Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College), is a public research university located in Bloomsbury London, England, and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' Institute by its founder, Sir George Birkbeck, and its supporters, Jeremy Bentham, J. C. Hobhouse and Henry Brougham, Birkbeck has been one of the few institutions to specialise in evening higher education.
Birkbeck has produced a range of notable alumni in the fields of science, law, politics, economics, literature, media, art and drama. Alumni include four Nobel laureates, numerous political leaders, members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and a British prime minister among its former students and faculty.
Birkbeck's main building is based in the Bloomsbury zone of Camden, in Central London, alongside a number of institutions in the same borough. In partnership with University of East London, Birkbeck has an additional large campus in Stratford, next to the Theatre Royal.
Birkbeck offers over 200 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes that can be studied either part-time or full-time, though nearly all lectures are given in the evening. Birkbeck's academic activities are organised into five constituent faculties which are subdivided into nineteen departments. It also offers many continuing education courses leading to certificates and diplomas, foundation degrees, and short courses. Research at Birkbeck in 11 subject areas is rated as ‘internationally excellent’ and ‘world leading’ while over 90 percent of Birkbeck academics are research-active. Birkbeck, being part of the University of London, shares the University's academic standards and awards University of London degrees. In common with the other University of London colleges, Birkbeck has also secured its own independent degree awarding powers, which were confirmed by the Privy Council in July 2012. The quality of degrees awarded by Birkbeck was confirmed by the UK Quality Assurance Agency following institutional audits in 2005 and 2010.
Birkbeck has been shortlisted by the Times Higher Education Awards as University of the Year. Birkbeck is a member of academic organisations such as the Association of Commonwealth Universities and the European University Association. The university's Centre for Brain Function and Development was awarded The Queen's Anniversary Prize for its brain research in 2005.
Birkbeck has been helping people access higher education and transform their lives for nearly 200 years. We have an illustrious, unconventional and radical history of which we are very proud.
Birkbeck was founded on the evening of 11 November 1823, when around 2000 people flocked to the Crown and Anchor Tavern on the Strand to hear Dr George Birkbeck speak on the importance of educating the working people of London. Supporters present at the event including Jeremy Bentham, the philosopher and originator of Utilitarianism, Sir John Hobhouse, a Radical MP who held several important government posts across his career, and Henry Brougham, a liberal MP, anti-slavery campaigner and tireless educational reformer.
Following this initial meeting, the London Mechanics’ Institute was formally created at the same location on 2 December 1823, with the stated aim of educating working people.
This foundation meant that, for the first time, artisans and craftspeople could learn about science, art and economics: a concept so controversial that George Birkbeck was accused of 'scattering the seeds of evil'. Undeterred, George Birkbeck called his supporters to action: 'Now is the time for the universal benefits of the blessings of knowledge.' Many donors were convinced by the important mission and enough money was raised to open the Institution and pursue a radical new vision.
Seven years later, in 1830, the Institute took a further radical step by becoming one of the first colleges to admit women as students - nearly 40 years before the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
In 1858, the ratification of the University of London’s Charter meant that any student could sit degree examinations. Birkbeck fast became the best choice for students who wanted a university education but could not afford to study full-time.
This role was formalised in 1920 when Birkbeck officially became part of the University of London, on the understanding that it would continue to offer evening study.
Birkbeck is often not included in current rankings of British universities league tables, since these are usually based on the statistics for full-time undergraduates, although the university participated in domestic rankings for the first time in 2018 guides. Birkbeck was ranked 13th in The Guardian's 2001 Research Assessment Exercise and 26th in Times Higher Education's equivalent table. In the 2008 RAE results, Birkbeck ranked in the top 25% of UK multi-faculty Higher Education Institutions. The RAE rated the quality of research in a range of subjects at 159 Higher Education Institutions in the UK. Birkbeck submissions from Earth Sciences, Psychology, History, Classics and Archaeology and History of Art, Film and Visual Media were rated in the top five nationally. In REF2014, half of Birkbeck's submissions were rated in the top 20 nationally, and eight submissions received 100% ranking for Research Environment. 73% of Birkbeck's research was rated "world-leading" (4*) or "internationally excellent" (3*).
The 2010 QS World University Rankings placed Birkbeck at 93rd in the world for Arts and Humanities. In the same year the Times Higher Education World University Rankings placed Birkbeck 152nd overall. In 2011 QS World University Rankings placed Birkbeck at 111th for Arts & Humanities. In the 2011–12 Times Higher Education World University Rankings Birkbeck was ranked 149th in the world. The data also show that Birkbeck is ranked 23rd in the UK.[29] In the 2012–13 Times Higher Education World University Rankings Birkbeck is ranked 200th in the world and 31st in the United Kingdom. In the QS ranking Birkbeck climbed up two places to 109th for Arts and Humanities.
In 2010, Birkbeck was shortlisted for the prestigious Times Higher Education University of the Year Award.
In 2018, Birkbeck announced that it will withdraw from UK university rankings because their methodologies unfairly penalise it, since "despite having highly-rated teaching and research, other factors caused by its unique teaching model and unrelated to its performance push it significantly down the ratings".
