[1] In current practice, it is an optional award, unique to King's College London, that students can study in addition to their degree proper.

In December 1833 the college's council established a committee to organise the disparate courses offered at King's.

As a result of this committee's report, the AKC was established by the college's council on 14 February 1834 as a three-year general course based on a core of divinity, mathematics, classics and English, with other options added in the second and third years.

[5] The 21st-century AKC offers a programme of inclusive, research-led lectures which allows students to explore diverse religious and cultural perspectives.

The AKC is at the heart of the College's commitment to an international, interdisciplinary, and innovative curriculum: it seeks to foster an understanding of different beliefs and cultures that can be taken into wider society.

The hood is of the "Cambridge shape" (MA), made of black poplin and edged, inside and out, with "one inch of mauve silk".

The gown resembles the classic MA design of the ancient universities with a few exceptions (e.g. it had a black button and cord at the back of the yoke).