University of Westminster

The University of Westminster is a public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first polytechnic to open in London. The Polytechnic formally received a Royal charter in August 1839, and became the University of Westminster in 1992. Westminster has its main campus in Regent Street in central London, with additional campuses in Fitzrovia, Marylebone and Harrow. It also operates the Westminster International University in Tashkent in Uzbekistan. The Royal Polytechnic Institution was built by William Mountford Nurse in 1837 and opened at 309 Regent Street on 6 August 1838 to provide (in the words of its prospectus of 1837) "an institution where the Public, at little expense, may acquire practical knowledge of the various arts and branches of science connected with manufacturers, mining operations and rural economy".The PCL was re-designated as the University of Westminster following the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, which created a single funding council, the Higher Education Funding Council, for England and abolished the remaining distinctions between polytechnics (degrees awarded nationally) and universities (degrees awarded by individual university). The newly established university was re-dedicated at Westminster Abbey on 1 December 1992. As a university, Westminster gained the power to grant its own degrees.