University College London (UCL) is a constituent college of the University of London, based primarily in Bloomsbury, London.
Founded in 1826, UCL was the first university institution to be founded in London, the first university institution in the United Kingdom to be established on an entirely secular basis and admit students regardless of their religion, and the first to admit women on equal terms with men.UCL became one of the two founding colleges of the University of London in 1836. UCL’s founding principles of accessibility and liberalism have encouraged the institution to champion innovation, diversity and relevance to society, positioning it at the forefront of education and research.
UCL has been consistently ranked among the top five university institutions in the UK, and was ranked 4th in the world in the 2009 THE–QS World University Rankings.
University College London (UCL) is located in Bloomsbury, Central London. The main campus is on Gower Street, although there are also other UCL buildings throughout London. The Gower Street campus includes the UCL science and main libraries, the language departments, the history departments, the Bloomsbury theatre, the biology and physics departments, and the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology. A further set of buildings based around neighbouring Gordon Street and Gordon Square includes the Institute of Archaeology, the chemistry department, the philosophy department the Bartlett School of The Built Environment and the School of Slavonic and East European Studies.
The area around UCL is occupied by a number of other renowned institutions, including the British Library, the British Museum, the Royal Academy of Art, the British Medical Association, and the Wellcome Trust. Many University of London schools and institutes are close by, and these include the SOAS, Birkbeck, University of London, the Institute of Education, the School of Advanced Study, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the Senate House Library, which houses the University of London’s world-class research collections; these focus on the arts, humanities and social sciences. (All UCL students on degree courses, and all UCL staff have full access to this library and its electronic resources).
The nearest London Underground station to the main UCL campus is Euston Square. Other nearby stations are Warren Street, Russell Square and Goodge Street, as well as Euston Underground and railway station.