six original departments at the institute were Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering; Artistic Crafts; Domestic Economy and Women's Trades; Electro-Chemistry; Horology; and Mechanical Engineering and Metal Trades.
=== 20th century ===
A separate technical optics department was established in 1903–04. In 1909, the first students qualified for University of London BSc degrees in engineering as internal students. The Institute had been involved in aeronautics education since that year, and the School of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences celebrated the centenary of aeronautics at City in 2009. The institute was used for the 1908 Olympic Games; boxing took place there.
In 1957, the institute was designated a "College of Advanced Technology".
The institute's involvement in information science began in 1961, with the introduction of a course on "Collecting and Communicating Scientific Knowledge". City received its royal charter in 1966, becoming "The City University" to reflect the institution's close links with the City of London. The Apollo 15 astronauts visited City in 1971, and presented the Vice-Chancellor, Tait, with a piece of heat shield from the Apollo 15 rocket.
In October 1995, it was announced that City University would merge with both the St Bartholomew School of Nursing & Midwifery and the Charterhouse College of Radiography, doubling the number of students in City's Institute of Health Sciences to around 2,500.
=== 21st century ===
The university formed a strategic alliance with Queen Mary, University of London, in April 2001. In May 2001, a fire in the college building gutted the fourth-floor offices and roof. In August 2001 City and the Inns of Court School of Law agreed to merge. Following a donation from Sir John Cass's Foundation, a multimillion-pound building was built at 106 Bunhill Row for the Business School.
A new £23 million building to house the School of Social Sciences and the Department of Language and Communication Science was opened in 2004. The reconstruction and redevelopment …
