Liverpool John Moores University (informally LJMU) is a British 'modern' university located in the city of Liverpool, England. The university is named after John Moores and was previously called Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts and later Liverpool Polytechnic before gaining university status in 1992, thus becoming Liverpool John Moores University. The university is a member of the University Alliance, a mission group of British universities established in 2007. It is also a member of the European University Association and the North West Universities Association. At present, LJMU serves more than 24,000 students comprising 20,270 undergraduate students and 4,100 postgraduate students, making it the largest university in Liverpool by student population - as well as the twentieth largest in the United Kingdom. Originally founded as a small mechanics institution (Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts) in 1823, the institution grew over the centuries by converging and amalgamating with different colleges before eventually becoming Liverpool Polytechnic.