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King's College London (informally King's or KCL; formerly styled King's College, London) is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's is arguably the third-oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, receiving its royal charter in the same year. St Thomas' Hospital, which is now a teaching hospital of King's College London School of Medicine, has roots dating back to 1173. In 1836, King's became one of the two founding colleges of the University of London. It has grown through mergers, including with Queen Elizabeth College and Chelsea College of Science and Technology (in 1985), the Institute of Psychiatry (in 1997), and the United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals and Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery (in 1998).
King's is based in the centre of London, spread across four Thames-side campuses in central London and another in Denmark Hill in south London.Its academic activities are organised into nine faculties which are subdivided into numerous departments, centres and research divisions. King's is one of the largest centres for graduate and post-graduate medical teaching and biomedical research in Europe; it is home to six Medical Research Council centres and is a founding member of the King's Health Partners academic health sciences centre. King's has around 25,000 students and 6,113 staff and had a total income of £604 million in 2013/14, of which £172 million was from research grants and contracts.
King's College London was founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington (then Prime Minister) in 1829 as a university college in the tradition of the Church of England. It now welcomes staff and students of all faiths and beliefs.
King's professors played a major part in nineteenth-century science and in extending higher education to women and working men through evening classes.
The university has grown and developed through mergers with several institutions each with their own distinguished histories. These include:
- United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals
- Chelsea College
- Queen Elizabeth College
- Institute of Psychiatry.
King's had the 13th highest average entry qualification for undergraduates of any UK university in 2018, with new students averaging 171 UCAS points. In 2015, the university gave offers of admission to 66.7% of its applicants, the 7th lowest amongst the Russell Group.
24.4% of King's undergraduates are privately educated, the fourteenth highest proportion amongst mainstream British universities. In the 2016-17 academic year, the university had a domicile breakdown of 67:12:20 of UK:EU:non-EU students respectively with a female to male ratio of 62:37.
A freedom-of-information request in 2015 revealed that the university received 31,857 undergraduate applications and made 13,302 offers in 2014–15. This resulted in an offer rate of 41.8%, a yield rate on offers of 45.3% and an overall acceptance rate of 18.9%. In 2018, King's College London received 39,102 undergraduate applications, with only 4,728 places accepted it means an overall acceptance rate of 12.1%. The School of Medicine received 1,764 applications, only 39 offers were made resulting in an offer rate of just 2.2%. Nursery & Midwifery, Physiotherapy and Clinical Dentistry had the lowest offer rates of 14%, 16% and 17% respectively.
Whether you’ve been doing it for years or feel like trying something new, there are an enormous variety of opportunities where you can get involved, make new friends, have fun and be part of the student community. These include:
- sports clubs
- societies
- volunteering opportunities
- student media
- campaigning groups.
King's College London Students' Union (KCLSU) provides both financial and logistical support to help activities run smoothly, but it is up to you how these activities are organised.
KCLSU can also help you get your own student activity group up and running.
There are over 50 sports clubs, many of which compete in the University of London and British Universities & Colleges (BUCS) leagues across the South East. The annual Macadam Cup is a varsity match played between the sports teams of King's College London proper (KCL) and King's College London Medical School (KCLMS).
Research excellence and expertise
You will be taught by leading academics in their field who write the books and articles that shape the disciplines of American Studies, History, Literature, and Cultural Studies. The Institute of North American Studies at King’s draws on researchers from around the university, many of whom are in departments awarded the highest marks by the Research Assessment Framework.
Wide choice
Alongside the core courses and optional courses offered by the Institute, our students can choose to take courses from a number of departments – including history, literature and cultural studies. Have a look at previous years’ course options here.
Unique approach
We are the only Russell Group university in London to offer a truly interdisciplinary, transnational, culturalist approach to American Studies. American Studies is taught less as just one of many ‘area studies’, and more as a distinctive (inter-)discipline with its own history and future.
Open door policy
The Institute prides itself on providing excellent pastoral care to its MA and PhD students. We listen to our students and respond to their suggestions.
Student participation
Our students actively participate in our research seminars and are valued members of the scholarly community.
Intern opportunities
As part of the MA in American Studies, students can take an Internship Module which assists them in securing an internship within a US-based or US-related organisation.
Funding
We offer PhD research scholarships to excellent internal and external candidates. Click here to find out more.
Unbeatable location
Based in KCL’s Strand Campus on the Thames, the Institute is ideally located for the student of culture – we are within walking distance of the Courtauld Institute of Art, the National Theatre, the National Film Theatre, the Royal Opera House and countless other cultural institutions. Our students become a part of London, the centre of the country's professional, political, legal and cultural life.
A world class education
King’s College London is ranked as one of the top twenty universities in the world. That means your Masters or PhD in American Studies will be recognised globally.
The King’s student experience
As one of the 23,000 students at King’s College London, you will have access to all of the university’s facilities as well as being able to participate in a diverse range of extra-curricular activities.
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