SOAS, University of London

SOAS, University of London (the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a constituent college of the University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS has produced several heads of states, government ministers, ambassadors, Supreme Court judges, a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and many other notable leaders around the world.

Located in the heart of Bloomsbury in central London, SOAS is recognised as the leading institution for the study of Asia, Africa and the Middle East and is ranked amongst the top universities in Britain. It specialises in the humanities, languages and social sciences of Asia, Africa and the Middle East and offers around 350 undergraduate bachelor's degree combinations, and over 100 one-year master's degrees.

History

Origins

The School of Oriental Studies was founded in 1916 at 2 Finsbury Circus, London, the then premises of the London Institution. The school received its royal charter on 5 June 1916 and admitted its first students on 18 January 1917. The school was formally inaugurated a month later on 23 February 1917 by King George V. Among those in attendance were Earl Curzon of Kedleston, formerly Viceroy of India, and other cabinet officials.

University of London

The University of London (informally referred to as London University) is a collegiate research university located in London, England, consisting of 18 constituent colleges, 10 research institutes and a number of central bodies.

The university is the second largest university by number of full-time students in the United Kingdom, with 142,990 campus-based students and over 50,000 distance learning students in the University of London International Programmes. The university was established by Royal Charter in 1836, as a degree-awarding examination board for students holding certificates from University College London (previously called London University) and King's College London and "other such other Institutions, corporate or unincorporated, as shall be established for the purpose of Education, whether within the Metropolis or elsewhere within our United Kingdom". The university moved to a federal structure in 1900.

For most practical purposes, ranging from admissions to funding, the constituent colleges operate on a semi-independent basis, with some recently obtaining the power to award their own degrees whilst remaining in the federal university. The nine largest colleges of the university are King's College London; University College London; Birkbeck; Goldsmiths; the London Business School; Queen Mary; Royal Holloway; SOAS; and the London School of Economics and Political Science. The specialist colleges of the university include Heythrop College, specialising in philosophy and theology, and St George's, specialising in medicine. Imperial College London was formerly a member before it left the University of London in 2007. On 16 July 2015 it was announced that City University London would join the federal University of London, becoming one of its constituent colleges from August 2016.

University

A university (Latin: universitas, "a whole") is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which grants academic degrees in various subjects and typically provides undergraduate education and postgraduate education. The word "university" is derived from the Latin universitas magistrorum et scholarium, which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars."

History

Definition

The original Latin word "universitas" refers in general to "a number of persons associated into one body, a society, company, community, guild, corporation, etc." At the time of the emergence of urban town life and medieval guilds, specialised "associations of students and teachers with collective legal rights usually guaranteed by charters issued by princes, prelates, or the towns in which they were located" came to be denominated by this general term. Like other guilds, they were self-regulating and determined the qualifications of their members.

In modern usage the word has come to mean "An institution of higher education offering tuition in mainly non-vocational subjects and typically having the power to confer degrees," with the earlier emphasis on its corporate organization considered as applying historically to Medieval universities.

University Challenge

University Challenge is a British quiz programme that premièred in 1962. University Challenge aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 21 September 1962 to 31 December 1987, presented by quiz master Bamber Gascoigne. The BBC revived the programme on 21 September 1994 with Jeremy Paxman as quiz master.

The current holders are Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, who won the 44th series in 2015.

The show is produced by Granada Television (re-branded as ITV Studios in 2009). It was filmed at Granada Studios in Manchester from its inception until the studios closed down in 2013; it is now filmed at MediaCityUK in Salford.

History

Format continuity

Despite periodic changes to the sets, studio layout, and presentation, University Challenge has evolved in a manner which has preserved a remarkably high level of continuity from 1962 to the present. Some commentators have cited this as an essential element of its success. Elements of this continuity include: