Centre for Computing in the Humanities

The Centre for Computing in the Humanities (CCH) is an academic department in the School of Arts and Humanities at King's College London with emphasis on research. The primary objective of the CCH is to study the possibilities of computing for arts and humanities scholarship and, in collaboration with local, national and international research partners across the disciplines, to design and build applications which implement these possibilities, in particular those which produce online research publications. CCH offers undergraduate modules and programmes at the MA and PhD levels, hosts seminars, conferences and colloquia, has an active programme for visiting fellows and welcomes collaboration of all kinds in the digital humanities.

CCH has a major commitment to research across the whole of range of arts and humanities disciplines. It both supports and benefits from the research excellence of the School of Arts and Humanities. At any one time CCH is engaged in over 30 major research projects, and since 2000 has been involved in generating over 17 million GBP in research income. All projects are approached strictly on the basis of research collaboration. Our research partners come not only from within the Schools of Arts and Humanities and Social Science and Public Policy at King's but also from a number of universities both within and outside the UK.

The exceptional stature of the department at home and abroad has been recognized officially in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). The panel judged 35% of our research to be 'world-leading' (4*) - the highest in the sector. 65% was judged to be 'world-leading' or 'internationally excellent' (3*). By any measure selected, CCH research is ranked either first or as equal second within its sector. The results also compare very favourably with the research excellence demonstrated across the School of Arts and Humanities as a whole, which has once again been ranked among the very best in the UK. In effect the assessment of the RAE confirms by the best standards available in the U.K. the scholarly and institutional worth of the department's founding vision.

CCH initiated the world's first PhD programme in Digital Humanities and is responsible for two Masters programmes in the subject: the MA in Digital Humanities and the MA in Digital Culture and Technology. The latter programme, which involves the Schools of Arts and Humanities, Social Science and Public Policy, Physical Sciences and Engineering, and Law, is the most inter-disciplinary programme in the College. From September 2009 CCH will be offering, jointly with the Centre for e-Research, a new MA in Digital Asset Management.

The department has about 40 staff, with three professors. Almost all the staff are involved in research projects, and many are involved in our teaching programmes at both postgraduate and undergraduate level. As a matter of policy we try to ensure that students at all levels benefit as much as possible from the varied richness of our research across the arts and humanities.

Digital Humanities is a relatively new field of research and teaching. It has a crucial role to play in the increasing relevance and use of advanced technology-related methods in arts and humanities research. Within this field, King's College London has a long tradition, going back to the early 1970s. CCH is proud to maintain and extend the tradition. It is widely recognised within the field as an international leader. King's is one of the few places in the world where students at all levels, including and perhaps especially PhD, can pursue a wide range of inter-disciplinary study involving the application of computing methods and tools in the arts and humanities.