University College London

UCL (University College London) was founded in 1826, the first university in London.  It is a degree-awarding university in its own right. Since its beginnings, it has been a central part of the higher education ecosystem in the capital, in the UK, and in the world.  

UCL positions itself as “London’s Global University”. It has the largest population of graduate and postgraduate students from overseas at any UK university.  Such student diversity is paralleled by the diversity of the staff who come from all over the world, from many different countries, cultures and academic systems.

UCL has a long history of significant achievements and prominent and distinguished faculty.  It has always taken a leading role in breaking traditions of exclusion and insularity, addressing challenges of inclusivity and of diversity as they are recognised by each generation.  Widening participation is central to the University’s work as it pursues its charitable and public mission. 

UCL has profound academic strengths in a wide range of sciences (biological, physical, mathematical, data, medical, brain, psychological, engineering, social and historical sciences), in the arts, humanities, laws, and education. It is also home to outstanding schools of fine art and architecture.  UCL prides itself on its commitment to interdisciplinarity by encouraging disciplines to interact with each other.  The compact nature of the campus ensures that interactions are easily started and readily maintained. 

UCL also focuses on global Grand Challenges. These inspire concerted interdisciplinary action in critical areas of health, sustainability, culture, wellbeing, justice, and technology. This openness to big challenges is communicated widely through UCL’s research and outreach activities.