he University of London was founded in 1836 to promote access to higher education. We pioneered distance learning across the globe. We were the first University in the world to admit students regardless of their gender, race or religion.
In 1878 we were the first UK university to award degrees to women. Improving access and equality of opportunity remains our mission to this day. The University of London was established by Royal Charter in 1836 for the public benefit and is recognised globally. Throughout our long history, the University has offered access to a wide range of academic opportunities. As a world leader in higher education, the University has pioneered change in the sector.
Established as a secular alternative to Oxford and Cambridge, the only two other English universities at the time, we became the first to explicitly exclude religious qualification as an entry requirement. We were the first university to admit students regardless of their gender, race or religion, the first to admit women to degree programmes and, in 1865, the first to give students the opportunity to study wherever they are, providing access to higher education across the globe.
For almost 200 years, we have improved the lives of millions of people around the world through our unique approach to education. In 1858, Charles Dickens’ magazine, All the Year Round, coined the term 'The People’s University', which would “extend her hand even to the young shoemaker who studies in his garret.”