University College London University College London UCL (legally University College London) is a public research university in London, England, and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It is the largest university in the United Kingdom by total enrolment, and the largest by postgraduate enrolment. Established in 1826 as London University by founders inspired by the radical ideas of Jeremy Bentham, UCL was the first university institution to be established in London, and the first in England to be entirely secular and to admit students regardless of their religion. UCL also makes the contested claims of being the third-oldest university in
University College London chaplaincy since 2005 and there is no restriction on religious groups among students. A "quiet contemplation room" also allows prayer for staff and students of all faiths. UCL is a constituent college of the federal University of London, of which it was one of the two founding members in 1836 (the other being King's College London). UCL is a founding member of the Russell Group, an association of 24 British research universities established in 1994, and of the G5 lobbying group, which it established in early 2004 with the universities of Cambridge and Oxford, Imperial College London and the London