The University of London was granted its first charter in 1836 and is the third oldest university in England.
The two founding Colleges of the University, UCL (founded 1827) and King’s College London (founded 1829), both predate the University, as do many other of the University’s constituent institutions. For example, St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical School (now part of Queen Mary) and St Thomas’ Hospital Medical School (now part of King’s College London) both have twelfth-century origins.
The University of London was initially established to act as an examining body for its Colleges and other ‘approved institutions’. It was formally granted permission to do so by King William IV in 1836 and the University acted solely in this capacity until 1858.
After 1858, the University continued to act as an examining body for its constituent Colleges. However, in that year, its degrees were made accessible to any qualified candidate in the United Kingdom and students studying by distance learning throughout the world through the External System 
.
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the University became more than just an examining body and was established as a federal ‘Teaching University’. The University of London Act was passed in 1898, after which the University monitored course content and academic quality in the Colleges through centrally-located faculties and Boards of Studies. The University’s Statutes distinguished between the examination of ‘External’ students and those drawn from the Colleges, or ‘Schools’ of the University, who were known as ‘Internal’ students.
The University of London has been a pioneering force in higher education from its early years. The London syllabus introduced many new subjects into university education, including modern languages and laboratory science. Its degrees have always been awarded without discrimination on religious, social or sexual grounds. In 1878 London became the first university in the UK to admit women to its degrees. In 1880, four women passed the BA examination and in 1881 two women obtained a BSc. By 1895, over ten percent of the graduates were women and by 1900 the proportion had increased to thirty percent.
By 1908, the University of London had over 4000 registered students, exceeding the universities of both Oxford and Cambridge, becoming the largest university in the UK and the fifth largest in the world.
As the University expanded, the requirement for larger central administration offices became evident. In the 1920s, a large parcel of land in Bloomsbury – part of the Duke of Bedford’s estate – was identified, centrally-located and adjacent to the British Museum.
The architect Charles Holden was appointed in February 1931 and construction work began in 1932. On 26 June 1933, King George V laid the foundation stone and in 1937 the building was completed.
Senate House is today acknowledged to be a building of architectural significance and is Grade II* listed.
By the time war broke out in September 1939, the University had 14,000 registered students. The Colleges and their students were forced into exile in other parts of the UK and Senate House was taken over by the Ministry of Information – the roof becoming a valuable observation point for the Royal Observatory Corp.
By 1944, the Colleges began to return to London and exams again took place in the capital. The Principal reports that the exams were carried out ‘without casualties, other than those normally caused by these exacting but essential tests’.
In 1948, the University became the first University in the Commonwealth to elect a woman as its Vice-Chancellor.
During the 1960s and 1970s the number of students going to university in the UK expanded enormously. In line with this, the total number of internal students at the University of London doubled to almost 54,000 by 1981.
From the 1980s onwards, the University went through a period of institutional amalgamation. This lead to the formation of some very large multi-faculty Colleges, including Queen Mary College, Royal Holloway, and Bedford New College. Most of these institutions were as large, if not larger than other universities elsewhere in the UK.
In 1981 the Queen Mother, who was Chancellor of the University for over a quarter of a century retired and Princess Anne (The Princess Royal as she is known today) was invited to become the new Chancellor.
In the 1990s, many of the University’s central responsibilities were devolved to the Colleges. The Funding Council also began to fund the Colleges directly.
Today – as it has been throughout its long history – the University is a family of world-class institutions, collectively upholding its international reputation of academic distinction in teaching and research. The outstanding achievements of the Colleges and Institutes mean that the University of London degree continues to be internationally recognised for its quality and excellence.
Academic dress in the University of London has been prescribed since the mid 19th century and has been modified and added to over the years. Information about academic dress and the official dress of the University's principal officers may be found in the Ordinances.
Further information may be found in a small book published by the University of London Press. Information about how to purchase this publication is at the end of this page.
Senate House Library holds the University archives 
, which provide a detailed history of the University from its foundation. An on-line catalogue 
is available.
For further information about the history of the University of London, see Negley Harte, The University of London, 1836-1986 (The Athlone Press Ltd, London, 1986).
For further information about Academic Dress, a book entitled 'University of London Academic Dress' is published by the University of London Press and is available to order 
(the site to order from also includes a brief history of academic dress).
For the history of the building of Senate House, see Richard Simpson, The University of London’s Senate House: Charles Holden, Classicism and Modernity (University of London Press, London, 2005) Copies are available from the University of London, Information Centre 
, price £5.00, plus postage and packing.