in British and formerly British educational systems, an institution of higher learning that does not have the authority to award its own degrees. Students enrolled at a university college ordinarily receive their degrees from a recognized university—in England, usually the University of London. In due course, a university college may be granted university status. The University College of Bristol, for example, was founded in 1876 and became the University of Bristol in 1909; the University College of Ghana, founded in 1948, became the University of Ghana in 1961.