Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine and University College London are two of Great Britain's leading university institutions. Both date back to the nineteenth century. Imperial College is in South Kensington on a site close to the Science Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Royal Colleges of Art and Music. University College London is in Bloomsbury, near the British Museum and the British Library, while the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine is adjacent to University College London.
The specialist facilities available for the study of the history of science, technology and medicine are unrivalled. The essentially historical library of the Science Museum holds over 600,000 volumes. The Science Museum has one of the world's greatest collections of scientific, technical and medical artefacts. University College London has a fine history of science collection, including the Grave collection of early books. The Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine has a collection of 400,000 printed books and provides a unique resource devoted solely to the history of the biomedical sciences.
The London Centre brings together a large number of teaching staff in the history of science, technology and medicine, making it the largest concentration of specialists in the world. The range of topics covered is vast. Some 12 staff teach on the MSc course in each year, and other staff are also available to students. Students may also attend a wide range of lectures outside the MSc programme.
Students at the London Centre are registered at Imperial and University College, and thus have access to all the facilities of both institutions. In addition students have access to the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, and free entry to the Science Museum.