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'University College London', commonly known as 'UCL', is the oldest multi-faculty constituent college of the
University of London, one of the two original founding colleges, and the first to be founded on a non-religious basis. With 21,800 staff and students, UCL is one of the largest colleges of the University and is larger than most other universities in the
United Kingdom. It is a member of the
Russell Group of Universities, a part of the '
G5' sub-group of elite universities, and a part of the
Golden Triangle [2]
UCL consistently ranks among the top five university institutions in the UK
league tables and in the top 25 universities across the world.
[2] It has an annual turnover of more than £550m, and accounts for more than 40% of the Russell Group's research funding.
[2] In 2005, UCL was granted the power to award its own degrees, and currently offers its students a choice of a UCL or a University of London degree.
[5] The current provost of UCL is Professor
Malcolm Grant.
[6]
Geography and location
University College London (UCL) is located in
Bloomsbury, central
London. The
main campus is located on
Gower Street[7], although there are also other UCL buildings to be found 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 and the
School of Slavonic and East European Studies.
The UCL Main Building at night
The UCL Main Building in snow
UCL Bedford Way - The building houses the psychology department and some of the geography department. It adjoins the
Institute of Education
An example of student accommodation - UCL's Newest Hall of Residence — Frances Gardner House in
Clerkenwell
The Flaxman Gallery, a collection of sculptures and paintings by artist
John Flaxman is located inside the 'main library' in the Octagon building under UCL's central dome
Jeremy Bentham overseeing the construction of UCL in the Flaxman gallery inside the 'main library'
UCL Entrance on
Gower Street and the Cruciform Building opposite
The area around UCL is occupied by a constellation of other renowned institutions, including the
British Museum, the
British Library, the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, the
British Medical Association, and other University of London schools and institutes, including
SOAS,
Birkbeck College, the
Institute of Education and the
School of Advanced Study.
The nearest
London Underground station to the main campus is
Euston Square. Other nearby stations are
Warren Street,
Russell Square and
Goodge Street, as well as
Euston railway station.
History
Main articles: History of University College London
UCL was founded in 1826 under the name "London University", as a
secular alternative to the religious universities of
Oxford and
Cambridge.
[8] The philosopher
Jeremy Bentham is considered to be the spiritual father of UCL as he played a major role in the development of the College.
[9]
It became University College London in 1836 and acquired degree-awarding powers, when it joined with
King's College London to create the new
University of London. In 1907 the University of London was reconstituted and many of the colleges, including UCL, lost their separate legal existence. This continued until 1977 when a new charter restored UCL's independence.
[10]
Rankings
'National'
★
The Times, 5th
[11]
★
Sunday Times, 5th
[2]
★
The Guardian, 5th
[13]
'International'
★
The Times Higher Education Supplement — 25th overall, 7th in Europe
[2]
★
Shanghai Jiao Tong World University Ranking — 25th overall, 4th in Europe overall (17th in the world for Clinical Medicine and Pharmacy and 24th Life and Agricultural Sciences)
[15]
Alumni and academics
Main articles: list of University College London people
UCL alumni include both 'the Great and the Good', ranging from
Mahatma Gandhi and
Alexander Graham Bell to all four members of the band
Coldplay. Important authors include
Robert Browning,
Raymond Briggs,
GK Chesterton and
Trevor Lock. Scientists and engineers include
Francis Crick,
John Ambrose Fleming,
Joseph Lister,
Roger Penrose,
Colin Chapman, and the aforementioned Bell. Politicians figure highly in the lists, notably the first and former prime minister of Japan;
Hirobumi Ito and
Junichiro Koizumi respectively. Moreover, the founding father of
Kenya,
Jomo Kenyatta is a
UCL graduate as well as the Greek Vice - President of the Parliament
Hatzigakis Sotirios. Many leading journalists attended the College including three former editors of
The Economist, most notably
Walter Bagehot, and two editors of The Times Literary Supplement. A number of entertainers feature too, including
Ricky Gervais and
Jonathan Ross.
[16]
UCL has the highest number of
academics of any university in the UK. Currently among UCL academics there are 35 fellows of the
Royal Society, 22 Fellows of the
British Academy, and 77 Fellows of the
Academy of Medical Sciences. 19
Nobel prizes have been awarded to UCL academics and students (ten of which, in Physiology & medicine) as well as three
Fields Medals.
[17] All five of the naturally occurring
noble gases were discovered at UCL by
Sir William Ramsay, who was chair of chemistry.
[18]
UCL buildings, departments and collections
UCL operates in many separate buildings. Whilst most of the buildings are concentrated in the
Bloomsbury area of Central London (near Euston station), others can be found as far away as Old Street. Some of the buildings have been acquired through mergers with other colleges, and others have been newly built. The newest include the Engineering Wing on Malet Place and the Andrew Huxley Building within the Gower Street Site.
[19]
UCL's newest buildings include the London Centre for Nanotechnology on Gordon Street and a new building for the
School of Slavonic and East European Studies (formerly at
Senate House) which was opened (by
Princess Anne and the President of the Czech Republic,
Vaclav Klaus) in October 2005 on Taviton Street.
[2] The Institute of Ophthalmology opened a new wing in 2005 funded by the Wellcome Trust.
[21]
UCL Library
The UCL library is divided across several sites within the UCL campus and across
Bloomsbury.
[22] Access to each library is gained by the user of an electronic swipe card through electronic security barriers. The libraries are linked together by a networking catalogue and request system called 'eUCLid'.
[23] The largest collection of material is held in the 'Main Library' which is in the
UCL Main Building. The 'Main library' contains UCL's collections relating to
arts and
humanities, history,
economics, public policy and
law.
[24] The Flaxman Gallery, a collection of sculptures and paintings by artist
John Flaxman is located inside the 'main library' in the Octagon building under UCL's central dome.
The second largest library - the 'UCL Science library' occupies a building known as the 'DMS watson building' on Malet Place. It contains UCL's books and journals related to
Engineering,
Mathematics,
anthropology,
geography and
Science. It is adjacent to the
Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, access of which is currently made through the library. Other libraries within UCL include the 'Cruciform library' (medical science), the 'Environmental Studies library' (architecture and planning) and the
School of Slavonic and East European Studies library on Taviton Street.
[25][26][27]
UCL's 'Special Collections' contain UCL's collection of historical or culturally significant works. It is one of the foremost university collections of
manuscripts,
archives and
rare books in the UK.
[28] It includes collections of
medieval manuscripts and early printed books, as well as significant holdings of 18th century works, and highly important 19th and 20th century collections of personal papers, archival material, and literature, covering a vast range of subject areas. Archives include the Latin American archives, the
Jewish collections and the
George Orwell Archive.
[29] Collections are ofen displayed in a series of glass cabinets in the Cloisters of the
UCL Main Building.
[30]
The most siginificant works are housed in the 'Strong Rooms'. The special collection includes first editions of
Newton's ''
Principia'',
Charles Darwin's
Origin of Species and
James Joyce's
Ulysses . The earliest book in the collection is 'The crafte to lyve well and to dye well', printed in 1505.
[31]
Notable buildings and departments
★ The
UCL Main Building, including the
Octagon, Quad, Cloisters and the Wilkins building designed by
Architect William Wilkins
★ 1-19 Torrington Place
★ Alexandra House (17 Queen Square)
Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit
★
The Bartlett centre for
Architecture and
planning
★ Bedford Way Buildings
★
Bentham House (Endsleigh Street), home to the
University College London Law Faculty
★ Chadwick House
★ Christopher Ingold Building (Gordon Street), where the Chemistry department is based
★ Cruciform Building — a red-brick building notable for being built in a cross shape (Medicine)
★ DMS Watson Science Library, named after
D.M.S. Watson, a former professor of
zoology
★ Drayton House
★ Engineering Building (Malet Place) renamed to Roberts building in 2005
★ Foster Court (Languages)
★
Institute of Archaeology (Gordon Square)
★
Jill Dando Institute
★
London Centre for Nanotechnology (Gordon Street)
★ Malet Place Engineering Building (completed in 2005, primarily Computer Science and Medical Physics departments)
★ Medawar (named after
Peter Medawar)
★
Mullard Space Science Laboratory,
Holmbury St. Mary,
Surrey, is home to the UK's largest space research group
[32]
★
PAMELA
★ Rockefeller Building (Science)
★
SSEES, the
School of Slavonic and East European Studies, which has recently moved in a new buinding on Taviton Street
★ The
Slade School of Art, home to UCL's
art department
★
University College Hospital (recently re-built)
★
UCLU (Gordon Street)
★
UCL Bloomsbury Theatre (Gordon Street)
★ The Robin Building (
Tavistock Square), home to the Department of Political Science, the newest department of the college and
The Constitution Unit
★ Wates House (Endsleigh Gardens)
Museums and other collections
UCL is responsible for several museums
[33] and collections in a wide range of fields across the arts and sciences:
★
Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology: one of the leading collections of Egyptian and Sudanese archaeology in the world. Open to the public on a regular basis.
[34]
★ Grant Museum of Zoology And Comparative Anatomy: a diverse Natural History collection covering the whole of the animal kingdom. Includes rare
dodo and
quagga skeletons. A teaching and research collection, it is named after
Robert Edmund Grant, UCL's first professor of comparative anatomy and zoology from 1828, under whom
Charles Robert Darwin studied. Open at limited fixed times and by appointment.
[35]
★ Geology Collections: founded around 1855. Primarily a teaching resource and may be visited by appointment.
[36]
★ Art Collections: these date from 1847 when a collection of sculpture models and drawings of the Neo-classical artist
John Flaxman was presented to UCL. There are over 10,000 pieces dating from the 15th century onwards including drawings by
Turner etchings by
Rembrandt and works by many leading 20th century British artists. The works on paper are displayed in The Strang Print Room, which has limited regular opening times. The other works may be viewed by appointment.
[37]
★
Institute of Archaeology Collections: Items include prehistoric ceramics and stone artefacts from many parts of the world, the Petrie collection of Palestinian artefacts, and Classical Greek and Roman ceramics. Visits by appointment only.
[38]
★
Ethnography Collections: This collection exemplifying Material Culture, holds an enormous variety of objects, textiles and artefacts from all over the world. Visits by appointment only.
[39]
★ Galton Collection: The scientific instruments, papers and personal memorabilia of Sir
Francis Galton. Housed in the department of biology. Visits by appointment only.
[40]
★ Science Collections: Diverse collections primarily accumulated in the course of UCL's own work, including the operating table on which the first anaesthetic was administered. Items may be a viewed by appointment.
[41]
UCL is developing a new facility called
The Panopticon, which will allow public access to its collections to be greatly improved. UCL Library's Special Collections, will also move into the new building. The Panopticon will feature permanent galleries for the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, galleries devoted to the Art and Library Special Collections, a gallery for temporary exhibitions from the other collections, lecture theatres and study rooms. Planning permission was granted in 2004, building work began in 2007 and it is scheduled to open in 2009.
[42]
Medicine and UCL Hospital
Main articles: Royal Free and University College Medical School
The Royal Free and University College Medical School offers degrees in
medicine which take six years to complete.
[43] UCL has offered courses in medicine since 1825 but the current medical school is a merger of two other schools, that took place in 1998 .
[44]
Main articles: University College Hospital
Clinical medicine is taught at University College Hospital, which is one of central London's largest
NHS hospitals and is part financed by the university.
[45] UCL's hospital facilities are located around
Bloomsbury but the main hospital facility, including accident and emergency, is located on
Euston Road. In 2004 work began to rebuild the main hospital, most of the work is now finished with the final extension due for completion by 2008.
[46] UCL also operates its own medical research company called
UCL Biomedica.
[47]
Students' accommodation
Many UCL students are accommodated in the college's own
halls of residence or other accommodation, such as those below:
★ Arthur Tattersall House (115-131 Gower Street)
★ Astor College (99 Charlotte St)
★ Campbell House East and West (Taviton Street)
★ Ifor Evans & Max Rayne Student Residences (Camden Road)
★
Frances Gardner House and Langton Close (Gray's Inn Road)
★ John Tovell House (89 & 93-7 Gower Street)
★ John Dodgson House (Bidborough Street)
★ Ramsay Hall Student Residence (Maple Street)
★
Schafer House Student Residence (Drummond Street)
★ James Lighthill (Pentonville Road)
★ Goldsmid House
★ (North Row)
★ Goldsmid House will close in 2008, as the land is to be developed into offices, shops and apartments due to its prime location on Oxford Street. The building is named after Sir F.H. Goldsmid, a treasurer of the University in the 19th century.
[48]
Most students in college or university accommodation are first-year
undergraduates. The majority of second and third-year students and
postgraduates find their own accommodation in the private sector. UCL students are also eligible to apply for places in the
University of London intercollegiate halls of residence, such as
Connaught Hall. There is also limited UCL accommodation available for married students and those with children at Bernard Johnson House, Hawkridge, Neil Sharp House and the University of London's Lilian Penson Hall.
[49]
Campus networking
UCL provides students and staff with wired and wireless internet access at a number of locations on campus, through a service called 'RoamNet'.
[50] UCL provides computer "cluster rooms" to provide free internet and computer access for its students, using a managed Windows environment referred to as "WTS" (Windows Terminal Service). These student computers are also part of a large
Condor cluster, and when not in use, they may be used to run run algorithms for researchers at UCL and elsewhere. UCL user names are seemingly random 7-character codes (e.g. "ucxxxxx") although they follow a pattern based on the user's department, staff/student status, and personal name.
[51]
From early 2006, UCL has also started to operate a remote login system for students to access WTS from home, called Remote WTS. Similar services had previously been available for some departments (such as Computer Science), but unlike previous systems, Remote WTS allows students to access exactly the same desktop and software from home (or elsewhere) as they can access on campus.
[52]
University College London Union
Main articles: University College London Union
The union, founded in 1893, has a credible claim to be England's oldest students' union.
[10] Today the union exists to provide a wide range of services to UCL students. It is run by elected student officers, and supports a range of services, including numerous
clubs and
societies,
sports facilities, and an advice service, as well as a number of bars,
cafes and
shops.
[54]
King's College rivalry
UCL has a long-running, mostly friendly rivalry with
King's College London. UCL is often referred to by students from the latter using nicknames such as the "Godless Scum of Gower Street", in reference to a comment made at the founding of KCL, which was based on Christian principles. UCL students and staff also refer to King's as "Strand Polytechnic" in a similar attitude. Historically the university rivalry was known as 'Rags'.
[55]
KCL's mascot, "
Reggie", was lost for many years in the 1990s. It was recovered after being found dumped in a field, restored at the cost of around £15,000 and placed on display in the students' union.
[56] It is in a glass case and filled with concrete to prevent theft, particularly by UCL students who once castrated it. (KCL, to be fair, had also stolen one UCL mascot, Phineas).
[57] It is often claimed that KCL students played football with the embalmed head of
Jeremy Bentham. Although the head was indeed stolen, the football story is a myth which is denied by official UCL documentation about Bentham found next to his display case (his Auto Icon) in the college cloisters. The head is now kept in the college vaults.
[58]
Ethical investment policy
UCL's ethical investment policies exclude direct investment in tobacco companies. The policies do not exclude investment in arms companies. In 2006
Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) revealed that UCL was the largest known university investor in arms companies in the UK. UCL currently invests £1,591,627 in the companies
Cobham plc and the
Smiths Group (both of which manufacture components for military aircraft and other weapons systems). This sum amounts to 1.7% of UCL's total investment assets.
[59]
In December 2006 the campaign “Disarm UCL” was launched by students and staff opposed to this controversial investment.
[60]
Filming at UCL
Main articles: Filming at UCL
Due to its position within
London and the historical nature of the
UCL Main Building and quad, UCL has been used as a location for
film and television recording.
Gallery
References
1. Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2005/06
2.
3.
4.
5. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/current-students/examinations/degree-awarding/faq/
6. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/provost/
7. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/about-ucl/location/maps
8. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/about-ucl/history
9. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Bentham-Project/info/jb.htm
10. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/about-ucl/history/landmarks
11. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/displayPopup/0,,102571,00.html
12.
13. http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/universityguide/profile/story/0,9988,496122,00.html
14.
15. http://ed.sjtu.edu.cn/rank/2006/ARWU2006_Top100.htm
16. http://education.independent.co.uk/higher/az_uni_colleges/article1208712.ece
17. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/about-ucl/facts
18. http://chemeducator.org/sbibs/s0009006/spapers/960378gk.htm
19. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/right-column/ucl-views/engineering
20.
21. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioo/research/cordeira.htm
22. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Library/sites.shtml
23. http://library.ucl.ac.uk/F?RN=632723792
24. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Library/main.shtml
25. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Library/crucilib.shtml
26. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Library/eslib.shtml
27. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Library/ssees.shtml
28. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Library/special-coll/index.shtml
29. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Library/special-coll/azdirect.shtml
30. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Library/special-coll/index.shtml#news
31. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Library/special-coll/srbooks.shtml
32. http://www.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/pages/
33. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/
34. http://www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk/
35. http://www.grant.museum.ucl.ac.uk/
36. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/geology
37. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/uclart
38. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/archaeology
39. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/ethno
40. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/galton
41. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/sciences
42. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ifch/building/index.htm
43. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/medicalschool/index.shtml
44. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/medicalschool/about-medicalschool/
45. http://www.uclh.nhs.uk/
46. http://www.uclh.nhs.uk/New+developments/New+University+College+Hospital/
47. http://www.uclbiomedica.com/
48. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/current-students/financial-support/scholarships/faculty-medals/
49. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/accommodation/
50. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/is/network/wireless/index.htm
51. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/is/students/
52. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/is/wts/
53. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/about-ucl/history/landmarks
54. http://www.uclunion.org/index.php
55. http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/iss/archives/rag/
56. http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/iss/archives/rag/rag05.htm
57. http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/iss/archives/rag/rag04.htm
58. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/right-column/ucl-views/bentham
59. http://disarmucl.blogspot.com/2006/12/caat-freedom-of-information-request-to.html
60. See http://www.disarmucl.blogspot.com/
External links
★
UCL Online
The Sunday Times University Guide
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