📸 At a Glance
🌍 London, England
🎓 Russell Group ✅
⚖️ Race Equality Charter ✅ Silver Award
💰 Scholarships Available ✅
🏅 Ranking: 13 (Complete University Guide 2026)
🔎 Overview
University College London (UCL) is a leading Russell Group university located in central London, known for its world-class research, global outlook, and strengths across subjects including medicine, engineering, architecture, social sciences, and the humanities. It has a highly international student community and a strong focus on interdisciplinary teaching and research.
📊 Ethnicity Breakdown
- Black: 7%
- Mixed race: 8%
- White: 47%
- Asian: 30%
- Other: 4%
- Not known: 3%
💷 Scholarships & Funding
- UCL Research Opportunity Scholarship (ROS) – PhD – This scholarship supports Black, Asian and minority ethnic postgraduate research students, addressing under-representation in academia. Each scholarship covers UK tuition fees, a maintenance stipend, conference costs and professional development. For 2026/27, six fully funded scholarships are available across UCL faculties.
- Aspire Award Undergraduate Scholarship – UCL’s Computer Science Aspire Award supports students from Black or mixed Black ethnic backgrounds, covering full tuition fees plus a £20,000 annual living and study allowance for the duration of the programme, alongside ongoing academic and career support.
- EGA IfWH BAME Master’s Scholarship – UCL’s EGA Institute for Women’s Health offers a £10,000 Masters scholarship for UK students from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, contributing towards postgraduate tuition fees. One award is available per academic year and students may apply once only.
- The Physics & Astronomy Opportunity Scholarship – UCL’s Physics & Astronomy Opportunity Scholarship supports UK students who identify as Black pursuing an undergraduate degree, covering full maintenance loans for the duration of the degree, to address the lack of Black representation in the field.
- Amos Bursary – The Amos Bursary UCL Scholarship supports UK male undergraduate students with family connections to Africa or the Caribbean, offering £1,000 per year for the duration of their degree. Five awards are available, subject to satisfactory academic progress.
- The Bartlett Promise Sub-Saharan Africa Master’s Scholarship – UCL’s Bartlett Promise Scholarship is open to nationals and residents of eligible Sub-Saharan African countries admitted to a Bartlett Masters course, covering full overseas tuition fees, a £17,796 annual living and study allowance, flights to and from the UK, visa and health-related costs, and ongoing academic and career support.
- GREAT Scholarship (Nigeria) – University College London is offering £10,000 GREAT Scholarships for the 2026-27 academic year, available across all full-time postgraduate taught Masters programmes.
- The Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme – The Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme supports academically excellent students from developing Commonwealth countries who would otherwise be unable to fund postgraduate study in the UK. Awards cover taught Masters programmes in subjects related to the economic, social and technological development of the student’s home country.
- MSc Finance with Data Science Scholarships – 2026 entry (Global Finance Scholarship) – Scholarships are available for outstanding applicants from Latin American or African countries, with all September 2026 applicants automatically considered, no separate application required.
- UCL Global Master’s Scholarship – UCL’s Global Master’s Scholarship offers £15,000 to support international students from lower income backgrounds pursuing full-time Masters studies at UCL.
👨🏾🎓👩🏿🎓 Student Life & Support
- UCL African and Caribbean Society
- UCL Students’ Union BME Students’ Network
- UCL Students’ Union People of Colour Students’ Network
➡️ The university also points students to its full clubs and societies directory under cultural/national societies, which may include additional or more up-to-date groups not listed here.
📣 Things Uni To Know
Access UCL – UCL is committed to recruiting the brightest students from all backgrounds through its Access UCL scheme, offering reduced entry requirements to UK undergraduate applicants from underrepresented groups.
Widening Participation Activities – UCL encourages Black students attending UK state schools or colleges to apply to its widening participation activities, with eligible applicants given additional consideration for oversubscribed programmes, whether to experience university life, get application tips, or explore different subjects.
Envision UCL – Envision UCL is a free programme for Year 10 students of Black African and Black Caribbean heritage, consisting of three Saturday events on UCL’s Bloomsbury campus. Students take part in interactive sessions to explore university life, build confidence and develop the skills needed to succeed beyond school, with an online information session also available for parents and carers.
Become – Become is a free one-day event for Year 9 and 10 students from Black heritage backgrounds, developed by UCL medical students to address the under-representation of Black students in medicine. Attendees can discover what studying medicine is like, meet medical professionals and current UCL students from similar backgrounds, explore university support and opportunities, and take part in hands-on workshops to help inform their future decisions.
Black @ UCL – Black@UCL is a three-year initiative strengthening the sense of belonging among UK Black undergraduate students at UCL, with the aim of addressing the Black awarding gap. Student-led and built on co-creation, the programme challenges structural barriers, engages with decolonial practices, and cultivates spaces where Black students can connect authentically and thrive academically and professionally.
