University of London
University Information, Campus and History
(London, England)
The University of London is an alliance of various colleges and institutions that constitutes one of the largest and most prestigious universities in the world. It has branched into different institutes located in different parts of the UK and Europe including Greater London, Kent, Scotland, and Paris.
The University of London is a federal body of 20 self-governing colleges known for their excellent performance and outstanding reputation. It also houses a number of well-established academic institutes, research centres and educational activities. The Colleges and Institutes unit of the university carries out all the teaching and research involved in the university.
The university's first charter was granted in 1836, making it the third oldest university in England. Its two colleges that were first founded were the UCL in 1827 and King's College London in 1829. The university branched out to more colleges later on. The university has always been an exceptional educational institution. All of its colleges and institutes have their own history and unique distinctions.
Today, the University of London is considered the largest university in the UK, after the Open University, with a total student population of 125,000. Another 34,000 students are enrolled in the distance learning programmes of the External Programme offered by the university.
The University of London has nine faculties:
- Education
- Engineering
- Humanities
- Languages and Cultural Studies
- Laws
- Life Sciences
- Medical and Related Disciplines
- Physical Sciences
- Social Studies
Facilities
The university is host to state-of-the-art facilities like the Senate House, Central Printing Services, and the University of London Computer Centre.
Built in the 1930s, the university Senate House is an academic building that features classical architectural designs. It is the usual venue for conference meetings, audio visual presentations, catering services, and virtual tours. The students and staff can use the Senate House for holding meetings and discussions.
The Central Printing Services (CPS) helps in the production of printed materials for the university administrative centre, admission department, external learning programme, and other associated colleges, institutes, and research centres.
The University of London Computer Centre (ULCC) is equipped with modern computer facilities, a high performance local network, and high speed Internet access. It offers other services like web development and hosting, data archiving and storage, online training, network connection, infrastructure hosting and management, and helpdesk and service monitoring.
When it comes to student accommodation, a number of colleges have their very own halls of residence on campus, offering a cheap and extremely convenient place to live. There are also a series of intercollegiate halls, where students from all colleges are able to apply for rooms. Many students in their second year favour nearby flats in London, often sharing them with fellow students to keep prices more affordable. Students looking for flatmates regularly advertise on notice boards and university related websites. However, the nearest flats along Euston Road and Tottenham Court Road are always in demand and consequently expensive, being out of the reach for most student incomes.
Famous Students
The university boasts outstanding graduates who became successful and famous in their chosen fields including 33 heads of state, 54 Nobel Prize winners, three monarchs, six Grammy Award winners, two Oscar Award winners, and two Olympic gold medallists.
In science, some of its famous students are Edward Jenner, who discovered the first official vaccine, Alexander Fleming and Ernest Chain who discovered penicillin, Charles Glover Barkla and William Henry Bragg, who developed the x-ray technology, James Clerk Maxwell, who formulated the theory of electromagnetism, Joseph Lister, who developed antiseptics and Alexander Graham Bell, who invented the telephone.
In politics, John F Kennedy, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Romano Prodi and Mahatma Gandhi are some of its graduates who became famous political leaders.
In the arts, some if its famous graduates are novelists Arthur C Clarke, G K Chesterton, Malcolm Bradbury, and H G Wells; singer Sir Elton John, Sir Simon Rattle, Felicity Lott; and members of the bands Gilbert and Sullivan, Suede, Coldplay, Blur, Iron Maiden and Queen.
Contact
University of London: |
Address: Information Centre, University of London, Stewart House, 32 Russell Square, London, WC1B 5DN, England, UK
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Tel: +44 (0)20 7862 8360 / 8361 / 8362
Email: enquiries@london.ac.uk
Website: http://www.lon.ac.uk |
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