University of Essex

The University of Essex is a public research university in Essex, England. It was established in 1963, welcomed its first students in 1964 and received its royal charter in 1965. Essex is a plate glass university, a group of universities which were established in the 1960s. Essex's motto, 'Thought the harder, heart the keener', is adapted from the Anglo-Saxon poem The Battle of Maldon.

Essex's largest campus is the Colchester Campus within Wivenhoe Park, less than a mile from Wivenhoe and two miles from Colchester. There is also a campus in Southend-on-Sea and East 15 Acting School is based at the Loughton Campus. Essex has 19 academic partnerships in the UK and around the world. UK partnerships include University of Essex Online with Kaplan Open Learning; Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust and University of Essex International College. International partnerships include a franchise arrangement with Kaplan Singapore and double and dual degrees with several universities in Europe and Asia. This includes a double degree with Northwest University in Xi'an approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education.

Essex is one of eight young universities which are part of the Young Universities for the Future of Europe alliance, which was selected by the European Commission to create one of the first European Universities, cross-border alliances of higher education institutions created to promote staff and student mobility. Essex is also a founding partner of the Young European Research Universities network. Essex was named University of the Year at the Times Higher Education Awards in 2018.

Faculties

Faculty of Humanities

• Department of History
• Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies
• Acting School
• Hotel School
• School of Philosophy and Art History
• School of Law

Faculty of Science and Health

• School of Biological Sciences
• School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering
• School of Health and Social Care
• Department of Mathematical Sciences
• Department of Psychology
• School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Science

Faculty of Social Sciences

• Department of Economics
• Department of Government
• Department of Language and Linguistics
• Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies
• Department of Sociology
• Essex Business School
• Institute for Social and Economic Research

Student life

The university has a very large population of international students, with over 4,300 students from outside the UK in 2017–18. Statistics from the Higher Education Statistics Agency show 95% of UK undergraduates are from state schools or colleges and 11.8% are from low participation neighborhoods.

Essex has an international character with 132 countries represented in its student body. The Times Higher Education World Rankings placed Essex joint 15th for the highest percentage of international students with 44.3% of students coming from outside the UK. Essex is also in the top 20 for 'international outlook' in these rankings – this indicator measures the proportion of staff and students from outside the UK alongside international collaboration on research.

Accommodation

They offer a variety of exciting and comfortable accommodation, from studios to single en suite rooms and retro Towers to Townhouses, to suit all budgets.

Want the bustling center of campus on your doorstep? Or just a quiet spot? Take your pick. Make yourself at home and get a glimpse of what they have to offer.

They are a member of Universities UK and comply with the Student Accommodation Code of Practice (SAC) for the management of student housing.

The SAC sets out the main elements of good management practice of student housing within the UK.

It protects your rights to:

• A healthy, safe environment
• Timely repairs and maintenance
• A clean, pleasant living environment
• A formal, contractual relationship with your landlord
• Access to health and wellbeing services
• A living environment free from anti-social behaviour

Rankings

National rankings

• Complete (2021)                                       41
• Guardian (2021)                                        85
• Times / Sunday Times (2021)                 40

Global rankings

• ARWU (2020)                                             501–600
• QS (2021)                                                   411
• THE (2021)                                                  301–350

British Government assessment

• Teaching Excellence Framework              Gold