Special Relations

"All the English and Welsh universities founded between 1849 and 1949 – and many other colleges that subsequently became universities – initially offered University of London degrees before obtaining charters to award their own."

Influence at home

The University of London External System played an immensely influential role in the formation of British higher education. All the English and Welsh universities founded between 1849 and 1949 – and many other colleges that subsequently became universities – initially offered University of London degrees before obtaining charters to award their own. Leicester, Hull, Exeter and Southampton had a formal period of ‘special relations’ with the University of London as they developed from University College to University status. Having first opened its doors in 1921, with a cohort of nine students all of whom were reading for a University of London degree, Leicester was the last of these to gain its own charter, in 1957.

Sharing standards

Between 1946 and 1970, the University of London also played a significant role in the establishment of many Commonwealth universities under a unique scheme of ‘special relations’. The most important impetus for this initiative came from the Commission on Higher Education in the Colonies in 1945, which considered higher education in all the areas under British control except India.

Institutions including the University of the West Indies and the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, shared responsibility for academic standards with the University of London until they began to award their own degrees. The scheme not only created 7,000 graduates – by achieving international academic status, the new universities played a key role in nation building following independence from Britain.

The first institution to enter into a ‘special relation’ with the University of London was Gordon College, Khartoum, Sudan, which became an independent university (University College Khartoum) on 1 July 1956.