International Students at Kingston Uni

Hey! Are you an International Student coming, or thinking of coming, to Kingston University? We can't wait to welcome you!

Here is some advice and information you may find useful:

Why Kingston?
Central London is close and easy to get to, but Kingston itself is a quiet, safe and affluent borough away from the noise and crowded streets of the city. We are proud to say we have students from 140 countries from around the world; Kingston is a truly multi-cultural university!

Academic English skills
Kingston University offers several courses to help develop your academic English language skills - click here for more information. Although it may seem like a lot to do, alongside your course studies, the skills you will learn here will eventually make your studies, assignments and exams so much easier!

Visa, CAS and immigration support
Click here for more information about the support Kingston Uni offers its international students when moving here. We also have a team of specialist and experienced international student advisers who can offer guidance with visa and immigration queries.

Any questions for us? Please reply to this thread and we will try to help :biggrin:

Student rep Daisy x

Reply 1

cwacaster

5

Hello – I am an exchange student from the US and will be at Kingston University for a full year. I am not understanding the examination period and how it works. At my college the exam period is only 1 week. Where can I find information that helps me understand what to expect. My family was also looking to visit and this will help us plan. These are the dates I have in my offer.
• Autumn Semester 25 September to 15 December
• Spring Semester 1 Jan to Mar 29
• Summer Period (including exam period) 15 April to 28 June.
• Exam period 22 April to 17 May

OP

Original post by cwacaster

Hello – I am an exchange student from the US and will be at Kingston University for a full year. I am not understanding the examination period and how it works. At my college the exam period is only 1 week. Where can I find information that helps me understand what to expect. My family was also looking to visit and this will help us plan. These are the dates I have in my offer.
• Autumn Semester 25 September to 15 December
• Spring Semester 1 Jan to Mar 29
• Summer Period (including exam period) 15 April to 28 June.
• Exam period 22 April to 17 May

Hi, @cwacaster!

In the UK, exam periods in general are longer and more dispersed, allowing time inbetween one examination and the next to study. For example, if you have four or so exams across all your modules, they could take place anywhere between 22nd April - 17th May. It's rare to only have one straight week of exams in UK universities.

What course are you planning on doing? I can hopefully guide you a bit more if I know the subject.

- Eve (Kingston Rep).

Reply 3

cwacaster

5

Original post by Kingston Reps

Hi, @cwacaster!

In the UK, exam periods in general are longer and more dispersed, allowing time inbetween one examination and the next to study. For example, if you have four or so exams across all your modules, they could take place anywhere between 22nd April - 17th May. It's rare to only have one straight week of exams in UK universities.

What course are you planning on doing? I can hopefully guide you a bit more if I know the subject.

- Eve (Kingston Rep).

AH!! thank you. here is what I have.
BB4205 Data and Design in Business
• Individual Portfolio: practical tasks throughout the year, no longer than 500 words each (80%)
• Group Design Project (500 words per student) (20%)
BB5109 Contemporary Project Management
• Group presentation (30%)
• In-class test (APMG exam-style AgilePM Foundation test) (40%)
• Management report: project plan utilising AgilePM (30%)
XB5067 British Life and culture (Fall Semester)
• 2 fieldtrip papers (1000 words each) (25% each)
• Research essay (2000 words) (50%)
BB5112 Business Decision Modelling (Spring semester)
• Portfolio of practical exercises (30%)
• Individual coursework: data analysis (70%)
BS4206 Design Thinking
• Portfolio of evidence to support and reflect on the process followed in identifying organisational challenges – 2000 words (60%)
• Presentation (5 mins) (20%)
• Entries into ePortfolio tool – 600 words (20%)
BS4207 Global Business Environment
• 1,200-word report (40%)
• Portfolio of reviews of case studies – 1,800 words (60%)

OP

Original post by cwacaster

AH!! thank you. here is what I have.
BB4205 Data and Design in Business
• Individual Portfolio: practical tasks throughout the year, no longer than 500 words each (80%)
• Group Design Project (500 words per student) (20%)
BB5109 Contemporary Project Management
• Group presentation (30%)
• In-class test (APMG exam-style AgilePM Foundation test) (40%)
• Management report: project plan utilising AgilePM (30%)
XB5067 British Life and culture (Fall Semester)
• 2 fieldtrip papers (1000 words each) (25% each)
• Research essay (2000 words) (50%)
BB5112 Business Decision Modelling (Spring semester)
• Portfolio of practical exercises (30%)
• Individual coursework: data analysis (70%)
BS4206 Design Thinking
• Portfolio of evidence to support and reflect on the process followed in identifying organisational challenges – 2000 words (60%)
• Presentation (5 mins) (20%)
• Entries into ePortfolio tool – 600 words (20%)
BS4207 Global Business Environment
• 1,200-word report (40%)
• Portfolio of reviews of case studies – 1,800 words (60%)

Thanks, @cwacaster!

At Kingston, there's two main examination periods - usually one in mid to late November/early December near the end of the Autumn Semester (formative), and then the main one from 22nd April - 17th May during the Summer Semester (summative). Exams don't have to take place during any particular week like your college seems to, but do tend to take place around these general periods of time. (E.g. most of your modules will likely have a formative assessment period towards the end of the calendar year, and then a summative assessment period in the early summer). Unfortunately, it's impossible for me to give you exact dates for these exams, as they've probably not even been decided yet!

I know it must be a little bit of a foreign concept to have such long examination periods - but trust me, you'll be grateful for all the extra prep time!

In terms of your family visiting you, I'd avoid the two main examination periods. Maybe look at the middle of the Autumn Semester or the Spring Semester?

- Eve (Kingston Rep).

Reply 5

20000nly

2

Hello, I'm thinking about applying for the Graphic Design course MA, I am curious about whether I can see more students' work online apart from the works on the course webpage, thank you!

OP

Original post by 20000nly

Hello, I'm thinking about applying for the Graphic Design course MA, I am curious about whether I can see more students' work online apart from the works on the course webpage, thank you!

Hey @20000nly!

I'm including a link to the online 2023 Kingston School of Art degree show - whilst it's not specifically Graphic Design orientated, it gives a good idea of the design potential and output of the school as a whole.
https://ksashow.kingston.ac.uk/

If you're interested specifically in Graphic Design at KU, one of the best ways to see student work is through some of the course Instagram pages. I've had a look myself, and included a few handles for you to have a look at:
@ksa_graphicdesign
@kingstongraphicdesign
@ksagraphic

Hope this was helpful - if you need anymore help, just drop us a reply!

- Eve (Kingston Rep).

Reply 7

20000nly

2

Hi, thanks for the reply, Eve!!!
However, I think these works are from the BA course rather than MA.

- Winnie

OP

Original post by 20000nly

Hi, thanks for the reply, Eve!!!
However, I think these works are from the BA course rather than MA.

- Winnie

Hey @20000nly!

Oddly enough, it's difficult to find work for specifically the MA rather than just from the department as a whole - however, here's a link from 2020 when the MA course was under a slightly different name, which displays some of the profiles and work of students who undertook it a few years back:
https://www.createbritain.com/Profiles/kingstonschoolofart2/Lists/ma-communication-design-graphic-design

- Eve (Kingston Rep).

Reply 9

20000nly

2

Original post by Kingston Reps

Hey @20000nly!

Oddly enough, it's difficult to find work for specifically the MA rather than just from the department as a whole - however, here's a link from 2020 when the MA course was under a slightly different name, which displays some of the profiles and work of students who undertook it a few years back:
https://www.createbritain.com/Profiles/kingstonschoolofart2/Lists/ma-communication-design-graphic-design

- Eve (Kingston Rep).

Thank you so much!!!

Reply 10

MayCheng1027

Hello,
I'm thinking about applying 2024 Curating Contemporary Design(MA) course. I'd like to know more about entry requirements. Apart from BA degree equivalent qualification and English language requirements, is there any other requirements for applying the course? Because I only found these two on the website.
Looking for your reply, thank you!

Reply 11

lcwacaster

1

Original post by Kingston Reps

Hey! Are you an International Student coming, or thinking of coming, to Kingston University? We can't wait to welcome you!

Here is some advice and information you may find useful:

Why Kingston?
Central London is close and easy to get to, but Kingston itself is a quiet, safe and affluent borough away from the noise and crowded streets of the city. We are proud to say we have students from 140 countries from around the world; Kingston is a truly multi-cultural university!

Academic English skills
Kingston University offers several courses to help develop your academic English language skills - click here for more information. Although it may seem like a lot to do, alongside your course studies, the skills you will learn here will eventually make your studies, assignments and exams so much easier!

Visa, CAS and immigration support
Click here for more information about the support Kingston Uni offers its international students when moving here. We also have a team of specialist and experienced international student advisers who can offer guidance with visa and immigration queries.

Any questions for us? Please reply to this thread and we will try to help :biggrin:

Student rep Daisy x

Hi, I am an international student and I am trying to gain access to Handshake in order to find on-campus jobs. In order to do this it sent a confirmation email to the email address KU provided me, but I am unable to access this email! I tried logging into it via Microsoft Outlook several times in several ways to no avail. I'm worried I may be missing other important communication from the University, any help would be greatly appreciated!

OP

Original post by lcwacaster

Hi, I am an international student and I am trying to gain access to Handshake in order to find on-campus jobs. In order to do this it sent a confirmation email to the email address KU provided me, but I am unable to access this email! I tried logging into it via Microsoft Outlook several times in several ways to no avail. I'm worried I may be missing other important communication from the University, any help would be greatly appreciated!

Hey @lcwacaster!

Typically, university email accounts for students aren't fully set up until the enrolment process is complete, as we still can't be sure which students will start their courses and which ones might have to unexpectedly pull out last minute.

Any important communications regarding starting at KU in the coming weeks should be sent to the email address you provided at the application/UCAS stage, so don't worry about missing out on anything. :smile:

- Eve (Kingston Rep.)

OP

Hi, @MayCheng1027!

Great to see you're interested in studying here at Kingston! I've checked the course page myself, and don't see any other requirements in regards to applying to the course - if there was anything else, it would be listed, so it should just be those two. :biggrin:

If you have any more questions, just drop me a response.

- Eve (Kingston Rep).

Reply 14

lcwacaster

1

Original post by Kingston Reps

Hey @lcwacaster!

Typically, university email accounts for students aren't fully set up until the enrolment process is complete, as we still can't be sure which students will start their courses and which ones might have to unexpectedly pull out last minute.

Any important communications regarding starting at KU in the coming weeks should be sent to the email address you provided at the application/UCAS stage, so don't worry about missing out on anything. :smile:

- Eve (Kingston Rep.)

Hi, thanks for getting back to me! I am more interested in gaining access to this email in order to get my Handshake profile set up and start applying for on campus jobs ASAP! Is there another way to accomplish this?

OP

Original post by lcwacaster

Hi, thanks for getting back to me! I am more interested in gaining access to this email in order to get my Handshake profile set up and start applying for on campus jobs ASAP! Is there another way to accomplish this?

Hi,

Your best bet is probably to email Kingston University's Careers and Employability service on [email protected] and explain your situation. They'd be in the best position to give you some advice on how to set up a Handshake profile and get a headstart at applying to on-campus jobs - but keep in mind that you may need to be officially enrolled as a student before student jobs become available to you.

- Eve (Kingston Rep).

Reply 16

MayCheng1027

Original post by Kingston Reps

Hi, @MayCheng1027!

Great to see you're interested in studying here at Kingston! I've checked the course page myself, and don't see any other requirements in regards to applying to the course - if there was anything else, it would be listed, so it should just be those two. :biggrin:

If you have any more questions, just drop me a response.

- Eve (Kingston Rep).

Hi, Eve

Thanks for your quickly reply!
I still have some questions.
1. I wonder the percentage of international students in this course.
2. Is there any website that I can see some students works of this course?

Looking forward to your reply, thank you!

- May

OP

Original post by MayCheng1027

Hi, Eve

Thanks for your quickly reply!
I still have some questions.
1. I wonder the percentage of international students in this course.
2. Is there any website that I can see some students works of this course?

Looking forward to your reply, thank you!

- May

Hey @MayCheng1027!

1. Whilst I'm unable to access the information to tell you the exact percentage of international students on this course, I am able to give you a better idea of how many international students undertake PG courses in general at KU. In terms of fee status, in 2022/2023 there were 1590 Home/EU students on PG Taught courses, and 3080 overseas students - so nearly double the amount of international fee-paying students than home students. Usually international students do outnumber home students on PG courses - so with the Curating Contemporary Design (MA)'s average class size of 15-20 students, you would maybe expect half or so to be international students. Obviously, figures like this can drastically change year upon year depending on who applies, but it gives you a rough idea if that helps. If you still want an exact figure, however, I'd recommend contacting the course director listed on the course page, as they'd have a much better understanding of their own course demographics.

2. The course does have an Instagram page, which displays a lot of student work and visits - https://www.instagram.com/curatingdesign/?hl=en, or @curatingdesign on Instagram. It's also a really good jumping off point for looking into things further, as it gives you names/details of past exhibitions which you can look up.

Once again - any more questions, get back to me. :smile:

- Eve (Kingston Rep).

Reply 18

MayCheng1027