University of London

The University of London is a federation of colleges and institutes which together constitute one of the world's largest universities. Approximately 5% of all UK students attend one of its affiliated schools, which include some of the most prestigious places of study in the world. Additionally, over 34,000 students follow the University of London External Programme, established in 1858. Twelve universities in England, several in Canada and many in other Commonwealth countries (notably in East Africa) began life as associate colleges of the university, offering its "external" degrees under licence. By the 1970s almost all of these colleges had achieved independence from the University of London, but in recent years this aspect of its work has revived due to the globalisation of the higher education market, and an increasing number of overseas academic institutes are once again offering University of London diplomas and degrees. The main offices of the University of London are at Senate House in Bloomsbury, which includes a substantial library and the official residence of the Chancellor (at present Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, who succeeded her grandmother Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in the largely ceremonial post).

Founded in 1836, the University at first comprised just two colleges, University College London (UCL), which did not apply religious tests to its students, and King's College London (KCL), which, like other English universities at that time, admitted only members of the Church of England. The University, which was the first in the UK to admit women students on equal terms with men, now is a federal body made up of 31 highly autonomous affiliates (18 colleges and 13 institutes), most of them widely scattered across Greater London, though it has affiliates in the neighbouring county of Kent, in Scotland, and in Paris. Besides UCL and King's, the most famous colleges are Imperial College London, the London School of Economics (LSE), St George's, University of London (SGUL), Queen Mary (QMUL), Royal Holloway (RHUL), Goldsmiths College, and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

For most practical purposes, ranging from admission of students to negotiating funding from the government, the 18 constituent colleges are treated as individual universities. Within the University federation they are known as Recognised Bodies, with the authority to examine students and have the University award them degrees. One of the conditions of membership of the University of London federation is that colleges do not award degrees of their own. At present only Imperial College and UCL have this power, but have yet to use it. On several occasions over the past decades, UCL, King's and LSE have all used the threat of departure from the federation in negotiations for more powers within it, but on 9 December 2005 Imperial College became the first college to make a formal decision to leave. Its Council announced that it was beginning negotiations to withdraw from the University in time for its own centenary celebrations, and in order to be able to award its own degrees.

The 13 institutes, or Listed Bodies, offer courses leading to degrees that are both examined and awarded by the University of London.

The Athlone Press was the publishing house of the University of London between 1949 and 1979.

Colleges and institutions

The colleges and institutes of the University are, as of December 2005:

Recognised bodies

• Birkbeck, University of London, which specializes in part-time courses for working people
• the Courtauld Institute of Art
• Goldsmiths College
• Heythrop College, a specialist philosophy and theology college
• Imperial College London, incorporating St Mary's Hospital Medical School, the National Heart and Lung Institute, Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School, the Royal Postgraduate Medical School, the former Wye College (now called Imperial College at Wye), and the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology
• the Institute of Cancer Research
• the Institute of Education
• King's College London (KCL), incorporating the Institute of Psychiatry and The Guy's, King's and St Thomas's School of Medicine
• the London Business School
• the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
• the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
• Queen Mary, University of London (QMUL), incorporating Barts and The London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry
• the Royal Academy of Music
• Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL)
• the Royal Veterinary College
• the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), with which the London School of Jewish Studies (formerly Jews' College) is associated
• the School of Pharmacy
• University College London (UCL), including such pioneering departments as the The Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment (founded 1841) and the Slade School of Fine Art (founded 1871) and the Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science, and also incorporating several formerly separate bodies, notably the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), the Royal Free and University College Medical School, the Institute of Archaeology, the Eastman Dental Institute, the Institute of Child Health (Great Ormond St Hospital), the Institute of Neurology, the Institute of Ophthalmology, the Institute of Laryngology and Otology, the Institute of Orthopaedics, the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital and the Mullard Space Science Laboratory. The Institute of Cancer Sciences and London Centre for Nanotechnology are currently under construction.
• St George's, University of London, formerly St George's Hospital Medical School .

Intercollegiate halls of residence

The University of London has eight intercollegiate halls of residence, accommodating students from most of the colleges and institutions of the University:

• Canterbury Hall, Cartwright Gardens, WC1 (paired with Hughes Parry Hall for administration purposes)
• College Hall, Malet Street, WC1 (closed for refurbishment 2005-7)
• Commonwealth Hall, Cartwright Gardens, WC1
• Connaught Hall, Tavistock Square, WC1
• Hughes Parry Hall, Cartwright Gardens, WC1 (paired with Canterbury Hall for administration purposes)
• International Hall, Brunswick Square, WC1
• Lillian Penson Hall, Talbot Square, W2
• Nutford House, Brown Street, W1