Birkbeck, University of London

Birkbeck, University of London, formerly known as Birkbeck College, University of London, is a public research university that can be found in Bloomsbury in the city of London, England. It is also a member institution of the University of London, which is a federal educational institution. Birkbeck University is one of the few universities in the United Kingdom that specialises in providing higher education during the evening hours. The university was first 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.

The main campus of Birkbeck may be found in the neighbourhood of Bloomsbury, which is located in the London Borough of Camden in the heart of London. Although the majority of lectures are held in the evening, Birkbeck University provides more than two hundred different undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes that students have the option of studying either part-time or full-time. Academic life at Birkbeck College is structured according to five basic faculties, each of which is further organised into nineteen departments. As a constituent college of the University of London, Birkbeck adheres to the same rigorous academic standards as its parent institution and confers degrees with the University of London name. In the same vein as the other colleges that are part of the University of London, Birkbeck has also been granted its own autonomous degree granting rights, which were validated by the Privy Council in July of 2012. Following institutional reviews in 2005 and 2010, the UK Quality Assurance Agency vouched for the legitimacy of the degrees that Birkbeck University bestows to its graduates.

Academic organisations such as the European University Association and the Association of Commonwealth Universities are among those in which Birkbeck University participates as a member institution. In addition, the institution is a participant in the Screen Studies Group that meets in London. In recognition of the university's Centre for Brain Function and Development's contributions to brain research in 2005, the Queen's Anniversary Prize was bestowed to the centre.

Alumni of Birkbeck College have gone on to hold positions such as prime minister of the United Kingdom, five Nobel laureates, several political leaders, and members of Parliament of the United Kingdom.