The university has its origins in seven previously independent art, design, fashion and media colleges, which were brought together for administrative purposes to form the London Institute in 1986.

Under the Education Reform Act of 1988, the London Institute became a single legal entity, and the first court of governors was instated in the following year, 1989.

[8] Will Wyatt was appointed chairman of governors in 1999, and Lord Stevenson of Coddenham was installed as the first chancellor in 2000.

The London Institute originally chose not to apply because its individual colleges were internationally recognised in their own right.

[9] In 2003, the London Institute received Privy Council approval for university status; the name was changed to the present one in 2004.

[11][12] Central Saint Martins moved to a purpose-built complex in King's Cross in June 2011.

The school became part of the London Institute in January 1986, and was renamed Camberwell College of Arts in 1989.

In 1975 Chelsea merged with Hammersmith College of Art and Building, founded in 1891 by Francis Hawke and taken over by the London County Council in 1904.

The Westminster Day Continuation School opened in 1921, and was later renamed the College for Distributive Trades.

In 1993 the school, which previously had been controlled by the London Borough of Merton, was incorporated as an independent higher education institution.

[34] UAL was ranked 75th in the 2019 Guardian University Guide[35] and 21st out of 67 institutions in the Art subject table.

The prize was also awarded to Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design for its contributions to the British fashion industry, and for nurturing the creativity of students, in 1998.

[38] The University of the Arts London was among the twenty winners of the prize in 2013, for its "industrial and product design".

The centre is funded by the British government in recognition of the two colleges' results in developing student learning.

[49] The 2001 Research Assessment Exercise published results by subject area on a point scale from 1, 2, 3a, 3b, 4, 5 to 5*, the University achieved a 5 rating.

[52][53] An open-access collection of its research outputs, including text and multi-media items, was developed in 2009 by the Kultur project of the Joint Information Systems Committee[54] The University of the Arts London Students' Union (stylised as Arts Students' Union or Arts SU) offers various services to students, including running student-led sports clubs and societies.