Commitment pledge to 19 Colleges of the federation

The University of London Council last night (4 October) accepted Imperial College London’s formal request to withdraw from the University. The terms of the withdrawal were agreed by the Councils of both institutions during the summer.

Sir Graeme Davies, Vice-Chancellor of the University of London, described the impending departure as ‘amicable’ and said it was designed to enable Imperial College to pursue its chosen path as a stand alone Higher Education Institution.

He added: “Like any other institution, and in keeping with its own history, the University of London continues to evolve. After nearly 100 years as a member of the federation, Imperial has now considered it appropriate to withdraw, while only last year the Central School of Speech and Drama successfully sought membership.

Sir Graeme said there could be no doubt that the University of London, one of the oldest institutions in the country and the best universities in the world, will continue to exist to the benefit of its remaining members, which include large multi-faculty and smaller specialist, and internationally renowned Colleges and central Institutes. Between them they serve more than 90,000 students in London and a further 41,000 students studying worldwide through the University’s External System.

Following Imperial’s withdrawal in July 2007, the federation for the University of London will include the following 19 Colleges.

Birkbeck is the country’s foremost provider of face-to-face part-time higher education.
Central School of Speech and Drama was founded in 1906 to offer an entirely new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. Today, it is an international centre of excellence in the dramatic arts, performance and media industries.
The Courtauld Institute of Art is the only institution in the UK to have been awarded a 5* in History of Art in the last Research Assessment Exercise.
Goldsmiths is the UK’s leading creative university. No fewer than five of its graduates have gone on to win the prestigious Turner Prize.
Heythrop College has one of the finest libraries – over 200,000 volumes – of theological and philosophical literature in the UK. The library dates from the College’s foundation in 1614, and has a particularly distinguished collection of pre-1801 imprints.
The Institute of Cancer Research is home to the country’s first dedicated centres for research into breast cancer and male cancers.
The Institute of Education is the largest institution in the UK devoted to the study of education and related areas. It is a leading centre of educational enquiry and hosts over 100 research and consultancy projects at any one time.
King’s College London is one of the two oldest and largest multi-faculty colleges of the University of London and was responsible for some of the discoveries that have shaped the modern world such as the development of antiseptic (Lord Lister) and the discovery of the structure of DNA (Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin).
London Business School is ranked 1st for its MBA in Europe, according to the Financial Times.
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
Thirteen Nobel Prize winners in economics, literature and peace, some 30 past or present heads of state, and around 60 current members of the Houses of Parliament have either studied or taught at the LSE.
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is the oldest school of public health in the world.
Queen Mary, University of London began life in 1887 as the People’s Palace, a philanthropic endeavour to provide East Londoners with education and social activities.
The Royal Academy of Music is internationally acclaimed. Founded in 1822, the Royal Academy of Music is Britain’s senior conservatoire and one of the oldest in the world.
Royal Holloway, University of London - The pioneering institutions of Royal Holloway College and Bedford College, which merged in 1985 and are now known as Royal Holloway, University of London, were founded in the late nineteenth-century with the purpose of providing education to women.
Royal Veterinary College - The foundation in 1791 of the Veterinary College, London, now the Royal Veterinary College, marked the establishment of the veterinary profession in this country.
Famous St George’s, University of London alumni include John Hunter, the father of modern surgery, Edward Jenner who developed the vaccination for smallpox, and Henry Gray, the celebrated anatomist and author of 'Anatomy of the Human Body' (1918).
The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) is the world’s largest centre for the study of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
The School of Pharmacy is the only free-standing institution in the UK dedicated to teaching, research and technology development in pharmacy and the pharmaceutical sciences. Established in 1842, it was the first institution in the country to offer pharmacy training and qualifications accredited by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.
UCL was the first university in England to admit students without reference to their religion or social background. It was also the first to offer teaching in English Literature, Modern Language and Geography and pioneered the systematic teaching of Law, Medicine and Engineering.

Further key facts about the University of London

The University of London was established by Royal Charter in 1836 and recognised globally as a world leader in Higher Education.
The University of London has been central in helping establish other Universities, through its scheme of special relationships. Examples of this include Exeter, Southampton, Leicester and Hull Universities.
The University of London is a federal University; following Imperial’s withdrawal it now comprises 19 member Colleges with more than 90,000 students in London. The College’s include many of the UK’s top institutions.
The University of London has a further 41,000 students studying worldwide through its External System.
The Central School of Speech and Drama, founded in 1906, is the most recent member of the federation for the University of London. (Joined 1 September 2005). The Courtauld Institute of Art, the Royal Academy of Music, London Business School, and the Institute of Cancer Research have all joined the federation as Colleges in the past 10 years.
Through its remaining 19 Colleges and the Institutes of the School of Advanced Study the University continues to offer more than 3,700 courses each year.
In 2004/05, the Colleges of the University of London awarded more than 37,000 degrees.
More than one in four students studying at the University of London are from outside the UK.
Big is Beautiful: Queen Mary is one of the leading institutions that make up the federal University of London (link to PDF article)

For further information contact:
Binda Rai
Telephone: 020 7862 8005
Mobile: 0792 047 6483
Email: binda.rai@london.ac.uk