University College London (UCL) is a public research university in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Established in 1826 as London University by founders inspired by the radical ideas of Jeremy Bentham, UCL was the first university institution established in London and the earliest in England to be entirely secular, admitting students regardless of their religion. It also makes the disputed claim to have been the first to admit women on equal terms with men. UCL's push for non-Anglicans to be allowed to take university degrees was one of the driving factors behind the establishment of the University of London in 1836, when UCL become one of the two colleges affiliated to the University at its foundation. In recent years it has grown through mergers, including with the Institute of Neurology (in 1997), the Royal Free Hospital Medical School (in 1998), the Eastman Dental Institute (in 1999), the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (in 1999), the School of Pharmacy (in 2012) and the Institute of Education (in 2014). UCL is the largest higher education institution in London and the largest postgraduate institution in the UK by enrollment and is regarded as one of the leading multidisciplinary research universities in the world.