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Frequently Asked Questions
General
- What is UCL East?
UCL East is UCL’s new campus on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford in east London giving our students and staff the opportunity to study, work, research, live and play in another iconic UCL location in one of the most exciting cities in the world.
Our UCL East campus currently comprises two buildings: One Pool Street and Marshgate, which face each other on either side of the river, linked by a bridge, at the south end of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Check out our Life on Campus page or, if you'd like to know more about about the background to the project, head to our Campus page.
- Where is your UCL East campus?
Our new campus is on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park at East Bank in Stratford in east London. East Bank is the UK's newest culture and innovation quarter, backed by the Mayor of London and a legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. UCL is a founding partner in East Bank, along with other global institutions like the BBC, V&A, Sadler's Wells and London College of Fashion, UAL.
Our new campus on the Park is easily accessed by public transport and surrounded by green spaces and waterways, yet just minutes from world class sport, entertainment and shopping venues. Our UCL East campus address is: UCL East, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London E20 2AF.
Find out how to get to our UCL East campus.
- Can I visit the UCL East campus?
Yes! You’re welcome to visit Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and see where our new UCL East campus is located and to visit our buildings - the lower floors are open to the public so just come on in. At different times during the year we hold open days. Look out for more information on the Campus Tours page of the UCL website, as well as how to visit our UCL East campus on UCL Open Days if you are thinking of studying at UCL as an undergraduate.
- Is the UCL East campus open to the public?
The lower floors of both our One Pool Street and Marshgate have been designed to be open to everyone, along with the walkways and grounds around our buildings, which include a temporary skate park, City Mill Pool Street. Whether helping shape our research and innovation, joining in our events and activities, or enjoying a coffee and the work of local artists in our cafes and public spaces, everyone is welcome to visit us as well as our students and staff, so do drop in!
Our excellent Pool Street Cafe and Marshgate Cafe are open to everyone and our Pool Street Shop, run by Students' Union UCL, has everything you'd expect from your friendly neighbourhood shop.We ask all those visiting any of our UCL campuses to abide by our Code of Conduct for Visitors and UCL students are required to abide by our Code of Conduct for Students.
In addition, all those visiting, working or studying on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park are bound by its bylaws. For more information about the areas and topics these cover, access the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Bylaws.
- How sustainable is UCL East?
UCL has been driving forward sustainability practices for over a decade, with ambitious commitments, from carbon emissions reduction to increasing biodiversity and accelerating sustainable education and research. Find out more about the work of Sustainable UCL.
Our UCL East campus has been designed and built with sustainability at its core, inside and out. It incorporates rainwater harvesting, low energy lighting and highly efficient mechanical ventilation and we have worked to minimise our carbon footprint throughout construction and beyond.During planning and construction, our project teams supported clean energy by keeping running costs and energy consumption to a minimum. Our architects and construction partners have worked with us to promote green outcomes and environmental consciousness in those using the buildings too. The installation of heating and cooling technology retains energy while also optimising indoor air quality to support health and wellbeing. We have even put sensors on the UCL East buildings that are constantly gathering data to help us understand how they are interacting with and impacting on the environment. Together the measures we have taken have already created substantial savings in timber waste and carbon emissions.
Our UCL East campus is powered by 100% renewable electricity and will send zero waste to landfill. As part of UCL's sustainability strategy we will eliminate single-use plastic across our campuses by 2024, and we are committed to becoming a zero-carbon university across all our operations by 2030.
On our UCL East campus, sustainability also runs through the curriculum. All degree programmes offer optional campus-wide modules in areas such as ‘Sustainability and Decision Making’ and ‘Sustainability Analysis of Engineering Systems.’
Facilities
- How big is the UCL East campus?
The first phase of our UCL East campus has been designed for around 5000 students, 260 teaching staff and more than 400 support staff.
Our One Pool Street base also has student accommodation for 552 students above the teaching and research areas. Students living in these halls may be studying on our UCL East campus or UCL at Here East, which is also on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, or they may be studying on our Bloomsbury campus. So it's a lively, mixed community of both graduates and undergraduates in a vibrant area of London with excellent transport links.
In time, we plan to add further buildings and facilities to our UCL East campus.
- How accessible is the UCL East campus?
The UCL East campus has been designed to be fully accessible and exceeds the current standard requirements. The student accommodation at One Pool Street has also been designed to be accessible. The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is car-free, but there are Blue Badge disabled parking facilities and drop-off points on the campus. Accessible parking can be arranged - please email us at ucleast@ucl.ac.uk.
Please contact our Disability, Mental Health and Wellbeing team to discuss any requirements that you may have.
- What facilities does the UCL East campus have?
UCL East has a range of facilities including a library where you can also borrow a laptop, print, scan and photocopy. It has a large refectory, a range of study spaces, lecture theatres, studios, project spaces and workshops for both students and staff to use, a large UCL Institute of Making, quiet rooms, two cafe's and a shop, as well as student accommodation for 552 students.
Our Students’ Union and the Support & Wellbeing services have a presence on our UCL East campus, and our Careers team regularly runs consultations and events. On 2nd floor of Marshgate, next to the Students' Union UCL office, you will also find the dedicated UCL East Programme Support team, who can help with queries relating to your degree course.
Students studying at UCL East have access to the same services as any other UCL student; in some cases these services are delivered remotely to students at our UCL East campus but you are welcome to use all the in-person services at our Bloomsbury campus in central London too.
The food outlets at UCL East offer a full range of meat, meat free, vegan and healthy options and and the campus has a shop run by UCL Students' Union for 'grab and go' food as well as items like toiletries and everything you would expect from a friendly local store.
In addition, there are social areas, quiet contemplation rooms and outdoor terraces, as well as the immediate green spaces and waterways around the Park.
One Pool Street also has a lecture theatre that doubles as a 160-seat cinema. This is mainly used for teaching, lectures and showcasing students' work but increasingly available for activities, student events and use by the local community.
Secure bicycle storage, showers and changing facilities are available to both students and staff at both UCL East campus buildings.
The campus is a grea place relax and socialise with friends and colleagues, yet well connected by public transport and just minutes away on foot from the cafes and bars of Hackney Wick or world class sport, entertainment and shopping venues, which include a range of supermarkets. Nearby facilities include Westfield Stratford City, London Stadium, London Aquatics Centre, ArcelorMittal Orbit, Copper Box Arena, Lee Valley VeloPark, Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, Abba Voyage, Stratford Shopping Centre, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Stratford East Picturehouse, The Yard Theatre and Stratford Circus performing arts venue.
UCL also has a base at the nearby innovation and technology centre on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park called UCL at Here East. Together, UCL East, Here East and new sites for the BBC, V&A, Sadler's Wells and London College of Fashion, UAL comprise the UK's newest culture and innovation quarter, East Bank.Find out how to get to our UCL East campus.
- Can I also use the facilities at UCL's Bloomsbury campus in central London?
Yes, you are welcome to use the facilities and services on our Bloomsbury campus.
- Are there any sports facilities at the UCL East campus?
The London Aquatics Centre next door to the campus has a 50m swimming pool and a gym plus classes and activities. It has a discount membership option for students. Other sports facilities on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park include Lee Valley VeloPark and the Lee Valley Hockey & Tennis Centre. Student memberships are available.
The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is also an excellent place to go for a run or a cycle ride, and there are 310 cycle hire docking stations on the Park.
Students based at UCL East can also use the sports facilities on our Bloomsbury campus.
- If I am based at UCL Bloomsbury, will I also have access to sports facilities on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park?
Yes – they are open to anyone.
- Will there be a health centre at the UCL East campus?
No, but there are NHS health centres located nearby. Click on this interactive map to find out more about the local services.
Our student support website has details about how to register with a doctor.
- What are the social facilities like in the area? Where will I eat on campus? And nearby?
There is a large refectory, a large public cafe and more spaces for socialising at Marshgate. At One Pool Street there is the Pool Street Cafe and the Pool Street Shop, run by Students' Union UCL, also has a range of food options.
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the surrounding area is a vibrant part of east London with many cafes, restaurants and leisure time activities to suit all tastes and budgets. The Park hosts events all year round, and UCL East is also part of East Bank, London’s newest culture, innovation and entertainment quarter.
Our UCL East campus is next to Westfield Stratford City with its wide selection of shops, eateries and entertainment venues, and there are more shops, restaurants and other facilities in Stratford itself, including Stratford Shopping Centre and the Theatre Royal Stratford East. On the other side of the park is Hackney Wick, another area with a broad selection of cafes, bars, and restaurant options.
For more info, check our Explore East London page.
Studying at UCL East
- Which courses are being taught at the UCL East campus?
Our Study and Research pages include information about the courses and the research activity that is taking place on the campus.
- How much of my teaching and learning will be at the UCL East campus and how much at the Bloomsbury campus?
This will depend on your course, but many of the courses that are based at our UCL East campus will be delivered there entirely. Any modules that you take that are delivered at our Bloomsbury campus will be optional modules. They will be clearly marked. If you’re not sure, your course contact will be able to advise you.
- Will I have lectures on both campuses on the same day?
We aim to avoid a situation where students are travelling between two campuses on the same day. Where this is unavoidable, modules will be scheduled to allow plenty of time for travel between campuses. Check our Find Us page for details on the different travel options between our campuses.
We will support students with disabilities with travel between sites, and the Disability, Mental Health and Wellbeing team can advise further. Find out about UCL's support for disabled students.
- Will my education be different at UCL East?
The values and ethos of a UCL education - freedom to challenge, think differently and develop your skills and career to make a positive impact in the world - are the same wherever the course is based.
Our new campus at UCL East is enabling us to create the research, teaching and learning spaces that will help us accelerate academic and student collaboration, knowledge exchange and community engagement. Moreover, students studying on our UCL East campus will have the opportunity to take campus-wide modules on universal challenges such as sustainability and fairer innovation, and build valuable knowledge and skills for the next steps after graduation.
- Can I join classes at Bloomsbury remotely from UCL East?
Some degree courses are taught solely on our UCL East campus, but others offer optional modules that are taught on our Bloomsbury campus.The option to join Bloomsbury-based modules remotely may be considered and made available where possible.
- Will my professors and various programme-related admin functions be based at UCL East?
Academic and professional services staff will be available if you have problems or issues. Staff will be based in a variety of locations, so some services may be available in person and others remotely. Students' Union UCL, Volunteering and Student Support and Wellbeing teams and our UCL East Programme Support team are based on the 2nd floor of Marshgate and professional services staff are based in the office spaces on the 4th and 5th floors of our Marshgate building.
- Are there separate Students’ Unions and student societies at UCL East?
Students on our UCL East campus have created some new societies and students can join any UCL society offered. It doesn’t matter where you live or study. Information about clubs and societies is available on the Students Union website.
Travel
- What are the travel options between UCL East and Bloomsbury, and how long will it take between the two?
There are a range of public transport options for travelling between our two iconic campuses in London, UCL East (east London) and UCL Bloomsbury (central London).
Each takes up to 40 minutes door to door, and cycling is also an option. Check our Find Us page for details on the different travel options between our campuses.
- Will UCL students get discount travel between the two campuses?
Yes, if you use a Transport for London 18+ Student Oyster Card, which will give you a 30% discount on travel.
Accommodation
- Is there student accommodation at UCL East?
Yes. One Pool Street has self-catered student accommodation halls and more details are available via the UCL Accommodation website.
- If my course is taught at UCL East, will I get priority to live in the UCL East accommodation?
No, accommodation is allocated according to the preferences applicants express in terms of room type and budget.
- How do I apply for accommodation at UCL East? Will I be able to express an interest in proximity to UCL East versus Bloomsbury?
Details of all the UCL residences including One Pool Street at our UCL East campus, and information about how accommodation is allocated, is on the UCL Accommodation website.
- How much will the accommodation at UCL East cost?
Fees for accommodation at One Pool Street, and all the other UCL residences, are available on the UCL Accommodation website.