The UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies building, opened in 2005

In 2005, UCL was given the power to award its own degrees. So, students who started from 2007/08 received degrees from UCL itself. The university also started using "UCL" more often in its official communications.

UCL opened a campus in Adelaide, Australia, in 2008, which later closed in 2017. In 2011, UCL planned a big investment in its main London campus. It also started building a new campus, UCL East, near the Olympic Park in East London. The first buildings at UCL East opened in 2022 and 2023.

The new Student Centre on Gordon Street

UCL continued to grow by merging with other colleges. The School of Pharmacy, University of London joined UCL in 2012. The Institute of Education also fully merged with UCL in 2014.

In 2021, UCL apologized for its past role in promoting eugenics. In 2023, UCL officially gained full university status.

UCL's Campuses

UCL has several locations, mainly in London.

Bloomsbury Campus

UCL's main campus is in the Bloomsbury area of Central London. Many departments are located around Gower Street. Some health institutes are near hospitals, like the UCL Institute of Neurology near the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery.

Important historic buildings in Bloomsbury include the UCL Main Building, designed by William Wilkins. The Cruciform Building, designed by Alfred Waterhouse, is also nearby.

UCL East Campus

View of UCL East from the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, March 2022. One Pool Street is on the left-hand side of the river and Marshgate is on the right-hand side.

UCL has a second campus called UCL East. It is located at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, East London. The first building opened in 2022, and the second in 2023. More buildings are planned for the future.

Student Housing

The retained historic facade of New Hall with the student residences one metre behind.

UCL owns 26 student halls, providing about 7,000 beds. The university guarantees housing for most first-year undergraduate students and international postgraduate students.

In 2013, UCL's New Hall student accommodation building was criticized for its design. It was even called the "country's worst new building" by a magazine.

Environmental Efforts

UCL is committed to being environmentally friendly. Its new Student Centre, opened in 2019, was designed to be very sustainable. It received an "outstanding" certification for its eco-friendly design.

In 2019, UCL launched a plan for a "Sustainable UCL." This plan aims to reduce energy use by 40% and make all buildings carbon neutral by 2024. It also wants UCL to have net zero carbon emissions by 2030. Another goal is to reduce waste and stop using single-use plastics. UCL also plans to create more green spaces on campus to help biodiversity.

How UCL is Organized

UCL is run by a council and an academic board. These groups make sure the university follows its rules. The President and Provost is the main leader of UCL.

Faculties and Departments

Drayton House, home to the Department of Economics

The UCL School of Pharmacy building

The Institute of Education building, home to the UCL Institute of Education

UCL's teaching and research are divided into eleven main faculties. Each faculty has many schools, departments, and research institutes.

UCL's Logo and Motto

The old UCL logo, used before August 2005

UCL uses a modern logo instead of a traditional coat of arms. The current logo was adopted in 2005.

UCL's motto is "Cuncti adsint meritaeque expectent praemia palmae". This is a quote from a Latin poem and means "Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward." UCL's main colors are purple and blue.

Memberships and Partnerships

The main building of University College Hospital

UCL is a founding member of the Russell Group, a group of 24 leading research universities in the UK. It is also part of the "golden triangle" of research universities in southeast England.

UCL works with many other universities and organizations around the world. It is a partner in UCLPartners, a big health science center. UCL also helped create the Alan Turing Institute, the UK's national center for data science and artificial intelligence.

The Francis Crick Institute building

UCL also offers joint degrees with other universities, like Columbia University in the US. UCL sponsors the UCL Academy, a secondary school in London.

Academic Life at UCL

Research at UCL

John O'Keefe, UCL neuroscientist and 2014 Nobel Prize winner

UCL receives a lot of money for its research from grants and contracts. In 2021/22, it received over £524 million for research.

UCL is known for its "world-leading" research. In a 2021 national assessment, 58% of UCL's research was rated as "world-leading." UCL was ranked second in the UK for its research power.

Research Centers

UCL has many research centers that work with other institutions.

• The London Centre for Nanotechnology (LCN) studies tiny materials and is a partnership with Imperial College London and King's College London.
• The Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slave-ownership studies the history of slavery.
• The Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour (SWC) is a neuroscience research center that opened in 2016.

Publishing and Innovation

UCL also makes money from its research by licensing technologies and creating new companies. UCL Business helps turn research ideas into real-world products and companies.

UCL Press, launched in 2015, is UCL's own publishing house. It was the first fully open access university press in the UK. This means its books and journals are available for free online.

UCL Libraries

The Donaldson Reading Room, part of UCL's Main Library

The UCL Institute of Education's Newsam Library, the largest education library in Europe

UCL has 18 libraries with over 2 million books. The largest is the UCL Main Library, which covers arts, humanities, and law. The UCL Science Library focuses on science and engineering.

Other specialized libraries include the UCL Bartlett Library for architecture and the Newsam Library for education, which is the largest education library in Europe. Students can also use the Senate House Library and the British Library, which are nearby.

Special Collections

UCL's Special Collections hold rare books and historical documents. It has over 150,000 rare books and 600 collections of archives. These include first editions of famous books like Isaac Newton's Principia and Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species.

UCL Museums

The Flaxman Gallery

UCL has several museums and collections that cover many different subjects:

• Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology: This museum has about 80,000 items from ancient Egypt, from prehistoric times to the Islamic period. It is named after William Flinders Petrie, a famous archaeologist.
• UCL Art Museum: This museum has a collection of art, including works by women artists.
• Grant Museum of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy: Started in 1827, this museum has about 68,000 animal specimens. It includes rare items like dodo bones and a quagga skeleton.

Reputation and Rankings

UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top universities in the UK and worldwide.

UK Rankings

UCL is usually in the top ten in all major UK university rankings. These rankings look at things like teaching quality, student experience, and job prospects for graduates. In 2024, UCL was named "University of the Year" by the Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide.

Global Rankings

UCL is also highly ranked globally.

• In the 2022 Academic Ranking of World Universities, UCL was ranked 18th in the world.
• In the 2023 QS World University Rankings, UCL was ranked 8th in the world.
• In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023, UCL was ranked 22nd in the world.

Admissions to UCL

Bentham House, the main building of the UCL Faculty of Laws

Getting into UCL is competitive. For 2021, UCL accepted about 36% of undergraduate applicants and 23% of postgraduate applicants. Many international students apply to UCL.

For some courses like law and medicine, applicants need to take special tests. Some courses also require interviews.

Helping More Students Access UCL

UCL has a program called Access UCL. This program offers lower entry requirements for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. This includes students from poorer areas, those who have been in care, or young adult carers.

UCL also runs summer schools for talented students from disadvantaged backgrounds. These programs help students learn more about university life and improve their applications.

For international students who don't meet the direct entry requirements, UCL offers one-year foundation courses.

Student Life at UCL

Students' Union

Students' union building on Gordon Street

Students' Union UCL was founded in 1893 and is one of the oldest student unions in England. It represents students and provides many services. It is run by elected student officers.

The union supports over 250 clubs and societies. These include sports clubs, media groups like Pi Media, and the Debating Society. Famous people like Christopher Nolan were once part of the Film Society.

Faith and Religion

UCL was founded to be a secular university, meaning it is not linked to any religion. It has a prayer room and a silent meditation room for students of all faiths. There is also a Christian chaplain and student societies for most major religions.

Sports at UCL

The students' union runs over 70 sports clubs. These include clubs for cricket, rowing, running, and rugby. UCL teams compete in national university sports competitions.

UCL has a fitness center on its main campus. It also has a large athletics ground in Shenley, Hertfordshire.

UCL's Mascot

Pencil signed etching of Phineas Maclino

UCL's mascot is Phineas MacLino, or Phineas. He is a wooden statue of a Scottish Highlander. Phineas was stolen from a shop in 1900. Students from King's College London once stole Phineas, leading to a big fight to get him back. In 2019, the students' union decided to remove the mascot from the bar due to its historical links.

Rivalry with King's College London

A UCL player attacks in his team's 2014 Varsity victory. The rivalry with King's College is often seen at the annual varsity rugby game.

UCL has a long-standing, mostly friendly rivalry with King's College London. Students from King's sometimes call UCL students "Godless Scum of Gower Street." UCL students call King's "Strand Polytechnic."

In 1922, King's students kidnapped Phineas, leading to a famous "Battle of Gower Street." In 1975, King's students even stole the preserved head of Jeremy Bentham from UCL.

Student Campaigns

UCL students have often campaigned for important causes. In 1956, they marched against Soviet oppression. In the 1960s, there were groups for nuclear disarmament and against apartheid.

In 2010, students and staff protested to make UCL pay a living wage to all its staff. Students also protested against increases in student fees. In 2016 and 2017, students held "rent strikes" to protest high accommodation costs and poor conditions.

In 2018, students started the Climate Action Society. This group pushed the university to stop investing in fossil fuels. In 2024, students set up an encampment on campus to protest the Israel-Hamas war.

UCL's Student Body

In the 2021/22 school year, UCL had 46,830 students. This included 23,800 undergraduate students and 23,030 postgraduate students. UCL has the second-largest number of students in the UK and the most postgraduate students.

About half of UCL's students (52%) are from outside the UK. Many international students come from Asia, especially China. The student body is diverse, with students from many different backgrounds and countries.

Diversity at UCL

UCL has received awards for its efforts in promoting equality. It holds a silver Athena SWAN award for supporting women in science. It also has a bronze Race Equality Charter award.

UCL used to be part of the Stonewall Diversity Champions scheme, which promotes LGBT+ equality. It left the scheme in 2020.

Famous People from UCL

Many notable people have studied or worked at UCL.

• Francis Crick: Co-discoverer of the structure of DNA.
• Joseph Lister: A pioneer in using antiseptics in surgery.
• Charles K. Kao: Known as the "Godfather of broadband."
• Jomo Kenyatta: The "Founding Father" of Kenya.
• Otto Hahn: A pioneer of nuclear chemistry and Nobel Prize winner.
• Peter Higgs: Proposed the Higgs mechanism, which predicted the existence of the Higgs boson. He also won a Nobel Prize.
• A. E. Housman: A famous classical scholar and poet.
• Sir William Ramsay: Discovered all the naturally occurring noble gases.

• 

  Francis Crick

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  William Stanley Jevons

• 

  Joseph Lister

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  Otto Hahn

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  Peter Higgs

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  Charles K. Kao

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  Jomo Kenyatta

Other well-known alumni include Mahatma Gandhi, who took English classes at UCL, and John Stuart Mill, a famous philosopher.

See also

In Spanish: University College de Londres para niños

• List of universities in the UK