Overview
University College London (UCL) is one of London’s oldest and most prestigious universities. It has an international reputation for academic excellence. It offers a wide variety of courses. You will take courses alongside local students. You will live in a campus residence hall.
Academics
Founded in 1826, UCL is the oldest and largest of the colleges and institutes that make up the University of London. UCL has a total student enrollment of over 12,000 undergraduates and 7,000 graduate students. It has an international reputation for its teaching and research. Students can study in more than seventy academic departments. University College London has strengths in many fields including Art History, Computer Science, Economics, English, Engineering, History, Natural Sciences, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations and Psychology. Visual Arts are available through UCL's Slade School of Fine Arts. You will take classes alongside local students. You will most likely take a traditional course load - four courses worth the equivalent of four Columbia points each.
Full-degree British students traditionally study only one subject during their undergraduate career. As a visiting student, you will apply to a department, or subject. You must take two courses within the subject to which you are admitted. You can also apply for joint admissions between two subjects. You are expected to take 2 courses in your primary subject and 1 in your secondary subject. You can choose the remainder of your courses from other subjects, although you must meet any course prerequisites. There are some exceptions to this. The English Language and Literature department requires you take all your courses within the subject. Certain departments, like Computer Science and Economics, have restrictions on courses available for non-subject students.
Program Features
UCL occupies a compact site in the Bloomsbury area of central London. It is close to the British Museum, the British Library, the Warburg Institute, and several other research libraries and institutes. This central area of London includes the West End, Covent Garden, Westminster and the City of London. You will live in UCL residence halls with other UCL students throughout London. Some residence halls can have up to a 45 minute commute to campus. As a visiting student, have the access to the University’s student union and student clubs and social activities.
Eligibility
Review eligibility to ensure that you meet all Columbia requirements to study abroad.
Review the external program webpage to understand any additional program prerequisites.
Application Instructions
To apply, you must complete the two steps below. Deadlines vary and some applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Therefore, you should complete the steps below simultaneously:
- To apply for Columbia clearance (approval) to study abroad, click on "Start Your Application" on this webpage. Clearance applications are approved on a rolling basis until the application deadline listed on this webpage.
- To apply for program admission, complete an external application directly on the program webpage. Note that this deadline may be in advance of the Columbia clearance deadline.
- This program has a minimum overall GPA requirement of 3.3. For most departments, you should also have a 3.5 GPA in your major courses.
- Please note that the Computer Science department at UCL will be taking an extremely limited number of affiliate (study abroad) students in the 2019-2020 year, if any at all. While you are welcome to apply, you should have a back up program if you plan to apply for CS.
