Kingston University

Whatever your reason for wanting to study further, at Kingston they will help make it work.

Everyone at Kingston University is passionate about enhancing students’ life chances by helping them make the most of their learning opportunity and equipping them with the skills and knowledge needed in the 21st Century’s demanding workplace.

The University collaborates with local, national and international businesses to ensure their research and courses are at the forefront of industry. A growing number of postgraduate courses offer students the opportunity to undertake a work placement as part of their postgraduate course which allows them to gain industry experience that is directly relevant to their studies.

The University is made up of four faculties. Each faculty supports students with high-quality teaching and a wide range of excellent educational resources and facilities.

• Business and Social Sciences
• Health, Social Care and Education
• Kingston School of Art
• Science, Engineering and Computing

Kingston University will provide students with the necessary careers and employability support to keep them up to date with ever-changing industries, giving them the assurance that the skills they develop will boost their employment prospects.

Career focused learning

Careers and employability are embedded within the heart of the University’s curriculum. Created with the world of work in mind, many courses have been developed in consultation with industry-leading organisations and carry professional accreditation. Staff at the University are active in the workplace, maintain links with business and industry, and are respected in their fields.

The University’s dedicated careers and employability service offers innovative and inclusive support for all their postgraduate students. They help identify career opportunities, support students with the recruitment process and provide advice on how to market their skills, knowledge and experience to employers.

They also offer:

• one to one advice with professional career consultants
• workshops on career planning and job hunting
• comprehensive online vacancy service
• specialist support and advice for international students
• mock interviews and assessment centres
• industry and subject-specific networking events
• access to industry reports, job search guides and other online resources

Work placement scheme

Kingston University is one of the few universities that offer students the opportunity to undertake a placement whilst studying for a postgraduate degree. Most of their courses now offer an optional year integrated work placement programme to help students gain valuable, practical industry experience and provide them with the opportunity to link their studies to real-life situations at work.

Their work placement scheme is designed specifically to give students an advantage in the graduate job market. Their careers and employability service will support students while they find their work placement and ensure their placement meets their course requirements and career goals.

Students will:

• gain insight into a particular industry or role
• decide if this is the right career path
• take on real responsibilities and increase their confidence
• develop transferable skills and enhance their employability
• network and establish valuable references and contacts

Kingston University postgraduate students will be taught by lecturers who are actively involved in the professional world, many of whom are undertaking world-leading research and several who have been awarded prestigious National Teaching Fellowships.

The University offers a wide range of flexible study options that meet students learning needs and enable them to balance studying with work or family commitments. These range from taught masters degrees, PgDip, PgCert, PGCE, Masters by Research, PhD and Professional Doctorates.

Kingston offers courses in the following subject areas:

• Accounting, finance and banking
• Architecture and landscape
• Art, design and fashion
• Business and management
• Biology and life sciences
• Chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences
• Computing and information systems
• Creative industries
• Criminology and law
• Economics, history, human rights and politics
• Education and teaching
• Engineering, construction and surveying
• English and creative writing
• Film and photography
• Geography and environmental science
• Journalism, publishing and media
• Music
• Nursing, midwifery and healthcare
• Philosophy
• Psychology
• Social work and social care

Ensuring your voice is heard

The Union of Kingston Students is there to support and represent the students that make up the Kingston community. Working in partnership with the University, they are here to represent their students’ opinions and views on student experience and to support their education.

Living in halls of residences

Kingston University reserves a number of places in their halls of residence for postgraduate students. They have recently developed one halls of residence, 75 Penrhyn Road, which also offers self-contained studios reserved exclusively for postgraduate students.

Each of their first year postgraduate international students who begin their course in September are guaranteed an offer of accommodation in their halls of residence, provided they meet the eligibility criteria.

Renting privately

Many of Kingston’s postgraduate students choose to live in private accommodation rather than in the University’s halls of residence.

Living independently gives lots of flexibility and offers a greater choice of facilities, locations and budgets.

The University will support students in their search for accommodation; they offer services to help students find flat mates and provide assistance and advice with housing issues and understanding contracts. Their dedicated KU Student Homes website advertises a wide selection of privately owned accommodation in the local area.

Kingston University are investing £118.7m to transform their facilities in order to provide a first class learning and teaching experience across their campuses.

At the forefront of this transformation is their new building, Town House, which holds a new library with over 1,000 individual study spaces, specific learning spaces with the latest technology, plus plenty of cafes and outdoor areas in which students can socialise in style.

Explore their new Town House, designed by RIBA award-winning Grafton Architects, for yourself.

The University is located across four teaching campuses in and around Kingston upon Thames. The campuses are not only welcoming and supportive environments for students and staff, they are also home to incredible learning facilities.

With laboratories and studios, modern classrooms and lecture theatres, libraries, dedicated postgraduate study centres, virtual learning tools, 24/7 online learning support, specialist computer suites and many more additional study spaces, the University provides everything students need to succeed in their studies.

Penrhyn Road campus

The bustling Penrhyn Road campus is located within easy walking distance of Kingston town centre. However, students don’t really need to leave the campus as it has lots of bars and restaurants on site to socialise in. The campus is also home to Kingston’s Students’ Union building, the Student Life Centre, which provides welfare services, and a fitness and health centre.

Kingston School of Art, Knights Park campus

Close to the Penrhyn Road campus and Kingston town centre, this campus is set right on the banks of the beautiful Hogsmill River. Facilities include a restaurant and bar for students to hang out in.

Kingston Hill campus

The beautiful Kingston Hill campus boasts a cafe, restaurant, bar, Subway and Starbucks as well as halls of residence, tennis courts, bee hives and a nature walk.

Roehampton Vale campus

A short bus ride away from Kingston is the Roehampton Vale campus, which is the home of the University’s engineering department. Nature lovers will enjoy the close proximity of the campus to both Richmond Park and Wimbledon common.

St George’s, University of London

Kingston University has a partnership with St George’s, University of London. As such, Health and Social Care courses are run from their hospital in Tooting, Southwest London. Located a short tube ride from central London, Tooting is a busy, multicultural area with plenty of shops, bars and restaurants to occupy students between lectures.

Located on the outskirts of London, Kingston upon Thames’ town is full of character, packed with businesses, historic buildings, great shops, pubs, bars, leisure venues and open spaces. Better still, Kingston has quick and easy links to the city and you will have a choice of travel routes in and out of London.

There is a wide range of museums, art galleries and theatres in Kingston, including the Stanley Picker Gallery and Dorich House Museum, both of which are completely free for Kingston University students to visit, and the Rose theatre, which has hosted legends such as Dame Judy Dench. The famous home of Henry VIII, Hampton Court Palace is also close by.

If students are looking to shop for all the latest trends, the Bentalls centre is ideal. Located in the centre of Kingston upon Thames, Bentalls is home to some of the largest high street retailers.  Kingston is also home to an ancient marketplace with a daily market and a range of festivals and events taking place each year.

Kingston is within easy reach of central London, where there are literally hundreds of museums, galleries and theatres, not to mention restaurants, bars and nightclubs to entertain students.

Each Faculty at Kingston University offers a programme of events and networking opportunities and the Union of Kingston Students runs over 90 societies and sports clubs, and an extensive volunteering programme, so there is always something new to get involved in.

Societies at Kingston University include, but are not limited to: A Cappella, Debating, Environmentalism, Model United Nations and Topical Talks. For a full list, visit the website.

Societies at Kingston University include, but are not limited to: American Football, Boxing, Equestrian, Fencing, Taekwondo and Volleyball. For a full list, visit the website.

Whether students need practical assistance with their finances or guidance with a research project, Kingston’s wide range of academic and wellbeing support will connect them with the support they need. Their friendly support teams provide expert advice and guidance to ensure students have the tools they need to succeed.

Student Life Centre

The dedicated welfare team at the Student Life Centre can give students advice on a range of issues, including finances and funding, accommodation, and help with mental or physical disabilities.

Personal tutors

Every student has regular opportunities to meet with their personal tutor on a one-to-one basis. They provide guidance as needed and are the students’ first point of contact for help and advice.

Academic Skills Centres

Student advisors and lecturers will provide students with one-to-one support and help with their assignments. There is a skills centre located at every campus.

Language support for international students

Kingston offers free English language courses throughout the academic year to help students develop confidence in their English language skills and, in particular, improve their academic English.

Immigration advice

Their advisors will help students with matters concerning:

• obtaining or extending their Tier 4 student visa
• working in the UK before and after their studies
• visa advice if students are travelling abroad
• living in the UK and understanding cultural differences

Tuition fees contribute to the cost of running the course. The amount students have to pay depends on the course they are studying and where they are from.

Students can find details of Kingston University’s tuition fees on their website under the fees and funding section of their course pages.

Kingston University offers a range of scholarships and bursaries towards the cost of postgraduate tuition fees, with course specific funding also available.

For more information, please visit the website.

Kingston University aims to increase the enterprise capability of their students, to ensure they are more competitive in the job market, so there is an entrepreneurial thread running through each course to help students learn best business practice, evolve creative ideas and develop their problem-solving skills. This approach has led to the University being recognised by government as one of the top two institutions in the country for graduate start-ups for the past nine years (Higher Education Business and Community Interaction Survey 2008-9 to 2016-17).

Above all, alongside their teaching and research credentials they are known for their supportive and inclusive community where students can meet and be inspired by students from all backgrounds.

All Kingston University’s entry requirements can be found on the relevant course page on Kingston University’s website.

Postgraduate applications for both taught and research courses are made directly to the University. The online application form can be found on the relevant course page on Kingston University’s website. There are some exceptions which are:

• PGCE courses apply through the UCAS Teacher Training website
• Pharmacy Practice (OSPAP) apply at pharmacyregulation.org
• MSc Nursing, MSW Master’s in Social Work and PgDip in Midwifery apply through UCAS

Kingston University’s research responds to global challenges in areas such as health and well-being, sustainable development, economic and cultural prosperity and the future of work and learning. This is underpinned by their commitment to realising social justice, human rights, equality, diversity and inclusion.

The University is committed to supporting their communities of researchers and research students to develop the knowledge, skills and competencies they need to become thought leaders in their field. Their students benefit from quality academic supervision and mentoring, career guidance and their well-established collaborative relationships with industry.

Working in partnership

Their research is valued by their civic, research and business partners as well as the wider community. They contribute to and work with local schools, national and local health and social care providers, small and medium size enterprises and large corporate employers, such as NHS National Physical Laboratory and the aerospace industry. Longstanding and fruitful collaborations with Kingston’s Rose Theatre, Kingston Museum and the five local boroughs that make up the South London Partnership highlight their regional contribution.

A wide array of research and creative opportunities are afforded to their researchers by their scholarly archives and their custodial role of the Stanley Picker Gallery, Dorich House and Visconti Music Studio.

Over many years Kingston has developed considerable expertise in knowledge transfer and exchange. They have established strong partnerships with businesses through successful Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) and more recently through the launch of Degree Apprenticeships, which address core strategic business needs and support solutions for economic growth. These extend from projects with local technology companies to those with non-governmental organisations and international learning providers, providing opportunities for their students to work on key strategic projects and apply their learning to live business scenarios to deliver innovative solutions.

Graduate Research School

All postgraduate research students at Kingston are supported by the Graduate Research School. The school runs research development training, mentoring and career development programmes for research students and provides advice and guidance on funding sources, regulations and other related issues.

Kingston School of Art runs a Creative Writing MA course with a Distance Learning option, ideal for those juggling full time jobs or family responsibilities, or who live at a distance.

Small groups encourage peer interaction and give the sense of a cohort. Students take modules online and partake in live online masterclasses; there's also the option to attend two campus days at Kingston to meet tutors and other students in person.