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UCL

Ranked
London, United Kingdom
22nd in World University Rankings 2024
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About

Basic information and contact details for UCL

institution

UCL was founded in 1826 to bring higher education to those who were typically excluded from it. In 1878, it became the first university in England to admit women on equal terms as men.

Located in the heart of London, UCL is a constituent college of the University of London and a member of the Russell Group, with approximately 850 professors and over 6,000 academic and research staff. 

UCL comprises 11 faculties: Arts and Humanities, Built Environment, Brain Sciences, Engineering, the Institute of Education, Laws, Life Sciences, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Medical Sciences, Population Health Sciences, and Social and Historical Sciences.

Throughout its history, UCL has been the birthplace of numerous significant scientific discoveries, with 29 Nobel Prizes awarded to UCL students or staff, including William Ramsay, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904 for his discovery of the noble gases.

In addition, the UCL academic community includes 53 Fellows of the Royal Society, 51 Fellows of the British Academy, 15 Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and 117 Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences.

The student body is nearly 36,000-strong and UCL has one of the largest systems of postgraduate study in the country. Nearly 52 per cent of students are engaged in graduate studies.

Students hail from approximately 150 countries worldwide making up more than one-third of the university’s entire student population.

UCL was the first British university to open a campus in Doha, Qatar, where it runs a centre for the study of cultural heritage. It also has a presence in Adelaide, South Australia, which includes a space science and an energy policy institute.

UCL alumni include film director Derek Jarman, the writer Lynne Truss, Baroness Patricia Scotland, who became the UK’s first female Attorney General, and Marie Stopes, who founded Britain’s first family planning clinic.

The university’s Latin motto translates as ‘Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward.’

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Rankings

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Key Student Statistics

A breakdown of student statistics at UCL

gender ratio
Student gender ratio
59 F : 41 M (1)
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International student percentage
61% (1)
student per staff
Students per staff
11.3 (1)
student
Student total
41110 (1)

Based on data collected for the (1) World University Rankings 2024

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Subjects Taught at UCL

See below for a range of subjects taught at UCL

Life Sciences20th

  • Sport Science
  • Biological Sciences

Law12th

  • Law

Education11th

  • Education

Arts and Humanities6th

  • Languages, Literature and Linguistics
  • History, Philosophy and Theology
  • Archaeology
  • Art, Performing Art and Design
  • Architecture

Business and Economics23rd

  • Economics and Econometrics
  • Business and Management

Clinical and Health7th

  • Medicine and Dentistry
  • Other Health

Computer Science28th

  • Computer Science

Engineering45th

  • General Engineering
  • Civil Engineering
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering
  • Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Social Sciences14th

  • Sociology
  • Politics and International Studies
  • Geography
  • Communication and Media Studies

Psychology6th

  • Psychology

Physical Sciences41st

  • Chemistry
  • Geology, Environmental, Earth and Marine Sciences
  • Physics and Astronomy
  • Mathematics and Statistics