96-560: The Pender Chair is the post that is generally held by the head of the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering of University College London . John Pender (pictured in the caricature on the right), the founder of Cable and Wireless , died in 1896. The Pender Memorial Committee was formed, and collected £6,277 in his memorial. Of this, they decided to donate £5,000 to the Department of Electrical Technology of University College, to enable an expansion of its facilities. This included
192-433: 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
288-499: 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
384-600: A college in 1836, when it received a royal charter and became one of 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),
480-620: 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
576-429: A forum in which its member institutions can discuss issues of common concern; and identify opportunities for them to work together. The Russell Group is led by Chief Executive Tim Bradshaw and chaired by Chris Day , Vice-Chancellor of the University of Newcastle. The Russell Group currently has twenty-four members, of which twenty are from England, two from Scotland, and one from each of Wales and Northern Ireland. Of
672-446: A motion was passed that ended segregation by sex at UCL. This 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
768-625: 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
864-566: 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,
960-496: A rise in actual funding levels due to an overall increase in funding. The top 19 English institutions in terms of funding continued to all be from the Russell Group, with the top 20 being rounded off, as before, by Lancaster . The LSE was, as in previous REF rounds, the exception, ranking 31st in terms of funding (down from 23rd in 2021/11) and seeing a nine per cent fall (£1.7 million) in its allocation. In 2015/16, following
1056-420: 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
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#17328515092621152-530: A statement made in 2014 to the Higher Education Policy Institute, David Watson of the University of Oxford suggested that the Russell Group's claim to represent 24 'leading universities' was "a real stretch". In the context of the Russell Group's reputation in the sector, he continued: "particularly dangerous, I think, is the bottom half of the Russell Group...The problem with the Russell Group
1248-789: A university degree, despite being only 17% of all higher education graduates. The Russell Group is named after the location of the first informal meetings of the Group, which took place at the Hotel Russell in Russell Square , London. The Russell Group of universities was formed in 1994 by 17 British research universities – Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Imperial College London, Leeds, Liverpool, London School of Economics, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Sheffield, Southampton, University College London and Warwick, who originally met at Hotel Russell shortly before meetings of
1344-452: 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
1440-831: 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
1536-519: Is a public research university in London , England. It 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
1632-481: 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 the first incumbent. In 1829, the university appointed the first professor of English in England, although
1728-452: Is not specified in the statutes, for strategy, external engagement, advancement and operations. Russell Group The Russell Group is a self-selected association of twenty-four public research universities in the United Kingdom. The group is headquartered in Cambridge and was established in 1994 to represent its members' interests, principally to government and Parliament . It
1824-736: 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
1920-556: Is organised into 11 constituent faculties , within which there are over 100 departments, institutes and research centres. UCL operates several museums and collections in 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
2016-549: Is synonymous with 'best ' " is "persistent, but unverified". He also notes that this may lead to less scrutiny of the performance of non-Russell Group selective universities with respect to widening participation and improving access. The Institute of Economic Affairs has argued that the Russell Group acts out of protectionist interests. It is claimed that this will "restrict competition, discourage innovation and encourage inefficiency, thereby depriving students of lower prices and/or greater choice". The twenty-four universities in
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#17328515092622112-420: Is that it represents neither the sector as a whole [nor], in many cases, the best of the sector". Performance in research intensity showed that there were dozens of other UK universities "above the bottom Russellers". A Durham University academic, Vikki Boliver, published a report in 2015 claiming that the prestigious position of the Russell Group was not based on evidence, but rather successful marketing. Only
2208-549: 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
2304-611: The ARPANET , later becoming part of SATNET . UCL's interconnection between 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,
2400-654: The Eastman Dental Institute (in 1999), the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (in 1999), 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
2496-576: The Eastman Dental Institute . Proposals for 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
2592-834: 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
2688-731: The Sutton 30 (the absent members being Queen Mary University of London and Queen's University Belfast). The Sutton 13 group of the 13 most highly selective universities only includes one non-Russell Group member, the University of St Andrews . The top 10 by average UCAS points of new undergraduate students in 2021–22 included three non-Russell Group universities: St Andrews (1st: 212 points), Strathclyde (2nd: 210 points), and Aberdeen (joint 10th with Durham: 185 points). The top 10 by lowest offer rate to new undergraduate students in 2023-24 included three non-Russell Group universities: St Andrews (4th; 26.6%), St George's (9th; 41.4%) and University of
2784-616: 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
2880-561: 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
2976-691: The 1990s, with 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
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3072-635: The 20 UK universities with the highest income from research grants and contracts were members of the Russell Group. In terms of total research funding allocations from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) in 2007/8, the top 15 universities were all Russell Group institutions. LSE was 21st, due to its focus on less costly social sciences research. Queen's University Belfast , Cardiff , Glasgow and Edinburgh , were not included in this table, as they are not English institutions. The Russell Group institutions received 82% of
3168-531: The 2014 REF, the 19 English universities with HEFCE research funding allocations (excluding transitional funding) in excess of £20 million were all members of the Russell Group. The only English Russell Group institution to receive an allocation below £20 million was the LSE (£18.6 million), which ranked 22nd behind the Universities of Leicester and Lancaster (both on £19 million). In 2010/11, 19 of
3264-437: 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
3360-461: 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
3456-801: 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
3552-668: The ARWU top 100, seventeen of the eighteen in the QS top 100 (the other place being occupied by the University of St Andrews ), and all ten in the THE top 100 are members of the Russell Group. The Russell Group provides seven of the top ten in the Complete, Guardian, and Times/Sunday Times. All but two of the universities in the Russell Group are part of the Sutton Trust 's group of 30 highly selective universities,
3648-712: The Arts London (10th; 44.8%). The average offer rate, including conditional and unconditional offers, across 'higher tariff' UK institutions (as defined by UCAS ) was 59.7% in 2023. Notes: The average UCAS tariff achieved by new undergraduate students entering the university in 2021–22. This is based on qualifications achieved, for example A-levels : A* = 56, A = 48, B = 40 UCAS points; IBO Certificate in Higher Level : H7 = 56, H6 = 48, H5 = 32. The average offer rate for June deadline undergraduate applicants (all ages) in 2023. The Russell Group accounted for 49.1% of
3744-540: The Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals (now Universities UK ) in nearby Tavistock Square , close to the University of London buildings and, particularly, Senate House . With the exception of Warwick (established in the 1960s), the founder members of the group were all universities or university colleges prior to World War I, including most of Britain's ancient universities and " redbrick universities ". In 1998, Cardiff University and King's College London joined
3840-614: The English members, five are from Greater London ; three from the Yorkshire and the Humber region; two from each of the North East , North West , West Midlands , South West and South East regions; and one from each of the East Midlands and East regions. Four Russell Group members are constituent colleges of the University of London and a fifth London institution, Imperial College London,
3936-536: The Labour Party in 2018 found that the number of students from disadvantaged areas has only increased by one percentage point since 2010. In 2015, Durham academic Vikki Bolívar published a paper, Lies, damned lies, and statistics on widening access to Russell Group universities , criticising the statistical analysis in the Russell Group publication Opening Doors . This had said that "real progress has been made over
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4032-581: The Russell Group are responsible for around half of the Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions of the UK university sector. The Group as a whole has been criticised for an inconsistent and inadequate response to the need to identify emissions and take reduction measures. An Environmental Sustainability Network was announced by the Russell Group in December 2019; as of November 2021 no outcomes from this had been announced. Analysis by
4128-478: The UK, and 91% of the Russell Group's research was judged to be world-leading (4*) or internationally excellent (3*). In the 2023 Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF), of the 20 English Russell Group universities which were assessed, 7 hold gold awards (35%) and 13 silver (65%). This compares to proportions across 128 higher education institutions of which 29% hold gold, 62% silver, and 9% bronze. Their graduates hold 61% of all UK jobs that require
4224-412: 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
4320-452: 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 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
4416-458: 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
4512-528: 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,
4608-411: The assessment Achieved overall 'Silver' rating with one category rated 'Bronze' In 2022/23, following the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF), the English universities of the Russell Group saw their share of recurring research funding from Research England drop by 2.71 percentage points from the 2021/22 funding (based on the previous 2014 REF) to 68.21 per cent, although most institutions saw
4704-473: 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 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
4800-738: The college merged with the Institute of Archaeology . In 1988, UCL merged with 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
4896-561: 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 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
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#17328515092624992-423: 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 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
5088-497: The colleges that became schools of the university retained their autonomy, UCL chose to be merged into the university in 1907 under 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
5184-416: The comma used in its earlier name of University College, London . In 1993, 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,
5280-501: 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
5376-507: The country to Aberystwyth , Bangor, Gwynedd , Cambridge , Oxford , Rothamsted near Harpenden, Hertfordshire and Sheffield , with 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
5472-461: 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 the Royal Geographical Society , as the first professor of geography in Britain. Classes in medicine began at
5568-436: 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
5664-467: The defunct 1994 Group (shown by asterisks). Another 13 "old" universities and 54 "new" universities made up a third tier, with a fourth tier of 19 "new" universities. Within each tier, the differences between the institutions were less significant than the differences between the tiers. This reflected an earlier result from 2010 that, when the "Golden Triangle" universities (defined in the study as Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, LSE, and UCL) were omitted,
5760-443: 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 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
5856-408: 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
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#17328515092625952-403: 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 was Leonard Horner , who was the first scientist to head a British university. Despite the commonly held belief that
6048-480: The founding of the Pender Laboratory, and the inauguration of the Pender Chair. The Department of Electrical Technology had already been formed some years earlier, in 1885, with John Ambrose Fleming (pictured below) as its head. He, therefore, became the first incumbent of the Pender Chair of Electrical Engineering. The following references can be found, in the Council Minutes: University College London University College London ( branded as UCL )
6144-536: 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 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
6240-559: 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
6336-533: The group. In March 2001, the Russell Group decided against selecting a preferred option for the future funding of higher education, stating that endowments, a graduate contribution, increased public funding and top-up fees should all remain options. In December 2005, it was announced that the Russell Group would be appointing its first full-time director-general as a result of a planned expansion of its operations, including commissioning and conducting its own policy research. In November 2006, Queen's University Belfast
6432-477: The income of the higher education sector in the UK in 2013–14, having risen from 44.7% of the total in 2001–02. Over the same period the total income of Russell Group universities rose by 69.9% in real terms, compared to a sector average of 54.4%. Russell Group universities are also seen as "particularly creditworthy" due to their membership of the group, allowing them to borrow money at low interest rates. The total annual income for Russell Group members for 2020–21
6528-538: The last few years" in widening access, but Bolívar highlighted four areas where the statistics used to justify this claim were misleading. She also pointed out that there was "a growing body of statistical research evidence which indicates that one important barrier to widening access at Russell Group universities is that applicants from less advantaged social backgrounds are less likely to be offered places at these universities than comparably qualified applicants from more advantaged social groups" that had not been mentioned in
6624-463: 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 was founded on 11 February 1826 as an alternative to the Anglican universities of Oxford and Cambridge . It took
6720-559: 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
6816-454: 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 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
6912-457: The new members had previously been members of the 1994 Group of British universities. In January 2013, it was announced that the Russell Group would establish an academic board to advise the English exams watchdog Ofqual on the content of A-Levels . In 2019, the group launched the website "Informed Choices" to advise school children on which A-level subject choices were useful for various degree courses, replacing an earlier teachers' guide of
7008-527: 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 the right to award degrees, including an Address to the Crown from the House of Commons, the proprietors of London University accepted
7104-454: 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 the first professor of English or History, but on both occasions his candidates were unsuccessful. However, Bentham
7200-449: 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
7296-440: 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
7392-457: The remaining (then) members of the Russell Group were outperformed by the (then) members of the 1994 Group. Ant Bagshaw from the Wonkhe think-tank has criticised the use of Russell Group membership as a proxy for selectivity in official Department for Education reports and statistics, as better measures of selectivity are available from UCAS data. He states that the idea that "Russell Group membership
7488-437: The same name from 2011 that had identified a list of "facilitating subjects'. The Russell Group states that "its aim is to help ensure that our universities have the optimum conditions in which to flourish and continue to make social, economic and cultural impacts through their world-leading research and teaching". It works towards this by lobbying the UK government and parliament; commissioning reports and research; creating
7584-660: The school was renamed in his honour. UCL sustained considerable bomb damage during the Second World War, including 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
7680-470: 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
7776-539: 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 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
7872-406: The top 20 were QUB (21st) and the LSE (27th), while the other two universities to have since joined were York (22nd) and Exeter (25th). In the equivalent table for the 2014 Research Excellence Framework , the 24 Russell Group members occupied the top 24 positions, with the University of Lancaster in 25th being the highest-ranked non-Russell Group university. In 2023, all eight UK universities in
7968-622: The total HEFCE research funding allocation. The research funding figures depend on factors other than the quality of research, in particular there are variations due to institutional size and subject spread (e.g. science, technology and medicine tend to attract more money). In 2008, 18 of the then 20 members were positioned in the top 20 of Research Fortnight 's Research Assessment Exercise 'Power' Table. The other two places were occupied by Durham University and Queen Mary University of London , which were not then Russell Group members but have since joined. The two Russell Group institutions outside
8064-654: The universities of Oxford and Cambridge were significantly more elite than the majority of "old" universities when a grouping analysis was performed using data on academic selectivity, research activity, teaching quality, socio-economic exclusivity and economic resources. The other 22 members of the Russell Group sit in a second tier of universities along with 17 other "old" universities ( Aberdeen , Bath *, Dundee , East Anglia *, Goldsmiths *, Heriot-Watt , Kent , Lancaster *, Leicester *, Loughborough *, Reading *, Royal Holloway *, St Andrews *, SOAS *, Strathclyde , Surrey * and Sussex *), mostly comprising former members of
8160-422: 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 the founder of Mauritius, the first Prime Minister of Japan, one of the co-discoverers of the structure of DNA , and
8256-487: 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 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
8352-523: Was admitted as the twentieth member of the group. In the same month Wendy Piatt , the then deputy director in the Prime Minister's strategy unit, was announced as the group's new Director General and chief executive. In March 2012, it was announced that four universities – Durham, Exeter, Queen Mary University of London; and York – would become members of the Russell Group in August of the same year. All of
8448-466: 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
8544-459: 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
8640-407: 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 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
8736-450: Was from research grants and contracts. The university generates around £10 billion annually for the UK economy, primarily through 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 ,
8832-485: Was incorporated in 2007. Its members are often perceived as being the UK's best universities, but this has been disputed. As of 2017, Russell Group members receive over three-quarters of all university research grant and contract income in the United Kingdom. Russell Group members award 60% of all doctorates gained in the United Kingdom. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework , Russell Group universities accounted for 65% of all world-leading (4*) research conducted in
8928-521: 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
9024-413: Was part of the University of London until 2007. The table below gives the members of the group, along with when they joined, their student and staff numbers, and their latest Teaching Excellence Framework overall rating (non-English universities were not assessed). Notes: Member institution of the University of London , awarding its own degrees Achieved 'Gold' rating in all three categories of
9120-405: Was the first university institution to be established in London, and 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
9216-407: Was £20.30 billion of which £4.77 billion was from research grants and contracts, with an operating surplus of £1.15 billion. Russell Group universities hold a total endowment value of £6.18 billion (exclusive of colleges) and net assets of £31.52 billion. The table below is a record of each Russell Group member's financial data for the 2020–21 financial year. Notes: exclusive of colleges In
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