King’s College and Cranfield hope to be stronger together in surprise merger

The announcement that King’s College London is to absorb Cranfield University came as a surprise but not a shock to England’s higher education leaders, who have been braced for sudden announcements about job cuts and course closures. But for staff and students at both institutions the news will have come as a shock, particularly at Cranfield, the smaller, highly focused postgraduate technology and management college that has its own airport. Like many other UK universities in recent years, Cranfield has suffered financially, buffeted by changes in funding, taxation and immigration. In 2024-25 it reported a deficit of £8m before tax, compared with a £29m surplus the year before, which it blamed on a significant decline in international student recruitment. Prof Dame Karen Holford, Cranfield’s vice-chancellor, said she expected the combined university to grow as a result of the merger, helped by a boost in international league tables from totalling up KCL and Cranfield’s research output. “There’s no doubt the higher education sector is facing enormous challenges, that’s for sure … it’s just been wave after wave of financial hits due to government policy,” Holford said, noting changes to the international student visa rules and higher national insurance staff costs. “At Cranfield we’re a postgraduate specialist institution, so we were hit very hard early on by the removal of [international students’] dependants visas, but we took action straight away. …