King's College London

About the Programme

KURF enables students to take part in active research across a broad range of disciplines, with projects available in all Faculties and subject areas. The programme is open to all undergraduate students, including first-years, final-years, and international students. Each year, around 70% of successful Fellows are from underrepresented or Widening Participation backgrounds.

Participants work closely with academic supervisors on meaningful research tasks and, in many cases, contribute to long-term outputs.

Past Fellows have:

• Been named as co-authors on academic publications and papers
• Presented their work at national and international conferences
• Contributed to exhibitions and public engagement projects
• Participated in groundbreaking lab work and data analysis

Benefits of Participating

In addition to research experience, students receive:

• A bursary payment (£1,500 for full and part-time options; £750 for job-share)
• A certificate of participation and recognition on the Higher Education Achievement Record (HEAR)
• Evidence of transferable skills, useful for both academic and job applications
• Invitations to prestigious events, including the Posters in Parliament conference

“Having the chance to talk about my KURF project in Parliament was inspiring and a great motivator to keep on this research path. The meaningful chats I had with people from very diverse backgrounds about different aspects of my research interest have made me consider ideas I hadn’t thought before.”

— Andreea Barbinta, Neuroscience student

Read more about Posters in Parliament here.

 

Flexible Formats

To make the programme more accessible, KURF offers different ways to participate, depending on your availability:

• 150 hours over 4 weeks | Bursary: £1,500
• 150 hours over 4–8 weeks | Bursary: £1,500
• 75 hours | Bursary: £750

These formats are designed to accommodate students with work or caring responsibilities, whose testimonies evidence the effectiveness of flexible formats.

“I think having the part-time option was incredibly helpful. I was also working part-time alongside this, so having that option was inclusive and allowed me to continue working whilst committing to my research.”

“Without the job-share option, I wouldn’t have been able to take part. As a working-class student with no parental funding source, flexibility was essential.”

 

Academic and Supervisor Perspectives

Many academic supervisors have praised the quality of student contributions and the mutual benefits of the programme:

“KURF has been a great benefit to our research. We are now conducting a study based on the preparatory work done by our summer student. I’ve mentioned it at other universities as a good programme, so I hope King’s continues it.”

— Dr Neil Brown, Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences

“I was so impressed with the dedication and high quality of the work delivered by our KURF. The benefits worked both ways and I look forward to supporting more KURF students in the future.”

— Dr Joanna Davies, Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care

“This is one of my favourite programmes from King’s. It has allowed me to get excellent quality students, deliver additional publications, and explore ideas before subsequent funding applications.”

— Dr Martim Brandao, Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences

 

Recent Developments

In February 2025, King’s hosted the annual KURF Showcase, which featured panel discussions with academic staff and previous Fellows from across the university. The event offered insights into the research process, student achievements, and advice for new applicants.

Watch the KURF Showcase on KEATS

 

How to Apply

Applications are open now and close on Monday 22 April at 23:59. You can find full guidance and the application form on KEATS

 

Contact

If you have any questions, please email us at kurf@kcl.ac.uk