(Summer) Time of your life

Summer has started in London and the temperatures this week are reaching 29 degrees. The Undergraduate Summer School will start next week and everyone in our team is working hard to make sure that you will have an unforgettable experience at King’s. By now, you probably have mixed feelings; excitement, worry, enthusiasm and a lot of other emotions. Some of you are travelling alone, some are coming from far away and some are leaving your countries for the first time. But you are not alone, we can guarantee that most of your fellow students are feeling the same way and you will see that once you get here and meet them.

This is a fantastic opportunity to learn from the academics of one of the top universities in the world, expand your knowledge in the subject area that you have chosen and experience the British education system. It is also a chance to explore London, meet people from other countries, get exposed to other cultures and get out of your comfort zone.

Studying abroad is a way to get inspired and to think about what you would like to do in the future. Most people who experienced studying or living abroad are likely to repeat the experience. It can have an impact on your future and certainly in your outlook on the world.

Remember that not everyone has this opportunity; to meet people from other backgrounds, cultures and countries, so make the most out of it!

Why not to take the first step to meet someone? If at any point you feel lonely, insecure or scared just get in touch with someone in our team and we will be here for you.

Now review your packing checklist, do some research about your subject and get ready to fly in to London.

Final Call for our Undergraduate Summer Programmes

The application deadline to the Undergraduate Summer School is fast approaching. This summer we are offering 30 different modules in subject areas such as health and science, mathematics and engineering, law, governance, business management, culture and ancient languages. These modules will either be running in session one (2 – 20 July 2018) or session two (23 July – 10 August 2018).

In addition to the Undergraduate Summer School, we also offer short courses during the summer in health, sciences and engineering. If you want to explore the fields of obstetrics, gynaecology and paediatrics as potential career choices, you can join our Summer School in Women’s Health and Child Health running from 23 July to 3 August 2018.

This year, we are launching a Summer School in Software Performance Engineering for current Computer Science students interested in understanding its concepts and ideas, and wanting to apply them in practice to their own software development efforts. It will run from 2 – 13 July 2018 and is taught by King’s academics and industry professionals.

All applications must be submitted online by 31 May 2018. If you have any enquiries, please contact us by email at summer@kcl.ac.uk or call us on +44 (0)20 78481533.

All about the Law

Deciding what course to take at university is no easy task. That’s why studying a Pre-University Taster course in Law may help students with their decision-making process.

Most students will choose law because they are interested in pursuing a career in the legal profession. Law is a demanding course and training places for solicitors and barristers are highly competitive and limited. However, for those with the right aptitudes and motivation, the rewards of a legal career can be great, both in terms of salary levels and personal development. Unfortunately, getting into the legal profession is very challenging; so many students do need to consider other options.

Happily, not only will a law degree provide you with access to a variety of legal careers, it will also give you an excellent springboard into a wide range of other professions. More than half of all the graduate jobs do not require any particular degree and a good Law degree will allow you to present plenty of important skills to future employers.

Through your analysis of case studies and other work on this course, you will become highly skilled in researching and assimilating large amounts of information and complex data. These are important skills in a vast range of professions in commerce and industry. You will develop very strong oral and written communications skills, which are needed by all employers these days. You will learn to approach tasks in a clear, reasoned and logical way, and you will become an effective problem solver.

This course will run in from 6 – 9 August 2018. For more information, please check our website, or email us at summer@kcl.ac.uk.

 

 

The Human Body

Anatomy and human physiology degrees are for those who are fascinated by the science of medicine. The Pre-University Summer School is offering a new course this year called the Human Body where you can learn about the structure of the body and how it functions.

You will gain an understanding of the cause, diagnosis and treatment of different diseases, and how they affect different parts of the body. You will also learn how these systems adapt to the different characteristics of hostile environments, such as temperature extremes, mountain altitudes, airplane cabins, space microgravity conditions, and future habitats on the Moon and Mars.

At the end of this course, you will walk away with excellent knowledge of how the body works, and relevant knowledge to support future study in the field of biomedical and life sciences.

The course will be running in both session one (9 – 20 July 2018) and session two (23 July – 3 August 2018). The application deadline is 15 May 2018, and early application is advised. For more information, please check our website.

When you enrolled on the Pre-University Summer School , you can download the King’s mobile app which provides information about summer accommodation, social and sports activities, advice and tips on your stay in London, as well as FAQs. This app will help you in your student journey and will allow you to have offline access to all pre-arrival information.

Understanding the human mind

The Pre-University Summer School is a unique academic and social experience designed for high school students who are enrolled in their final two years of study. If you are interested in Psychology and related subjects, you can study a summer school course where youwill be encouraged to adopt problem-based learning to see how insights from research can be applied to real world issues. With the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience being one of the world’s leading centres for interdisciplinary research in psychiatry and psychology, this programme can provide you with a valuable insight into this field of study.

Whatever career you pursue, a background in psychology will enhance your employability. Studying psychology can…

…help you understand yourself and other people by learning about aspects of human behaviour that will help you in daily life, including your interactions with others, your learning and memory performance, your ability to cope with pressure and your understanding of the causes of psychological disorders.

…complement other learning by combining Psychology with other subject areas. Many subject areas in arts and social sciences, benefit from an understanding of human behaviour, be it social interaction, language and communication, human motivation and emotion, or the process of decision-making. Moreover, knowledge about brain function and behaviour is of considerable benefit to students studying other science degrees.

…develop sound analytical skills through the application of scientific method. Psychology is a science. The defining feature of any science is the objective approach that is used to advance our knowledge. In psychology we use this scientific approach to learn about behaviour and mental life. Psychology provides an excellent training in analytical thinking and scientific research methods that are applicable to a broad range of careers.

A testimonial from a previous psychology student, Francesca Giombini, who expresses her thoughts on the programme- “I loved spending my summer at Kings and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone. These two weeks went above and beyond my expectations both academically and socially!”

The course will be running in both session one (9 – 20 July 2018) and session two (23 July – 3 August 2018). The application deadline is 15 May 2018, and early application is advised. For more information, please check our website.

Culture, Literature, Art, Film and More!

What better way to explore the vibrant city of London than to take a summer course highlighting its role in the arts, literature, media and film. Here is an overview of the culture modules offered by the King’s Undergraduate Summer School;

London & Film
This course is intended to introduce you to some significant debates within British film studies through a focus on London as a cinematic city, the divergent spaces of London, and capital’s relationship to film genres. Films that are screened across this module will explore both the tribulations of fictional Londoners, but also focus on its real-life inhabitants that have dually shaped and contributed to London’s own big-screen history.

Media, Gender & Culture   
Taught by the Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries, this module is intended to give you the opportunity to undertake specialist learning in media, gender and contemporary culture. Taking full advantage of our location in central London, the class will visit many of the capital’s foremost cultural institutes and you will have the opportunity to meet with insiders from the media and cultural industries.

Museum of London: Curating the City
This module looks at the social, economic, and political history of London in the twentieth century by closely examining the various collections held at and the varied types of work carried out by museum curators. It is taught onsite at the Department of English and at the Museum of London with supervised access to museum artefacts and resources.

Wonderland: 100 Years of Children’s Literature
This course is intended to give you the opportunity, as an undergraduate student studying English Literature and/or History, to explore 100 years of children’s literature. The module will be taught by the Department of English, and will include a strong creative component where you will be given the chance to devise, and perform, your own children’s stories.

Jane Austen’s England 
This module examines Jane Austen’s life and work within the context of her time and in relation to her contemporaries. It will also explore Austen’s place within literary history, as well as locating her work and her world in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries by comparing and contrasting the original texts with TV and film adaptations, sequels and textual transformations at the hands of modern directors and writers.

Literature in the City   
This module will examine the relationship between urban space and narrative representation in three European cities: London, Dublin, and Berlin.Students will be encouraged to use a combination of political, social, and literary theory to navigate literal and figurative cityscapes, through class discussion, short assignments, and exercises in urban rambling.

Theatrical London 
This module will be taught by the Department of English, and will examine London’s diverse and vibrant scene from its historic development to contemporary performance in the city and through this examination introduces theories and vocabulary used to analyse actors, audiences and architecture, the key components of theatre making.

Session one of the King’s Undergraduate Summer School runs from 2 – 20 July 2018 and session two runs from 23 July to 10 August 2018. All applications must be submitted online by 31 May 2018. More information about the academic content can be found on this webpage. All the best with your application and we hope to see you in London this summer.

Undergraduate Summer School Modules in Maths and Engineering

Applications are now open for our Undergraduate Summer School in Maths and Engineering.

In Session One (2 – 20 July 2018) we will be running the Applied Maths: Understanding Engineering through Numbers module. This module is aimed at university students who are keen to improve and strengthen their knowledge of applied mathematics. The focus of this module will be on the application of mathematical methods to a variety of real-world problems from physics and mechanics. Previous mathematical and physics education will be expected. The course will be taught by Dr Jordi Alastruey-Arimon and Dr Peter Charlton from the Biomedical Engineering Department here at King’s.

Dr Peter Charlton explained his insight into the course: “The Applied Maths module provides an introduction to the mathematical techniques which are used to solve engineering problems. Students are given opportunity to put the techniques into practice by tackling real-world engineering problems, including a special focus on clinically-relevant problems in the field of biomedical engineering.”

In Session Two (23 July – 10 August 2018) you will have the opportunity to study Engineering: Creating Technologies that Help People. During this module you will engage in a project which aims to deliver a technical solutions to a challenging task, set by local community groups and NGOs working in sustainable development projects. You’ll learn how to undertake these projects, from the initial planning stages to the delivery of an appropriate sustainable solution, whilst learning to manage your time and resources. Dr Jamie Barras from the King’s Department of Informatics will be teaching this module. He has recently written an article about the module for our SummerTimes blog, which you can read here.

These modules are often taken for credit towards degrees at other institutions, and are examined to university standards. To receive credit for King’s summer classes, contact your home institution to ask them to award external credit.

You can submit an application for the Undergraduate Summer School now, and will have until 31 May 2018 to do so. If you have any questions about the programme please email us at summer@kcl.ac.uk. Alternatively, follow us on FacebookTwitter or Instagram for up to date information about the Summer Programmes Team.

 

A Short Summer Course in Software Performance Engineering

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Software engineering is a scientific, systematic approach to the development of computer software, operating systems and programs. This module is designed to be practical to ensure that you do not only understand the concepts and ideas, but are ready to apply them in practice to your own software development efforts. Based on real-world industrial case studies, you will study three aspects of software performance engineering (SPE).

The course will be lectured by Dr Steffen Zschaler, a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, along with Mr Malcom Lees who is an IT Consultant and Performance Engineering Practitioner with over 40 years working with numerous well-known global organisations and brands.

If you’re considering applying to the programme please note that applicants should be current Computer Science students who have completed at least one year of study by the time they attend the Summer School. Accommodation is available if required for an additional cost. To book accommodation for the Summer School in Software Performance Engineering, please do so via the estore.

Running from 2- 13 July 2018, this programme will be led by King’s College London. All applications must be submitted online by 31 May 2018. More information about the academic content can be found on this webpage. Alternatively you can contact us by email at summer@kcl.ac.uk or call the office during opening hours. All the best with your application and we hope to see you in July.

 

Summer School in Women’s Health and Child Health

Untitled design (1)Applications are now open for our Summer School in Women’s Health and Child Health. This intensive course intends to give medical students the opportunity to explore the fields of obstetrics, gynaecology and paediatrics for two or three weeks this July.

The Summer School in Women’s Health and Child Health Summer School runs from 16th July until 3 August 2018 and the two week Summer School in Women’s Health runs from 23 July until 3 August 2018.

The many practical sessions, which can include an examination or child birth simulation, as well as interactions with consultants, junior doctors, nurses, therapists and families, allow students to experience what it is like to work in pioneering health and research centres, whilst considering these fields as a potential career choice. A student from our 2017 Summer School said this about the programme, ‘A great way to network with other medical students from around the world, share experiences and acquire a bank of new knowledge that will aid you throughout your career in Medicine’.

If you’re considering applying to the programme please note that applicants should be current medical students who have completed at least one year of medical study by the time they attend the Summer School. You have until 31 May 2018 to submit your application, which you can do so here. Accommodation is also available for the programme if needed and can be booked via the estore.

Summer@King’s Scholarships

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If you’re interested in studying in London with us this summer, you may be pleased to know that we are offering a number of Summer@King’s Scholarships to our programmes. We are looking for candidates across all our programmes, who are passionate about learning, thinking and communicating.

For the 2018 Undergraduate Summer School there will be 8 tuition fee scholarships available. These scholarships will cover the tuition for one session on the programme, which costs £1,500.

There will be 10 tuition fee scholarships available to those wishing to study on the Pre-University Summer School in 2018. These scholarships will cover the tuition fee of £1,800. For Pre-University Taster students there are also scholarships on offer. There will be 10 tuition fee scholarships available and these will cover the £300 tuition fee.

All applicants need to apply for the programme in the usual way and must fulfil our standard academic criteria. For the guidelines on our available scholarships please visit our dedicated Summer@King’s Scholarships webpage. You have until 1 April 2018 to submit an application. Good luck!