The New College of the Humanities says it will teach "gifted" undergraduates and prepare them for degrees from the University of London.

BBC: Richard Dawkins

For example, the New College of the Humanities will offer a liberal arts education of the kind which will be familiar to American readers and is so lacking in Europe, where most generally students must pick a topic of study (often vocational) upon their leaving the secondary school system.

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But the University and College Union (UCU) said the launch of the new college - and state funding cuts for arts, humanities and social sciences - would result in the subjects becoming the preserve of a "select few".

BBC: Richard Dawkins

Based in Bloomsbury, central London, the new college says it will offer eight undergraduate courses in the humanities taught by some of the world's most prominent academics.

BBC: Richard Dawkins

The college claims to offer a "new model of higher education for the humanities in the UK".

BBC: Richard Dawkins