About UCL

UCL was established in 1826 to open up education in England for the first time to students of any race, class or religion. UCL was also the first university to welcome female students on equal terms with men. 

Academic excellence and conducting research that addresses real-world problems inform our ethos to this day.

A UCL education

  • UCL has the best academic to student ratio in the UK (1:10), enabling small class sizes and outstanding individual support (Times 2013).

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    View academic to student ratios

  • UCL has more professors than any other UK university, meaning our students get taught by the most highly qualified experts in their field (Higher Education Statistics Agency 2011).

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    View graph of university professor numbers

  • At 88%, UCL has one of the highest student satisfaction levels in the UK (National Student Survey 2011).

Discover what makes a UCL education distinctive.

Our research

  • In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise, 62% of UCL’s submissions were ranked at the highest grades of 4* (“of world-leading quality”), or 3* (“internationally excellent”), placing it third in the UK (RAE 2008 results).
  • UCL attracts the second highest number of academic citations in the UK showing the high esteem and relevance of the institution’s research (QS 2011).
  • All of UCL’s research, subject to permissions, is placed in Discovery − UCL’s online repository, available to everyone.

 Find out more about our research.

 Image (right): Zebrafish retina

Local and global impact

  • Visit the UCL Enterprise website to see how we are helping to drive the global economy forward - through knowledge transfer partnerships or one of our 34 active spin-out companies.
  • See examples on the UCL and London website of how we share our resources and engage with the local community to enrich London’s social, cultural and academic life.
  • UCL Partner hospitals treated 810,000 patients in 2011, more than a third of all London hospital visits. Find out more about how we’re improving health in the capital on the UCL and London website.
Images: James Xu, Shine! 2011 International Student of the Year (upper left); Universities Minister David Willetts visiting UCL (lower left)

Discover the achievements of UCL staff and students thoughout our history.

UCL is based in the heart of London. Watch the video to learn more about our unique location.