King's College London guide: Rankings, open days, fees and accommodation
Overview
King's is one of UK higher education's citadels. Its academic standing and location at the heart of London gives it an international appeal that saw more than a third of the undergraduate intake recruited from overseas in 2024. It has one of the most socially inclusive and diverse student bodies of all Russell Group universities. Nearly 40% of the intake are the first in their immediate family to go to university and more than half are of Asian or black heritage. More than three-quarters of the domestic intake are recruited from London and the South East. A huge contingent of students is studying medicine, dentistry and healthcare courses across three teaching hospitals - Guy's, St Thomas' and King's College Hospital (KCH). The imminent opening of the Pears Maudsley Centre for Children and Young People at KCH is the latest medical bauble, bringing together researchers and clinicians to address the crisis in youngsters' mental health. Elsewhere, King's is famed for its social science, law, history, science and engineering provision. Applications are near a record high and domestic admissions in 2024 jumped by just under 1,000, more than offsetting the small drop in international admissions, to a level only beaten during the pandemic.
Paying the bills
King's has increased the value of its living bursary - the main vehicle for dispensing financial support to students - by £400 across all payment levels from this year. All undergraduates from homes with annual income of up to £42,875 qualify for the award, which now pays out a maximum of £2,000 in each year of study. This is paid to students from households with an income of no more than £25,000, reducing as income rises to annual payments of £1,900 (£25,001 to £33,500) and then £1,600 (£33,501 to £42,875). Emergency hardship support is also available to students in extreme need with more than £1.6million paid out in 2023-24. Chelsea footballer Raheem Sterling's foundation funds three scholarships worth a full tuition fee waiver of £9,535 and a £7,000 stipend towards living costs for up to three years. Applicants must be of black ethnicity and have a Greater London postcode (the London Borough of Brent is preferred), with a further list of prioritised circumstances also considered. Up to three Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) scholarships worth £1,000 in each year of study are also paid out to outstanding female students from homes with an annual income of £42,875 or less studying within the Faculty of Natural, Mathematical and Engineering Sciences. The King's affordable accommodation scheme maximises the number of university rooms at the lowest possible prices. This keeps prices for the cheapest rooms in Wolfson House, close to the Guy's Campus, to £6,200 for a 40-week tenancy. A large studio in the Atlas accommodation in Vauxhall tops the bill at £25,347 for a 51-week contract, while catered accommodation in intercollegiate University of London halls is priced from £11,379 to £15,383 for 40 weeks.
What's new?
King's will be looking for some improvement in lacklustre scores in the annual National Student Survey after heavy investment in its campuses. A full redevelopment of the Strand Quadrangle has created 3,000m2 of subterranean state-of-the-art facilities for the department of engineering. The pedestrianisation of the site has created a new communal space for students and the public alike with seating, multiple catering outlets and access to the university Wi-Fi. A programme of upgrades of student residences is well under way with the Great Dover Street apartments the first to feel the benefit. The Angel Lane residence in Stratford is also about to undergo a refurbishment and students there are being offered accommodation discounts of £29 per week in 2025-26 which will bring down the price of the cheapest room to £5,360 for a 40-week tenancy. Among new degree offerings is an AI (artificial intelligence) for science master's programme, the first of its kind in the country. The interdisciplinary course will bring together expertise in biosciences, humanities, social sciences, mathematics, security and law to prepare students to be fluent in both science and AI. Other new courses include AI and philosophy, data analytics for business and finance, psychology and criminology and a new four-year medicine degree for qualified healthcare professionals, also the first of its type in the UK.
Admissions, teaching and student support
One in five offers in the September 2024 admissions cycle was contextual, reducing the university's standard high-tariff entry requirements by mostly two A-level grades (or equivalent). King's ranked second among the Russell Group of research intensive universities (and 11th overall) in this year's English Social Mobility Index, a ranking of universities based on the diversity and subsequent success of their intakes. Initiatives such as its K+ widening participation programme for Year 12 and 13 students and the King's College London Mathematics School, which provides high-quality maths education for children with a particular aptitude for the subject, are two ways that King's seeks to identify and nurture talent and promote social inclusion in its intake. Taking part in outreach schemes such as K+ is just one of many criteria that can trigger a contextual offer. Others include living in a postcode among the 40% sending fewest into higher education or the 20% considered to be the most deprived. Careers+ offers bespoke careers activities and support for students from under-represented backgrounds. The university's holistic support for student well-being has been recognised by the Student Minds university mental health charter award, one of only 17 universities to hold the award. Student support services benefit directly from input from the university's Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, one of the UK's leading centres for mental health and neuroscience research. Well-being advisers are based in all faculties as a first contact point for students in need of support or guidance and 24/7 access to counselling is available through King's counselling online or the Togetherall app.