伦敦国王学院是伦敦大学联盟的创校学院之一,1829年由英王乔治四世和首相威灵顿公爵于伦敦泰晤士河畔精华地带所创建,国王学院与早前成立的大学学院-UCL联合发起创立了当今赫赫有名的伦敦大学;学院毕业生与教育职员中共有9名诺贝尔奖金获得者。 国王学院在英国的名声,是英国金三角名校和罗素大学集团的知名学院,培养出许多诺贝尔奖得主。
在英国政府2004年的RAE研究评鉴中,国王学院有24项学科获得满分5*或5分的评价。而根据2006年泰晤士优良大学的分科指南,国王学院的音乐、牙医、历史、美国研究、哲学与西洋古典学在全英国均排名前五名。
2007年泰晤士专上教育增刊(THES)的大学排名为全球第24与全欧第6。在泰晤士高等教育专刊的2008全球大学排名中,国王学院为全球第22位,英国第5。2005年《卫报》曾盛赞当时伦敦大学联盟四大学院(伦敦国王学院、伦敦政经学院、帝国理工学院和伦敦大学学院),誉其在英国学术声望可与牛津、剑桥相比拟。
King's College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (2010 QS international world rankings), The Sunday Times 'University of the Year 2010/11' and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led university based in the heart of London, King's has nearly 23,000 students (of whom more than 8,600 are graduate students) from nearly 140 countries, and some 5,500 employees. King's is in the second phase of a £1 billion redevelopment programme which is transforming its estate.
King's has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise for British universities, 23 departments were ranked in the top quartile of British universities; over half of our academic staff work in departments that are in the top 10 per cent in the UK in their field and can thus be classed as world leading. The College is in the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of nearly £450 million.