Increasing student life in university archive collections: UCL Special Collections and Students’ Union UCL
As University College London (UCL) approaches the bicentenary of its foundation in 2026 – becoming England’s third university and the first in London – several initiatives are recognising the contribution that students have made over the past two hundred years.
An academic research and engagement project called ‘Generation UCL: 200 Years of Student Life in London’ has been gathering stories, oral histories and archive materials from alumni that have made their way into the archives. UCL Special Collections is a key partner in this project and new acquisitions include a series of hand drawn posters from a student who ran for election as union President in 1965 and a homemade scrapbook charting how UCL’s Stop the War campaign protested the Iraq War in 2003.
In addition to these archives, the new Student Ephemera Collection is a curated collection of manuscripts, publications, artwork, photographs, and objects, relating to the lives of UCL students, the students’ union, and members of UCL staff. The material dates from 1828 to 2002. The collection was accumulated by UCL alumnus Dr Mark Curtin and donated to Students Union UCL in 2023, which in turn has deposited the material with the College Archives.
In 2024 the collection was fully catalogued and is now available to view online. It consists of a wide range of material, such as correspondence, programmes, tickets, newspaper clippings, leaflets, books, periodicals, photographs, and artwork. It contains a significant number of objects including academic and sporting medals, and both UCL and students’ union-branded clothing and memorabilia. A small number of items relating to the history of the university are also included, such as correspondence relating to its establishment, centenary publications, commemorative objects, and artwork.
UCL Special Collections already held a broad set of material relating to student life at UCL and the various other higher education institutions that have merged with UCL over time – including students’ union minutes, student handbooks, society records and an extensive collection of student magazines and newspapers, much of which has recently been digitised. However, the new acquisitions complement and significantly expand the existing collections.
The focus on objects such as medals, clothing and memorabilia was particularly helpful when archivists and academics were curating an Octagon Gallery exhibition on student life, timed to mark 130 years since the foundation of the students’ union in 1893.
Overall, this is an example of what can be achieved though fostering strong relationships between academics, archivists, alumni and the students’ union.
For more information on how to get started on adding more student-produced content or alumni donated material check out these resources: