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King's College London

Motto	Sancte et sapienter "With holiness and with wisdom"
Established	1829
Type	Public
Principal	Professor Richard Trainor
Faculty	5,149
Students	21,965 <ref name="HESA">Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2004/05. Higher Education Statistics Agency online statistics. Retrieved on 2006-11-20.</ref>
Undergraduates	14,995 <ref name="HESA"/>
Postgraduates	6,970 <ref name="HESA"/>
Location	London, United Kingdom
Campus	5 throughout Central London
Mascot	Reggie the lion
Affiliations	University of London, Russell Group, 'Golden Triangle'
Website	http://www.kcl.ac.uk

King's College London is the largest college of the University of London and one of a number of university institutions founded in England in the early 19th century. <ref name="oldest">There remains debate about which university holds the title as 'England's third-oldest'. See: Third oldest university in England debate.</ref> Consistently ranked as one of the world's leading multifaculty centres of education, 2006 ratings see the College placed 4th in the UK, <ref name="Guard">University guide 2006. EducationGuardian.co.uk University Guide. Retrieved on 2006-11-20.</ref> 12th in Europe, and 46th globally. <ref name="rise">King's meteoric rise in world league table. King's College London News highlights October 5 2006. Retrieved on 2006-11-20.</ref> King's, which is a founding member of the Russell Group and the Golden Triangle, <ref name="golden">[http://www.ucl.ac.uk/images/Uni-Lon.pdf The future of the University of London: a discussion paper from the Provost of UCL]. Retrieved on 2006-11-20.</ref> is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe and is home to four Medical Research Council Centres – more than anywhere else. The College occupies four Thames-side campuses in Central London and one in Denmark Hill, South London, making it the University's most central college.

Contents 1 King's History 2 Campuses 2.1 Refurbishment 3 Schools of Study 4 Undergraduate Courses 5 Postgraduate Courses 6 Students' Union 6.1 Competition with UCL 6.2 Competition with LSE 7 Students' Accommodation 7.1 Intercollegiate Halls of Residence 8 Graduates 9 Famous alumni 10 Statistics & Ratings 10.1 King's 10.2 Departmental 11 Commercialisation 12 College Trivia 13 Bibliography 14 See also 15 External links 16 References

[edit] King's History

King's, so named to indicate the patronage of George IV, was founded in 1829 as a more accessible alternative to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, which only educated the sons of the wealthy classes. King's founding was also assisted by the Crown, the Church of England and the government, amid popular opposition to the humanist institution now known as University College London. Indeed a duel was fought over the College's honour between the Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington, and the Earl of Winchilsea who questioned the Prime Minister's support for Catholic and Anglican institutions; nobody was injured. <ref name="KCLFOUND">Foundation of the College. King's College London - History of the College. Retrieved on 2006-11-20.</ref> Friendly rivalry between the two colleges continues today (See Trivia). The two colleges were federated into the University of London when it was established by charter in 1836.

King's professors played a major part in scientific advances of the nineteenth century, particularly the discovery of DNA, and in extending higher education to women, working men and through evening classes.

The first qualification issued by King's was the Associate of King's College, or AKC. The course, which concerns questions of ethics and theology, is still awarded today to students (and staff) who take an optional three year course alongside their standard degree. Successful completion entitles the graduate to bear the letters AKC after their name.

The College today is the product of King's mergers with a number of other institutions over the years, including Queen Elizabeth College, Chelsea College, the Institute of Psychiatry, and the United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals. Florence Nightingale's original training school for nurses is now incorporated as the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery. Perhaps the most famous scholarly research performed at King's was the work by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins that was essential to the discovery by James D. Watson and Francis Crick of the structure of DNA.

There are now nine schools of study: in addition to the Institute of Psychiatry, the Institute of Dentistry and the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery, there are Schools of Law, Medicine, Social Science & Public Policy, Humanities, Biomedical & Health Sciences and Physical Sciences & Engineering.

[edit] Campuses

The five campuses of King's are:

• The Strand Campus near Covent Garden. Most of the Schools of Humanities, Law, Social Science & Public Policy, and Physical Sciences & Engineering are housed here. The Maughan Library, situated in Chancery Lane, is a few minutes away. (nearest tubes: Temple, Covent Garden)
• Across the Thames, the Waterloo Campus near the South Bank Centre consists of the James Clerk Maxwell Building, the Franklin-Wilkins Building; and the Stamford Street Apartments. The School of Biomedical & Health Sciences and the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing & Midwifery are based here, along with the departments of education and of management. (nearest tube: Waterloo)
• The Guy's Campus at London Bridge houses parts of the Dental Institute and School of Medicine and the School of Biomedical & Health Sciences (nearest tubes: London Bridge, Borough)
• St Thomas' Campus, facing the Houses of Parliament across the Thames, houses parts of the School of Medicine and the Dental Insitute (nearest tube: Westminster)
• Further South, King's College Hospital forms the Denmark Hill Campus, the only one not situated on the River Thames, houses the Institute of Psychiatry, part of the Dental Institute and part of the School of Medicine (nearest station: Denmark Hill)

[edit] Refurbishment

King's is coming to the end of a decade of restorative and refurbishment projects, with investment of over £500 million. <ref name="profile">Profile 2006. King's College London. Retrieved on 2006-11-20.</ref> These include the Franklin-Wilkins Building in the Waterloo campus, the largest university building in the UK; the Maughan library in Chancery Lane, the most elaborate university library project ever undertaken in the UK; and the renovation of the chapel in the Strand campus at a cost of £750,000.

[edit] Schools of Study

The nine Schools of study at King's are as follows:

• Dental Institute
• Institute of Psychiatry
• School of Biomedical & Health Sciences
• School of Humanities
• School of Law
• School of Medicine
• Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery
• School of Physical Sciences & Engineering
• School of Social Science & Public Policy

[edit] Undergraduate Courses

A complete list of undergraduate courses taught at King's can be found here.

[edit] Postgraduate Courses

The various postgraduate courses offered at King's can be divided into taught programmes and research programmes.

[edit] Students' Union

Main article: King's College London Students' Union

King's College London Students' Union (KCLSU) is the oldest in London, founded just before University College London Union, and provides a good range of activities and services: over 50 sports clubs - including the Boat Club, that rows on the River Thames, and the Rifle Club that uses the college's shooting range on the Main Strand Campus-, 60 societies, a wide range of volunteering opportunities, 2 bars, 2 nightclubs, shops, eating places and a gym. Recently, a third site was opened at the Waterloo campus.

A former President of KCLSU, Sir Ivison Macadam (after whom the Students' Union building on the Strand Campus has since been named) went on to be elected as the first President of the NUS and the Union has played an active role there and in the University of London Union ever since.

[edit] Competition with UCL

Competition and rivalries within the University of London between King's and University College London are fierce but unlike the riots between respective College students in central London that still occurred until the 1950s, things are now limited to the rugby pitch and skullduggery over mascots, with an annual Varsity match taking place between King's College London RFC and UCL RFC.

[edit] Competition with LSE

Tensions between King's and the London School of Economics were ignited on 2 December 2005 when at least 203 students from LSE (across the road from the Strand campus) diverted off from the annual "barrel run" and caused an estimated £32,000 (Beaver, LSE, 26 September 2006) of damage to the English department. <ref name="rampage">Students in university rampage. BBC News December 7 2005. Retrieved on 2006-11-20.</ref> Principal Rick Trainor and the then Students' Union President, Matthew Pusey, called for no retaliation and LSE Students' Union were forced to issue an apology as well as foot the bill for the damage repair. While LSE officially condemned the action, a photograph was published in The Beaver (the LSE SU Student Newspaper) which was later picked up by The Times that showed LSE Director Howard Davies drinking with members of the LSE Students' Union shortly before the barrel run - and the "rampage" - began.

[edit] Students' Accommodation

King’s halls of residence offer a range of accommodation to suit the varied needs of students. These include:

• Brian Creamer House & The Rectory (self-catered) at St Thomas' Campus
• Wolfson House (self-catered) at Guy's Campus
• The Great Dover Street Apartments (self-catered) at Guy's Campus
• The Stamford Street Apartments (self catered) at the Waterloo Campus
• King's College Hall (catered) at the Denmark Hill Campus
• Hampstead Halls (self-catered) in Hampstead

Four of these halls let their rooms to visitors during the summer months when the students leave. <ref name="KCVB">King's Conference & Vacation Bureau. Retrieved on 2006-11-20.</ref>

[edit] Intercollegiate Halls of Residence

King's also has the largest number of bedspaces in the University of London Intercollegiate Halls, which provide accommodation for those studying at the University. These are also open to the public over the summer:

• College Hall (currently under reburbishment and female-only) in Malet Street
• International Hall near Russell Square
• Lillian Penson Hall (postrgraduates only) in Paddington
• Nutford House in Marble Arch
• Canterbury, Commonwealth, Connaught and Hughes Parry Halls in Bloomsbury

[edit] Graduates

King's graduates have some of the highest average starting salaries among all UK universities - The Sunday Times estimates the average starting salary is £20,672: fourth highest in the UK. <ref name="salary">Table: Best graduate starting salaries. The Sunday Times University Guide 2005. Retrieved on 2006-11-20.</ref>

[edit] Famous alumni

See also Category:Academics of King's College London, Category:Alumni of King's College London and Category:People associated with King's College London

King's has educated many significant figures since its foundation. Its strong tradition in the sciences might be represented by some recipients of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine: Sir James Black, Maurice Wilkins, Sir Charles Scott Sherrington or Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins; or pioneering nurse Florence Nightingale. John Keats, Sir William Gilbert of Gilbert and Sullivan, Thomas Hardy and Michael Nyman are some celebrated examples from the arts; more recently, Rory Bremner, David Bellamy, Martin Bashir and another Nobel Laureate, Desmond Tutu, all attended King's.

[edit] Statistics & Ratings

[edit] King's

• The Guardian newspaper ranks King's as the fourth best multifaculty university in the United Kingdom; <ref name="Guard"/> the Times Higher Education Supplement ranks King's as 12th in Europe and 46th globally. <ref name="rise"/>
• King's is one of only 11 UK universities to be ranked in to the top 100 of the world, according to a league table produced by Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
• King's was placed third overall in a 2005 Times Higher Education Supplement survey in which 10,000 undergraduates rated universities on academic reputation, the quality of courses and teaching, admissions, campus location and facilities.
• According to a Sunday Times survey, King's is 3rd in the UK both for graduate starting salary and graduate employability.
• Entry to King's is competitive: the Sunday Times rates it as the 6th most difficult UK university to get into. <ref name="times">The UCAS points system. The Sunday Times University Guide 2005. Retrieved on 2006-11-20.</ref>
• According to the 2005 Times Higher Education Supplement league table, King's is positioned fourth in terms of staff-student ratio.

• In February 2006, UCAS revealed that, offset by a fall in applications for the vast majority of UK universities, King's received 4.0% more than the previous year. <ref name="BBCUCAS">Complex pattern of student choice. BBC News February 16 2006. Retrieved on 2006-11-20.</ref>
• In August 2005 the Guardian newspaper stated that London School of Economics, Imperial College London, King's and University College London each 'have international reputations that in this country only Oxbridge can beat'. <ref name="edguar">Going it alone. EducationGuardian August 2 2005. Retrieved on 2006-11-20.</ref>
• It has the fifth largest endowment of UK universities at £100m (2002), the fourth largest endowment per student, and has credit ratings of AA-/Stable/A-1 (Standard & Poor's). King's has an annual turnover of nearly £375 million.
• King's is a member of the Russell Group of research universities and the Golden Triangle.

[edit] Departmental

• The College has had 24 of its subject-areas awarded the highest rating of 5* and 5 for research quality, demonstrating excellence at an international level, and it has recently received an excellent result in its audit by the Quality Assurance Agency. It is in the top group (of six universities) for research earnings.
• Many departments are considered to be at the top of their field; most notably, The Guardian newspaper ranks the English, Chemistry, Dentistry, and American Studies departments as the best in the country.
• The Department of Music at King's has ties with the Royal Academy of Music and the School of Oriental and African Studies. World authorities on Mozart (Cliff Eisen) and Wagner (John Deathridge) hold professorships; as do many active composers, including Silvina Milstein, George Benjamin and Robert Keeley.
• The Department of Philosophy <ref name="phil">Department of Philosophy. Retrieved on 2006-11-20.</ref> is a bastion for the Anglo-American tradition in analytic philosophy, and is one of the largest and most distinguished in the country. It received a 5* rating (the highest rating) in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise and 24 (the highest rating) in the 2001 Quality Assurance Assessment Subject Review of Teaching. Its particular research strengths are in Philosophy of Mind and Philosophy of Psychology; Philosophy of Science, Ancient Philosophy, Ethics, Aesthetics, Philosophy of Language, and Linguistics.
• Moreover, unique to the UK, is the top ranked Department of War Studies<ref name="war">Department of War Studies. Retrieved on 2006-11-20.</ref>, and supported by facilities such as The Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, the Centre for Defence Studies<ref name="def">Centre for Defence Studies. Retrieved on 2006-11-20.</ref>, and the King's Centre for Military Health Research.<ref name="kcmhr">King's Centre for Military Health Research. Retrieved on 2006-11-20.</ref>

[edit] Commercialisation

King's has a wholly owned and dedicated technology transfer, enterprise, and innovation company known as KCL Enterprises: one of the most successful in the UK. KCL Enterprises are responsible for business development and commercialisation and for the management of the university’s research grants and contracts. In collaboration with KCL Enterprises, King's actively encourages its staff to commercialise its research and as a result has given rise to a large number of spin-out companies based on academic research. These include Proximagen Neuroscience Plc, and Cerogenix Ltd.

[edit] College Trivia

• King's College School was created as King's Junior Department at the time of the College's founding. Originally situated in the basement of the Strand campus, the School relocated Wimbledon in 1897. King's College School is no longer associated with King's College London.
• Aldwych tube station, a well-preserved but disused London Underground station, is integrated as part of the King's Strand campus. Its constant use as a filming location makes it supposedly the most profitable station on the tube network. The Rifle Range is reportedly on the site of a platform taken out of public service in 1917.
• The School of Medicine, which admits 360 undergraduates every year, is the largest in the UK.
• King's graduation ceremonies are usually held in Southwark Cathedral and the Royal Festival Hall. In 2005 and 2006, the Barbican Centre was used during the renovation of the latter.
• The College mascot, "Reggie", was lost for many years in the 1990s. It was recovered after being found dumped in a field, restored at the cost of around £15,000 and placed on display in the Students' Union. Protected in a glass case, it is filled with concrete to prevent theft, particularly by UCL students who once castrated it. (King's students had also stolen one UCL mascot, Phineas, and played football with the head of another, Jeremy Bentham). There are two further "Reggies" in existence: a papier-mâché Reggie outside the Great Hall at the Strand Campus (pictured above), and a small incarnation displayed during Graduation ceremonies.
• RADA is administered through King's, and its students graduate alongside members of the Departments which form part of the School of Humanities.
• King's is featured in the novel The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown; the Reading Room of the Maughan Library is described as an 'octagonal chamber'. The Library, however, was not used in filming for the novel's screen adaptation.
• King's Drug Control Centre currently holds the official UK contract for running doping tests on UK athletes, and will likely continue to do so until the 2012 Olympics, to be held in London.
• King's runs the London Air Quality Network. <ref name="LAQN">The London Air Quality Network. Retrieved on 2006-11-20.</ref>

[edit] Bibliography

• F.J.C. Hearnshaw (1929). The Centenary History of King's College London. George G. Harrap & Co.
• Gordon Huelin (1978), King's College London, 1828-1978.
• Christine Kenyon Jones (2004), King's College London: In the service of society.

[edit] See also

• Russell Group
• University of London
• Education in London
• Guy's Hospital
• St Thomas Hospital
• King's College Hospital
• 'Golden Triangle'

[edit] External links

• King's College website
• University of London
• King's College London Libraries
• King's Conference & Vacation Bureau
• King's College London 175th Anniversary website - includes complete history
• KCLSU
• KCL Enterprises

[edit] References

<references/>

Image:DNA-fragment-3D-vdW.png	DNA structure research at King's College London 1947-1959
	Rosalind Franklin | Raymond Gosling | John Randall | Alec Stokes | Maurice Wilkins | Herbert Wilson

Recognized bodies of the University of London
Birkbeck | Courtauld Institute of Art | Central School of Speech and Drama | Goldsmiths | Heythrop | Imperial | Institute of Cancer Research | Institute of Education | King's | London Business School | LSE | London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine | Queen Mary | Royal Academy of Music | Royal Holloway | Royal Veterinary College | St George's | SOAS | School of Pharmacy | UCL
Listed bodies
University of London Institute in Paris | School of Advanced Study | University Marine Biological Station, Millport

Russell Group (of British research universities)
Birmingham | Bristol | Cambridge | Cardiff | Edinburgh | Glasgow | Imperial College London | King's College London | Leeds | Liverpool | London School of Economics | Manchester | Newcastle | Nottingham | Oxford | Queen's | Sheffield | Southampton | University College London | Warwick

de:King’s College London

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