The Faculty of Engineering is the

engineering school Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

, and one of the three main faculties the college. It was formed in 2001 from the former

City and Guilds College The Faculty of Engineering is the engineering school of Imperial College London, and one of the three main faculties the college. It was formed in 2001 from the former City and Guilds College and the Royal School of Mines—two of the three o ...

and the

Royal School of Mines The Royal School of Mines comprises the departments of Earth Science and Engineering, and Materials at Imperial College London. The Centre for Advanced Structural Ceramics and parts of the London Centre for Nanotechnology and Department of Bioe ...

—two of the three original constituent colleges of Imperial College when the latter was formed in 1907. The faculty is ranked as the top engineering school in the UK in the 2021

Research Excellence Framework The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a research impact evaluation of British higher education institutions. It is the successor to the Research Assessment Exercise and it was first used in 2014 to assess the period 2008–2013. REF is under ...

. The faculty is located at Imperial's main

South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...

campus, where teaching and research take place. The faculty offers undergraduate Bachelor's and

Master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

of Engineering courses, as well as postgraduate courses leading to MSc,

MRes A Master of Research (abbr. MRes, MARes, MScRes, or MScR) degree is an internationally recognised advanced postgraduate research degree. In most cases, the degree is designed to prepare students for doctoral research. Increasingly, the degree may ...

and doctoral degrees. Undergraduates studying at faculty departments obtain the appropriate associateship according to their course, either the Associateship of the City & Guilds of London Institute (ACGI) or the Associateship of the Royal School of Mines (ARSM) depending on the historic association of their department.

History

Royal School of Mines

Royal School of Mines was established in 1851, as the Government School of Mines and Science Applied to the Arts. The School developed from the Museum of Economic Geology, which had provided some student places for the study of

mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proces ...

and

metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

. The Museum of Practical Geology and the Government School of Mines and Science Applied to the Arts opened in a purpose-designed building in

Jermyn Street Jermyn Street is a one-way street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster in London, England. It is to the south of, parallel, and adjacent to Piccadilly. Jermyn Street is known as a street for gentlemen's-clothing retailers. Hist ...

in 1851. The officers of the Geological Survey became the lecturers and professors of the School of Mines. The

Royal College of Chemistry The Royal College of Chemistry: the laboratories. Lithograph The Royal College of Chemistry (RCC) was a college originally based on Oxford Street in central London, England. It operated between 1845 and 1872. The original building was designed ...

was merged into it in 1853, and the name changed in 1863 to the Royal School of Mines. The school moved to

in 1872, and in 1907 was incorporated into Imperial College of Science and Technology, retaining its own identity as a

constituent college A collegiate university is a university in which functions are divided between a central administration and a number of constituent colleges. Historically, the first collegiate university was the University of Paris and its first college was the C ...

. The school moved to a new building designed by Sir

Aston Webb Sir Aston Webb (22 May 1849 – 21 August 1930) was a British architect who designed the principal facade of Buckingham Palace and the main building of the Victoria and Albert Museum, among other major works around England, many of them in pa ...

, which was completed in 1913.

City and Guilds College

The main precursor to the faculty was the Central Technical College, which was founded by the

City and Guilds of London Institute The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies – to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has ...

, opening in 1884. The institute was founded after a meeting at Mansion House by the city livery companies in July, 1876. The

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

laid the foundation stone for the college in 1881, who returned to open the new building. The college was located in South Kensington on land bought by the 1851 Exhibition Commissioners, in an area set out by Prince Albert for the purpose of science and knowledge, known now as

Albertopolis Albertopolis is the nickname given to the area centred on Exhibition Road in London, named after Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria. It contains many educational and cultural sites. It is in South Kensington, split between the Royal Bor ...

. The building was built by

Alfred Waterhouse Alfred Waterhouse (19 July 1830 – 22 August 1905) was an English architect, particularly associated with the Victorian Gothic Revival architecture, although he designed using other architectural styles as well. He is perhaps best known f ...

. The college was set to focus on engineering, manufacturing, architecture, applied art, and chemical technology, with applicants required to sit entrance exams. The college was granted permission to award the Associateship of the City and Guilds Institute, which the faculty still awards, although it was unable to award university degrees. Amongst the first appointed professors in 1884 were

William Unwin William Cawthorne Unwin FRS (12 December 1838 – 17 March 1933)''Evening Standard Obituary'' 18 March 1933. was a British civil and mechanical engineer. He is noted for his extensive work on hydraulics and engines as well as his close as ...

to engineering and

Henry Armstrong Henry Jackson Jr. (December 12, 1912 – October 24, 1988) was an American professional boxer and a world boxing champion who fought under the name Henry Armstrong. Armstrong was one of the few fighters to win in three or more different divisi ...

to chemical technology. The name changed to Central Technical College in 1893, by which time the number of chemistry and engineering students exceeded 200, requiring other subjects to be displaced. In 1900, the college became of school of the Faculty of Engineering at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

City and Guilds College, 1964 - geograph

In 1907, the same year as Imperial College was founded, the college was renamed The City & Guilds College, and was incorporated into Imperial in 1910 as a constituent college. Although the City & Guilds College was governed by Imperial College following its incorporation as a constituent college, the City and Guilds Institute maintained seats on the Court of Imperial College. The merge resulted in the closing of the City & Guild's chemistry department in 1913 and the merging of the mathematics department into the other constituent colleges, and the splitting of the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering into separate departments. The Goldsmiths Extension was constructed immediately to the north, between the college and the

and workshops were added behind the original building, allowing the college to double in size. The Goldsmiths Extension was completed in 1914, although they were not opened until 21 October 1926 by the Duke of York, due

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The college had come to be known as "the Central" by 1935, with students known as "Central men". The original building was demolished in 1962 to make way for newer facilities for the college. The college celebrated in centenary in 1985, by which time it had grown to 2200 students. Roderic Hill from across Prince Consort Road

Roderic Hill from across Prince Consort Road

Faculty

In 2001, Imperial College restructured, creating a new faculty system, and the Faculty of Engineering was created. The City & Guilds College, along with the other constituent colleges, ceased to exist as a separate entity. In September 2013 the Mechanical and Aeronautical engineering building at Imperial College was renamed City and Guilds Building to acknowledge the historical legacy. The name of the constituent college also survives in the City & Guilds College Union (CGCU) — the student union for the Imperial College Faculty of Engineering and the Imperial College Business School. In January 2013,

the Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

endowed a Regius Professor of Engineering at the college. The first chair was

Chris Toumazou Christofer "Chris" Toumazou, FRS, FREng, FMedSci, FIET, FIEEE, FCGI, FRSM, CEng ( el, Χριστόφορος Τουμάζου, born 5 July 1961) is a British Cypriot electronic engineer. In 2013 he became London's first Regius Profe ...

, professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. In September of the same year, the Mechanical Engineering Building was renamed the City and Guilds Building (CAGB) to honour the links between Imperial College and the City and Guilds College. After an extensive refurbishment, the City and Guilds Building now houses the Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics departments. In 2014 the

Dyson School of Design Engineering The Dyson School of Design Engineering is the academic centre for design engineering at Imperial College London. The school has just over 50 academic staff and 400 students, with over 220 undergraduates. The school is located in the Dyson buildin ...

was founded following a £12m donation by the

James Dyson Sir James Dyson (born 2 May 1947) is a British inventor, industrial designer, farmer, and billionaire entrepreneur who founded Dyson Ltd. He is best known as the inventor of the dual cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner, which works on the princip ...

Foundation to the college, being the first new engineering division at Imperial for two decades. The school took over the old

Met Office The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelope E ...

building from the

Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in mu ...

on the corner of

Imperial College Road Imperial College Road is a tree-lined road in South Kensington, London, England. It runs east–west with Queen's Gate to the west and Exhibition Road to the east. The road forms part of the boundary between Royal Borough of Kensington and C ...

and

Exhibition Road Exhibition Road is a street in South Kensington, London which is home to several major museums and academic establishments, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum. Overview The road gets i ...

. Alumni of the Imperial College Faculty of Engineering are organised as the City & Guilds College Association. Established in 1897 as the Old Centralians, the Association adopted its current name in 1992.

Departments

* Department of

Aeronautics Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight–capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. The British Royal Aeronautical Society identifies ...

* Department of

Bioengineering Biological engineering or bioengineering is the application of principles of biology and the tools of engineering to create usable, tangible, economically-viable products. Biological engineering employs knowledge and expertise from a number o ...

* Department of Chemical Engineering * Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering * Department of Computing * Department of Earth Science & Engineering * Department of

Electrical & Electronic Engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

* Department of Materials * Department of Mechanical Engineering

Student life

Undergraduates of the faculty are represented by two constituent unions, depending on the historical association of their department to one of the former constituent colleges of Imperial. Students in Aeronautics, Bioengineering, Computing, and Chemical, Civil and Environmental, Design, Electrical and Electronic, and Mechanical Engineering are part of the

City and Guilds College Union The City and Guilds College Union represents students who are undertaking courses from the departments of Aeronautical, Chemical, Civil, Design, Electrical, and Mechanical Engineering, together with Bioengineering and Computing at the college. Ot ...

, whilst students in Earth Science and Engineering, and Materials are part of the Royal School of Mines Union.

Research Evaluation

The faculty ranked as the top engineering school in the UK in 2021

(REF). In 2014, the faculty had been ranked third.

References

External links

Imperial College Faculties and Departments

Imperial College London

Robotics at Imperial College London
{{Authority control Imperial College London Faculty of Engineering 2001 establishments in England

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...