University of West London

The University of West London (UWL) is a public research university in the England with campuses in Ealing, Brentford and Reading, Berkshire.

The university has roots in 1860 when the Lady Byron School was founded, later Ealing College of Higher Education. In 1992, the then-named Polytechnic of West London became a university as Thames Valley University (TVU). 18 years later, after several mergers, acquisitions and campus moves, it was renamed to its current name.

The University of West London comprises nine schools: The Claude Littner Business School, the London Geller College of Hospitality and Tourism, the School of Computing and Engineering, London College of Music, the College of Nursing, Midwifery and Healthcare, the School of Law, the School of Human and Social Sciences, the School of Biomedical Sciences and the London School of Film, Media and Design.

History

The University of West London traces its roots back to 1860 when the Lady Byron School was founded at what is now the University of West London's Ealing campus. The school later became Ealing College of Higher Education.

thumb|right|Ealing College, founded in 1860 by [[Lady Byron]]

The Slough campus was founded in January 1912 as a selective secondary school on William Street. By the 1960s, it had become Slough College of Further Education. In the 1960’s the St Mary’s Road site was known as Ealing Technical College, offering CNAA degrees in law (and others). In the 1980s it became Thames Valley College of Higher Education but was closed in 2011.

In 1991, Ealing College of Higher Education, Thames Valley College of Higher Education, Queen Charlotte's College of Health Care Studies and London College of Music were merged to become the Polytechnic of West London. Two years later, the polytechnic became a university under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 and adopted the name Thames Valley University (TVU). In 1994, the university merged with Northwick Park School of Nursing, Riverside College of Nursing and the North West Thames Regional Authority's AIDS unit. In 1995, it merged with the Berkshire College of Nursing and Midwifery.

In 2004, the university merged with Reading College and School of Arts and Design, which had been founded in 1947 as Reading Technical College. Reading College's sites at Kings Road and Crescent Road became TVU sites.

thumb|right|Paragon Campus in [[Brentford (former TVU branding)]]

In 2009, the university decided to divest itself of its further education courses, together with its Kings Road site that it had inherited from the Reading College and School of Arts and Design. In May 2009, the university announced that it would be closing its Slough campus in 2010 due to the relocation of nursing students, who make up the majority of the student body there, to Reading. Other courses would be moved to one of the university's Greater London campuses. In July 2009, the university was awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize for outstanding achievement and excellence in hospitality education.

In 2010 the responsibility for further education, along with the Kings Road site, was transferred to a relaunched Reading College. Although some 40 miles west of London, the university retained its other sites in Reading, including the Crescent Road site that also originated with Reading College and the School of Arts and Design.

In August 2010, it was announced that the university would change its name to the University of West London, with the Privy Council subsequently granting permission for the change.

The Graduate School (based in Ealing) coordinates and provides support to research activities and research degree courses. The University offers traditional PhD programmes and Professional Doctorates.

The university also works with the Met Film School, a private film school that is based at Ealing Studios in London, United Kingdom. The school, which launched in 2003, offers two and three-year bachelor's programmes as well as various master's degree programmes, which are accredited through the University of West London.

Academic reputation

Academic rankings

In 2020, the university was ranked 34th best university (out of 130+ institutions) in the UK by the 2021 edition of The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide. In 2021, the university was ranked 34th in The Guardian university guide and the university was named the top modern university in London in The Guardian University Guide 2022.

The university was ranked 801-1000 in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2024 that evaluates universities worldwide based on their contributions to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As such, within specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UWL achieved the following rankings: 101-200 for Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10), 301-400 for Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12), and 801-1000 for both Good Health and Well-being (SDG 3) and Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17).

thumb|A lecture at the University of West London, Ealing Campus|alt=

The university recorded the best results of any university in Greater London in the annual National Student Survey (NSS) in 2016, with students' responses showing it to be the best University in Greater London for student satisfaction. In the NSS 2016, there were 100 per cent overall satisfaction rates for nine courses across the University's eight schools, ranging from Midwifery to Business Studies and Music Technology to Hospitality Management. Among these 100 per cent overall satisfaction rates, the University recorded the best overall satisfaction rates in the UK for Civil Engineering and Building courses in the NSS 2016.

Teaching standards

In 2009, the university was the only university to win the Queen's Anniversary Prize for outstanding achievement and excellence in hospitality education – and it regularly wins awards from major industry bodies. University of West London Careers and Employment Service is a member of the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services and has previously been awarded the Matrix Standard for Quality.

In 2020, Notting Hill Genesis, the company that owned the Paragon student lets site, controversially closed the entire student halls of residence due to fire safety concerns, asking students to immediately evacuate. Students were moved to temporary housing in nearby Wembley whilst the university found suitable housing. Accommodation for students at UWL now varies from shared housing to student lets in Ealing, Acton and the surrounding area.

Controversies

In the mid-1990s, its high-profile vice-chancellor, Mike Fitzgerald, ushered through a networked "New Learning Environment" for undergraduate students, involving a shift to online delivery and assessment. The NLE was discontinued in this form, and Fitzgerald resigned in 1998 following a negative Quality Assurance Agency report stating there were "significant management failures" in the delivery of this model. The University suffered severe financial shortfalls in the years that followed.

Notable people

Alumni

thumb|upright|140px|[[James Cleverly, former Foreign and Home Secretary]]

In politics

Diane James, former leader of the UK Independence Party
Faisal Karim Kundi, Politician and Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
James Cleverly MP, Conservative Member of Parliament for Braintree, Foreign Secretary before being appointed Home Secretary in November 2023
Noh Bin Omar, a Malaysian Politician
M. Kulasegaran, Malaysian Human Resources Minister (2018-2020)
Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, Chief Justice of Malaysia 2025
Yang Jiechi, Chinese diplomat

thumb|upright|140px|[[Freddie Mercury, British musician, former lead vocalist and pianist of Queen]]

thumb|upright|140px|[[Jay Kay, British musician, lead singer and co-founder of Jamiroquai]]

thumb|upright|140px|[[Ronnie Wood, English musician, member of the Rolling Stones]]

In the media, music and film industry

Several alumni of the University of West London are artists, musicians, Oscar nominees and winners:

Fiona Adams, Ealing Art College - leading 1960s pop photographer
Emma Anderson, English musician, songwriter, guitarist and singer in the band Lush
Rebecca Harris (filmmaker), producer of The Silent Child, 2018 winner of the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.
Jay Kay, British singer and songwriter, lead vocalist of Jamiroquai
Alex da Kid, English record producer and songwriter, now based in Los Angeles
Freddie Mercury, Ealing Art College – lead vocalist and pianist of the rock band Queen
Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly, 2013 Academy Award nominee for Best Animated Short Film
Robert Orton, engineer and producer who worked with Trevor Horn, the Police, and won two Grammys for mixing Lady Gaga
Ben Salter, musician who worked with Nile Rodgers in the United States
Little Simz, Mercury Prize nominated British rapper and actress
Matt Tong of Bloc Party
Pete Townshend, Ealing Art College – English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author
Ronnie Wood, Ealing Art College - rock musician, songwriter, artist and author

Business and other media

Ian Russell Carter, Hilton Worldwide executive
Chris Galvin, BSc International Culinary Arts – Galvin Restaurants (Galvin Bistrot de Luxe, Galvin at Windows, Galvin La Chapelle, Galvin Cafe a Vin).
Christopher Small (1927–2011), musician and influential author on musicology, socio musicology and ethnomusicology, was Senior Lecturer in Music between 1971 and 1986.
Barbara Tate (1927–2009), artist and author and an Honorary Professor of the university
Claude Littner, Honorary Professor

References

External links

University of West London website
West London Students' Union website