The Institute of Commonwealth Studies, founded in 1949, is the sole postgraduate academic institution in the United Kingdom devoted to the study of the Commonwealth. It is also home to the longest-running interdisciplinary and practice-oriented human rights MA programme in the UK. The institute is a national and international centre of excellence for policy-relevant research, research facilitation and teaching. As a member of the School of Advanced Study, established in 1994, the institute works with nine other prestigious postgraduate research institutes to offer academic opportunities across and between a wide range of subject fields in the humanities and social sciences. The institute's library is an international resource holding more than 190,000 volumes, with particularly impressive Caribbean, Southern African and Australian holdings and over 200 archival collections. Notable academics Shula Marks, lecturer from 1963 to 1976 Satyabrata Rai Chowdhuri, senior research fellow in international relations Krishnan Srinivasan, fellow from 2002 to 2008 Susan Williams, senior research fellow List of directors 1949–1957: Keith Hancock 1957–1965: Kenneth Robinson 1998–2000: Professor Pat Caplan September 2009–present: Professor Philip Murphy Notable alumni Richard Fell References External links Institute of Commonwealth Studies Commonwealth Studies Commonwealth Family Educational institutions established in 1949 Caribbean studies 1949 establishments in England Research institutes established in 1949