Teaching and Research

King's not only welcomes brilliant and enquiring students, but also nurtures young academics and teachers of the future – providing time, space and the environment for our brightest young thinkers to flourish.

Funding in this area helps maintain the supervision system, the great strength of the teaching system at Cambridge, whilst allowing academics of all levels to produce world-class research alongside their teaching commitments.

To me King’s was one long, invigorating conversation

- Zadie Smith (KC 1994)

 


 

Research Fellowships

Research Fellowships support gifted young researchers, usually for four year terms. They are generally appointed within two years of the award of a doctorate, and give the holders an opportunity to establish their career before moving on to become academics, teachers and independent researchers.

Research Fellows enjoy the freedom to carry out their chosen research projects within the academic environment of the College and the University departments. At any given time there can be up to 16 Research Fellows, and we usually make four new appointments each year – two in sciences and two in the arts and humanities.

Previous Research Fellows have gone on to enjoy long and extraordinary careers in academia and beyond, with many remaining at King's for decades beyond their initial post had expired. Among these are: Nick Jardine (JRF from 67-71), Atta-ur-Rahman (69-73), Tony Judt (72-76), Caroline Elam (72-76), John Forrester (76-80), Iain Fenlon (76-79), Michael Akam (78-82), George Efstathiou (80-84), Harriet Guest (81-85), Robin Osborne (82-86), Simon Goldhill (82-86), Barbara Goff (86-90), Hamid Sabourian (86-89), Sarah Lummis (87-91), James Laidlaw (89-92), Fay Dowker (90-96), Geoff Moggridge (92-95), Rosanna Omitowuju (96-00), Lucy Delap (02-07), and Perveez Mody (01-09).


 

Supporting our Research Fellows

At present, only two of our sixteen Research Fellows are funded through ring-fenced philanthropic donations, with one of these Fellowships funded only for a single four-year term.

Whilst we have no ambitions to fund all of our Research Fellowships through philanthropic giving, our ambition is to fund four of these positions through donations to the College, i.e. one new Research Fellow each year, in a range of disciplines. One of these Research Fellowships will be created as part of the Turing Initiative, for researchers working in the fields of computer science, biotechnology, mathematics and mathematical biology, and the history and politics of gender and sexuality.

The cost of a Research Fellow to the College stands at £40,000 per year for a non-residential Fellow, and £45,000 for a Fellow living in College accommodation. £30,000 of this acts as an annual stipend, with a further £10,000 available for associated costs. As a result, one four-year term at an average of £42,500 can be funded for £170,000.

Of course, it is naturally our ambition to secure long-term funding in order to endow these positions in perpetuity. An endowment of £1,269,000 will fully fund one Research Fellowship, and of course brings with it the right of the donor to name the Fellowship.

It is the education experienced by exceptional undergraduate and graduate students and delivered by a remarkable Fellowship – in these noble buildings, on this site right at the heart of the town, right at the heart of a great University - that continues to nurture intellects and imaginative artists who leave lasting marks on the world.

- Professor Michael Proctor

 


 

College Teaching Officers (CTOs)

Most of the College Fellows who direct studies or supervise undergraduates also hold University posts (lectureships, readerships, professorships). In financial terms, this means that the University pays the major proportion of their salaries, although the College pays for supervisions.

Most Colleges also employ some College Teaching Officers (CTOs) – whose salaries are paid entirely by the College – to supervise and direct studies in subjects where demand exceeds the supply of academics within University positions. These CTOs also bring their expertise to some of the other roles (for example, Tutor and Admissions Tutor) that are essential to the working of the College as a residential community offering pastoral as well as academic support.

CTOs are also appointed to a Bye-Fellowship at King’s, which confers a number of benefits, including dining rights and membership of the Universities Superannuation Scheme.
 


 

Supporting our CTOs

King's currently has only one CTO, in English, but would like to appoint a total of three - an additional one in Economics and another as part of the Turing Initiative, for academics working in the fields of computer science, biotechnology, mathematics and mathematical biology, and the history and politics of gender and sexuality.

The cost of each CTO to the College stands at £72,500 per year, or an endowed cost of £2,239,000 for these positions to be maintained in perpetuity.

Undergraduate teaching is fundamental to the life and purpose of the College. We hope that this Fund will help King’s continue to provide teaching of the highest standard, enabling students to do as well as they possibly can.

- Adrian Suggett (KC 1985)

College Research Associates (CRAs)

College Research Associates (CRAs) greatly enhance the research strengths of the College. They are postdoc researchers already employed by the University, and who take an active role within the College, including the communication of research and interacting with the Fellowship and graduate students. The College appoints up to six College Research Associates each year for two years and would like to sustain and grow this programme.

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Our £100 million fundraising campaign to radically transform access to a Cambridge education for socially and economically disadvantaged students.
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We must be able to recruit and support the world’s best minds by offering the necessary funding that our extraordinary candidates deserve.
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As well as preserving many rare treasures, the Library and Archives together serve the needs of students and senior members of the College.
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The Alan Turing Programme pays homage to this profound thinker and King's alumnus.

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