One of the oldest and largest of London University’s colleges, King’s is now concentrated on four main campuses close to the Thames.

Most departments are within walking distance of each other, on the original Strand site or the Waterloo campus, with medicine and dentistry based not far away at Guy’s Hospital, near London Bridge, and in the St Thomas’ Hospital campus, across the river from the Houses of Parliament.

A fifth site, at Denmark Hill, in south London, houses the Institute of Psychiatry and more medicine and dentistry. Students seem to like the outcome: King’s was the leading institution in London and in the top ten universities overall in the National Student Survey (NSS) published in 2007.

An institutional audit by the Quality Assurance Agency gave King’s the highest mark, stressing the excellence of the student support services.

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Applications have been steady, with 5 per cent growth in 2007, when King’s broke into the top 25 universities in the world rankings published by The Times Higher Education and QS. There are now 13,000 undergraduates and 6,200 graduate students in nine schools of study. Medical subjects have been the main growth point, with King’s boasting five Medical Research Council centres – more than any other university.

Among almost 600 students training to become doctors or dentists are mature students on a new course designed to provide more variety in the medical profession. A £500-million transformation of the college estate is still in progress. Biomedical and health sciences students occupy the largest university building in London, near Waterloo Station, and share purpose-built facilities on the Guy’s Campus with medicine and dentistry.

There is to be further development of the St Thomas’ site for medical education and hospital use following the opening of the new and ground-breaking Evelina Children’s Hospital. Another property deal has created the largest new university library in Britain since World War II at the former Public Record Office in Chancery Lane.

Development

A donation of £4 million by a graduate has underwritten the spectacular new Maughan Library with 1,400 networked reader places. The first phase of restoration at the Strand was completed in 2006. A £40-million redevelopment of the Grade 1 listed King’s Building has provided new teaching facilities, wireless internet access, social and catering facilities.

Once known primarily for science, King’s now excels in a wide range of subjects in nine schools of study, including such unusual features as Britain’s only department devoted entirely to Portuguese – one of four language departments rated internationally outstanding in the latest research assessments.

Subjects

War studies, developmental biology, dentistry, history, philosophy and psychiatry completed King’s impressive haul of 5* grades. Almost one in three of those entered for the exercise were in starred departments. A further 14 departments achieved a 5 grade. Classics, dentistry, war studies and philosophy are all top-rated for teaching. Clinical psychology, nursing, midwifery, health visiting and physiotherapy did well in a major review in 2005, while King’s had the most satisfied law students in the country in the latest NSS.

Medical science and pharmacy and the highly regarded war studies department also did well in the survey. Throughout the college, scientists remain in a majority. King’s was one of the two founding colleges of London University, and the full extent of the college’s ambitions is clear from its mission statement, which includes having all its departments rated excellent for both teaching and research. The college was among the first to follow the example of American universities by submitting to a credit rating, which took account of its academic and financial standing. The “AA minus” result was better than many big cities have achieved.

Accommodation

King’s is also a solid bet for a good degree for those who satisfy its demanding entry requirements, with over 70 per cent reaching the first or 2:1 classification. Nearly three undergraduates in ten come from independent schools. Every student is allocated a personal tutor, and much of the teaching is in small groups. Student facilities on the Strand and Guy’s campuses have been upgraded recently. There are 2,654 residential places, and the college also has access to 511 places in the intercollegiate halls of London University. Some of the outdoor sports facilities are rather dispersed, but are accessible by train.

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