Royal Holloway, University of London

About Royal Holloway, University of London

Royal Holloway, University of London (legally Royal Holloway and Bedford New College) is a world-renowned public research university and member college of the federal University of London, situated across 135 acres of woodland parkland in Egham, Surrey, just 19 miles west of central London near Windsor Great Park. Founded in 1849 as Bedford College (Britain’s first higher education college for women, founded by social reformer Elizabeth Jesser Reid) and Royal Holloway College in 1879 (founded by entrepreneur Thomas Holloway and opened by Queen Victoria in 1886), the two pioneering institutions merged by Royal Charter in 1985. Famed for its monumental French Renaissance-style Founder’s Building—frequently cited as one of the most magnificent university structures in the world—Royal Holloway is celebrated internationally for academic and research excellence. It is home to the pioneering Information Security Group (ISG), which launched the world’s first MSc in Information Security in 1992 and is recognized as an Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research (ACE-CSR) by the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and GCHQ. The university is equally acclaimed for its Department of Music and the prestigious Choir of Royal Holloway, its top-ranked Department of Drama, Theatre & Dance, and cutting-edge research in Earth Sciences, Physics and Quantum Devices, and Creative Writing. With over 12,500 students representing more than 130 countries, Royal Holloway offers an inspiring campus community that blends Victorian architectural heritage, modern high-tech research labs, active student life, and rapid rail access to central London.