King's College London campus

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King's College London

London, England, United Kingdom

University profile

About King's College London

King's College London is a public research university in central London, founded in 1829 under a royal charter granted by King George IV, with the Duke of Wellington among its founders. It was one of the two founding colleges of the University of London in 1836 and remains part of the University, while holding financial and academic autonomy since 1994 and awarding its own degrees since 2008. The university has more than 42,000 students and over 300,000 alumni, and 14 people from King's and its associated institutions have been awarded the Nobel Prize.

Teaching and research take place across five London campuses: four beside the River Thames (Strand, Waterloo, Guy's and St Thomas') and a fifth at Denmark Hill in Camberwell. The health campuses sit alongside Guy's, St Thomas' and King's College hospitals, and a staff and student shuttle bus links the Guy's and St Thomas' sites.

Academic work is organised in nine faculties:

  • Faculty of Arts & Humanities
  • King's Business School
  • Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences
  • The Dickson Poon School of Law
  • Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine
  • Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences
  • Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care
  • Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience
  • Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy

King's has a long international reputation in the humanities, law, science, psychiatry, medicine, dentistry, nursing and the social sciences. The nursing faculty descends directly from the world's first professional school of nursing, founded by Florence Nightingale in 1860, and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience is closely associated with the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust. Undergraduates choose from over 180 courses, and the King's Language Centre teaches 27 languages from beginner to near-native level.

The university runs 14 residences of its own, and students can also apply to five University of London intercollegiate halls; undergraduate residences have the Resilife social programme and postgraduate residences the GradPlus programme. Student services include counselling, disability support, money and housing advice, an NHS health centre and the King's Edge extracurricular programme, the King's Start-up Accelerator and volunteering.

The student community includes more than 18,000 international students, and over 190 countries are represented across students and staff. International applicants without qualifications accepted for direct entry can take the one-year King's International Foundation programme, which has four subject pathways leading to King's degrees, and the university runs a Visas & International Student Advice service.

University information

Tuition fees

Home undergraduate tuition fees are £9,790 for new students starting in September 2026. Students from the EU, EEA or Switzerland starting in 2021 or later pay the international (overseas) rate. International undergraduate fees and all postgraduate fees vary by course and are listed on each course page; fees for continuing overseas students may rise by no more than 7% a year (or the previous November's CPI rate if higher).

King's Living Bursary

Full-time home undergraduates (and PGCE students) assessed by Student Finance with a household income of £42,875 or less receive a non-repayable bursary each year without applying. For students starting in 2025/26 or 2026/27: £2,000 for household income of £25,000 or less, £1,900 for £25,001 to £33,500, and £1,600 for £33,501 to £42,875. Eligibility is checked automatically, with students contacted by the end of November 2026 and later assessments running until 30 June 2027. King's Living Bursary 2026-27

Hardship funds (2026/27)

  • King's Student Fund: home undergraduates receiving the King's Living Bursary.
  • King's Hardship Fund: home postgraduates and home undergraduates not receiving the Living Bursary.
  • King's Medical & Dental Hardship Fund: home students on medical and dental programmes.
  • International Hardship Fund: international and EU students who arranged full funding but face an unforeseen change of circumstances; awards up to £6,000 in exceptional circumstances; applications open 14 October, deadline 31 May 2027. International Hardship Fund
  • School of Global Affairs Hardship Fund and the Balcombe Bursary (medical hardship).

Hardship funds

Postgraduate funding

The King's Doctoral College administers studentships and bursaries for master's and doctoral programmes. These include King's Joint PhD Scholarships (full tuition fees, stipend and an annual research grant) for joint PhDs with the University of Hong Kong, National University of Singapore or University of São Paulo, King's China Council Scholarships with the China Scholarship Council, and Harold Moody PGR Studentships. UK Postgraduate Master's Loans of up to £13,206 and Doctoral Loans of up to £31,122 are available for courses starting on or after 1 August 2026. Most King's funding deadlines fall early in the year, around February. Scholarships and studentships

External scholarships

Chevening Scholars at King's receive 20% cover of their tuition fees from King's. Chevening Scholarships at King's

Finding funding

All scholarships and bursaries for UK and international students are listed in the King's funding database, and the Student Funding Office ([email protected]) advises prospective and current students. King's funding opportunities

King's Business School Global Scholarships →

King's-China Scholarship Council PhD Scholarship (K-CSC) →

King's College London Marshall Scholarship →

Internationally Qualified Sonographer Scholarship (Clinical Ultrasound PgCert) →

Find scholarships on our site

Browse the scholarships listed for King's College London and check each award’s eligibility.

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Undergraduate application (UCAS)

All applicants for full-time undergraduate courses apply through UCAS, either through a school or college or as an individual. Applications open on 1 September for entry the following autumn. For 2027 entry the deadline is 13 January 2027 at 18:00 (UK time), and 15 October 2026 at 18:00 for Medicine and Dentistry; applications received after these dates are treated as late, including from international students. Applicants may choose up to five courses, no more than four of them in Medicine or Dentistry. After applying, applicants also receive a King's Apply account for tracking and messages. The International Foundation programme, post-qualification nursing courses and medical electives are applied for directly through King's Apply.

Entry requirements and offers

Entry requirements vary by course and are set out on each course page, including international equivalents by country. Conditional offers are based on three A-levels; where four or more are taken, the best three grades are considered, and AS-levels are not considered for most programmes. King's does not use UCAS tariff points, expressing requirements as qualifications and grades instead. A-level/BTEC combinations, the International Baccalaureate, Scottish Highers and Advanced Highers, T levels, Access to HE Diplomas and other qualifications are considered, with some combinations of level 3 qualifications assessed case by case.

Admissions tests

  • Law and Politics, Philosophy & Law: LNAT, taken by 31 December in the application cycle.
  • Medicine and Dentistry: UCAT, taken before applying (BMAT is not accepted).
  • Dental Therapy & Hygiene: Casper.

Contextual admissions

UK-based undergraduate applicants who have completed the K+ widening participation programme, received free school meals, or are care-experienced or estranged may receive contextual offers up to two A-level grades (or equivalent) below the advertised requirements. Applicants close to the interview or admissions test threshold may be offered an interview or an offer, and those who narrowly miss their conditional offer receive additional consideration. Evidence is submitted through King's Apply after the UCAS application.

English language (undergraduate, 2027/28 entry)

Courses are placed in English bands. Test results must come from a single sitting and be dated within two years of the course start:

  • Band A (Dentistry Entry Programme for Medical Graduates BDS): IELTS Academic 7.5 overall with 7.0 in each skill; PTE Academic 75 overall with 69 in each skill.
  • Band B (Arts & Humanities, Social Science & Public Policy, Nursing, IoPPN, Business, Law, Medicine and Dentistry, and selected courses such as Pharmacy, Physiotherapy and Electronic Engineering): IELTS Academic 7.0 overall with 6.5 in each skill.
  • Band D (Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences and biomedical courses such as Biochemistry, Biomedical Science and Neuroscience): IELTS Academic 6.5 overall with 6.0 in each skill.

Nationals of listed majority English-speaking countries who have completed an A-level-equivalent qualification in such a country do not need a separate test. Applicants who need a Student visa must use tests from the visa-approved sections of the list.

International undergraduate entry

Students whose national school qualifications are not accepted for direct entry can take the one-year King's International Foundation programme, with pathways in Health, Life & Biosciences; STEM & Natural Sciences; Politics, Culture & Social Sciences; and Business & Economics. Students who meet the progression requirements receive two guaranteed offers to King's degrees. Entry requires IELTS for UKVI (Academic) 6.0 overall with no skill below 5.5 (PTE Academic UKVI 59, minimum 54 in each skill); the Extended International Foundation takes students from 5.5 overall with no skill below 5.0.

Postgraduate taught

Applications are made through the King's Apply portal (PGCE applicants apply through DfE Apply). Applications usually include transcripts with official English translations, one referee contact, English language evidence and a personal statement. For September 2027 entry, applications open in mid-October 2026; the initial deadline for most courses is March 2027, with final deadlines in July 2027 for overseas fee status applicants and August 2027 for home fee status applicants where courses remain open. Some courses require Occupational Health, DBS or ATAS clearance. English requirements range from IELTS Academic 6.5 overall with 6.0 in each skill (Band D) to 7.0 overall with 6.5 in each skill (Band B).

Postgraduate research

Doctoral applicants apply to a specific PhD programme, whose opening and closing dates and intakes vary. Science, medicine and engineering applicants usually apply for pre-defined, often funded projects, while arts, humanities and social sciences applicants usually develop their own research proposal. UK applicants are advised to apply at least two months, and international applicants at least four months, before the programme deadline.

Visas

International postgraduate taught applicants receive their CAS number only after accepting an unconditional offer.

  • Strand Campus (Strand, London WC2R 2LS): on the north bank of the Thames, home to the Faculty of Arts & Humanities, The Dickson Poon School of Law, the Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences, the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy, King's Business School and King's Foundations; includes Bush House. Libraries: the Maughan Library, Special Collections and the King's College London Archives.
  • Waterloo Campus: home to the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care, with facilities for Life Sciences & Medicine, Social Science & Public Policy and the London Dental Education Centre (LonDEC). Main buildings are the Franklin-Wilkins Building (with the Franklin-Wilkins Library), the James Clerk Maxwell Building and Stamford Street Apartments, which provide en suite rooms for over 500 students.
  • Guy's Campus (London Bridge): beside Guy's Hospital and next to the Shard, home to the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, the Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences and parts of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience. Libraries: New Hunt's House and the Wills Library. Great Dover Street Apartments and Wolfson House residences are nearby.
  • St Thomas' Campus (St Thomas' Hospital, Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7EH): opposite the Houses of Parliament, used for continuing medical and dental teaching, with the St Thomas' House library and the Florence Nightingale Museum.
  • Denmark Hill Campus (16 De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF): in Camberwell, home of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, with facilities for Life Sciences & Medicine and Dentistry. Libraries: IoPPN Library and Weston Education Centre Library.

Residences: King's residences include Angel Lane, Atlas, Battersea, Canada Water, City (postgraduate only), Great Dover Street, Hayloft Point, Julian Markham, Moonraker Point, Orchard Lisle and Iris Brook, Stamford Street Apartments, Vauxhall (postgraduate only), Vega and Wolfson House, alongside five University of London intercollegiate halls. Rooms are offered to students who have made King's their firm choice, and a King's Affordable Accommodation Scheme operates in some residences.

Other facilities: an NHS Health Centre for students, counselling and disability services, parenting rooms and prayer rooms on every campus, and student access to Senate House Library and the British Library.

Core Benefits

Reasons students choose King's College London for their study abroad journey.

Explore Study Programmes

Study programmes offered at King's College London.

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BA Ancient History
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BA Classical Studies with English
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BA Classics & the Ancient World
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BA Comparative Literature
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BA Comparative Literature with Film Studies
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BA Culture, Media & Creative Industries
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BA Digital Media & Culture
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BA English
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BA English & Modern Languages (French, German, Portuguese or Spanish) with a year abroad
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