London is the second-largest university by number of full-time students in the United Kingdom, with around 135,000 campus-based students and over 50,000 distance learning students in the University of London International Programmes. The university was established by Royal Charter in 1836, which brought together in federation London University (now University College London) and King's College (now King's College London).
For most practical purposes, ranging from admissions to funding, the constituent colleges operate on a semi-independent basis, with some recently obtaining the power to award their own degrees whilst remaining in the federal university. The nine largest colleges of the university are King's College London; University College London; Birkbeck; Goldsmiths; the London Business School; Queen Mary; Royal Holloway; SOAS; and London School of Economics and Political Science. The specialist colleges of the university include Heythrop College, specialising in philosophy and theology, and St George's, specialising in medicine. Imperial College London was formerly a member before it left the University of London in 2007.
In post-nominals, the University of London is commonly abbreviated as Lond. or, more rarely, Londin., from the Latin Universitas Londiniensis after their degree abbreviations.
Campuses
The university owns a considerable central London estate of 180 buildings in Bloomsbury, near Russell Square tube station.
Some of the university's colleges have their main buildings on the estate. The Bloomsbury Campus also contains eight Halls of Residence and Senate House, which houses the Senate House Library, the chancellor's official residence and previously housed the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, now part of University College London (UCL) and housed in its own new building. Almost all of the School of Advanced Study is housed in Senate House and neighbouring Stewart House.
The university also owns many of the squares that formed part of the Bedford Estate, including Gordon Square, Tavistock Square, Torrington Square and Woburn Square.
The estate includes several properties outside Bloomsbury also, with many of the university's colleges and institutes occupying their own estates across London. Clare Market and part of Aldwych where the London School of Economics and Political Science is based, as well as the West Wing of Somerset House, the location for the Courtauld Institute of Art and King's College London, St Bartholomew's Hospital, the University of London Boat Club in Chiswick and the Egham campus of Royal Holloway with its historic Founder's Building are also examples of properties that form part of the university's estate.
In addition, there are several properties outside London, including the University Marine Biological Station, Millport on the Isle of Cumbrae, a number of residential and catering units further afield and the premises of the University of London Institute in Paris which offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in French and Historical Studies.
Colleges
The constituent colleges of the University of London are currently divided as follows, in alphabetical order:
Birkbeck, University of London (BBK) [entered in 1920]
Courtauld Institute of Art [created and admitted in 1932]
Goldsmiths, University of London (GUL) [entered in 1904]
Heythrop College, University of London (HEY) [entered in 1971]
Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) [entered in 2003]
Institute of Education (IoE) [entered in 1909]
King's College London (KCL) [founding college]
London Business School (LBS) [created and admitted in 1964]
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) [entered in 1900]
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) [entered in 1924]
Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) [entered in 1915]
Royal Academy of Music (RAM) [entered in 2003]
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (RCSSD) [entered in 2005]
Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL) [entered in 1900]
Royal Veterinary College (RVC) [entered in 1915]
St George's, University of London (SGUL) [affiliated in the 19th century]
School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) [created and entered in 1916]
University College London (UCL) [founding college]