Kingston University

Kingston was founded as Kingston Technical Institute in 1899. In 1930 the Kingston School of Art separated, later to become Kingston College of Art. Kingston was recognised as a Regional College of Technology by Ministry of Education in 1957. In 1970 it merged again with the College of Art to become Kingston Polytechnic, offering 34 major courses, of which 17 were at degree level.
Kingston University was granted university status under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. In 1993, Kingston opened the Roehampton Vale campus building and in 1995, Kingston acquired Dorich Ho
This is the main university campus located close to Kingston town centre. In addition to teaching facilities, it has a library, health centre and canteen. Students based here study: Arts and Social Sciences, Civil Engineering, Surveying and Planning, Computing and Information Systems and Mathematics, Earth Sciences and Geography, Statistics, Biosciences, Pharmacy, Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Science, and Radiography. Recent development at this site has seen an extension to the current Learning Resources Centre. Massive construction projects took place and recently a new modern building in memory of John Galsworthy was finished. Across the road is the Reg Bailey Theatre with a stage area used by drama and dance students.
The site also features Union of Kingston Students (KUSU), which is now part of the main building. Previously it was next door to Penrhyn Road's Student Union bar, The Space Bar. This building however is under negotiation of demolition. Penrhyn Road also houses the recently refurbished Fitness Centre. A short walk from the campus is Cooper House, also known as the Student Information and Advice Centre, which houses a number of student services and administration departments. Fairhill Medical Practice which is an NHS run clinic providing general practitioners services and a wellbeing mental health service.
This campus underwent a major redevelopment in 1997. With its own halls and numerous car parks (including the main seven-storey car park) Kingston Hill mainly caters to Nursing, Law, Education, Business, Music, Health and Social Sciences. Located near the top of Kingston Hill, it connects to the other campus sites by use of a free university bus service. Before 1989, this campus was known as Gipsy Hill.
The music department is situated in Coombehurst House, which was once owned by Florence Nightingale's aunt and uncle. Nightingale was a frequent visitor to the house and the new Learning Resource Centre on Kingston Hill was named the Nightingale Centre after her.
The Business School moved to a new building on the Kingston Hill Campus in 2012, the year Ed McKeever, one of its alumni, won a gold medal at the London Olympics.
Following an introduction through the Board of Governors, Kingston University rescued Dorich House (a Grade II listed building) and its art collections from dereliction in 1993 and the newly restored building was opened in 1996. Once the home to internationally acclaimed Estonian Sculptor Dora Gordine and the Hon. Richard Hare, the house became a museum in 2004.
Primarily based at the Penrhyn Road campus, although as part of a restructure in 2005, the faculty also incorporates the now former School of Music and the School of Education which are both based at the Kingston Hill Campus.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and Masters by Research (MA) degrees can be undertaken in any of the following areas – Drama, Dance, Creative Writing, Criminology, Economics, Education, English Literature, European Studies, Film Studies, History, Human Rights, Journalism, Linguistics and Languages, Media, Music, Politics, Psychology, Sociology. Kingston's MFA in Creative Writing was the first of its kind in the UK. The Faculty also offers a Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing as well as a Low Residency MA CW.
The Faculty is home to the London Graduate School, The Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy, the Practice Research Unit, The Institute of Social Science, Cultural Histories @ Kingston, and the Kingston Writing School.
The Faculty also operates Kingston University Press.
Based at the Kingston Hill campus and incorporating the Kingston University Business School and Kingston Law School. The Faculty is home to almost 5,000 students.
The Faculty of Business and Law offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses as well as executive education in the five following groupings: Law, Accounting Finance and Banking, Informatics and Operations Management / Business, Information Technology, Leadership, Human Resources and Organisation and Strategy, Marketing and Entrepreneurship.
The faculty also offers PhD and DBA research degrees in addition to its MBA programme. The Business School was the first in the world to receive AMBA accreditation for its MBA, DBA and Masters in Business Management.[citation needed] Other accreditations include the Law Society, the Bar Council, CIMA, CIPD.