University of Essex

Overview

The University of Essex was granted a Royal Charter in 1965 and has since developed into one of the UK’s leading academic institutions with an international reputation for the quality of its research and teaching, particularly in the social sciences. With a main campus in Colchester, a second campus in Southend and the East 15 Acting School in Loughton, all less than one hour's journey time from central London, it is now a friendly and informal campus university with a lively international community from over 120 countries.
The main University of Essex campus was conceived as a university town and incorporates teaching buildings, student accommodation, shops, banks, an art gallery, the Lakeside Theatre, bars, cafés and sports facilities. The campus is set in extensive landscaped parkland and offers a safe and attractive environment.
Today the campus boasts shops, cafes, museums, galleries, a theatre, leisure centre and multiscreen cinema. It has excellent transport links to London Stansted Airport and the ferry port of Harwich. The separate East 15 Acting School is nearer London at Loughton (which has a Central Line Tube station) and the newly established Southend campus offers a city-centre but seaside location.

Courses

Course Finder

Ranking

The University of Essex was ranked 10th out of 136 UK universities in the last Research Assessment (RAE), with many of its departments rated as 'outstanding' by international standards.
The University of Essex was ranked 7th in the UK in the latest Teaching Assessment by the QAA, with many departments scoring 24/24.
The University of Essex is a Leading Social Science university. Only the University of Essex obtained the maximum 5-star grade for its Sociology, Government and Economics Departments. Government and Sociology have since been given 6* grade.

Services for International Students

Contact the University of Essex International Office for support: University of Essex International Office

Accommodation

University of Essex-owned accommodation is guaranteed for all international students for duration of study (as long as application received by deadline).
The University of Essex has a range of accommodation suited to a variety of needs all within walking distance of the academic departments and campus facilities. Every flat has self-catering facilities, including microwave oven and freezers and each room has a telephone with free internal service and a connection point with access to the internet and university networks without further charge.

Campus

The University of Essex’s largest campus is based in beautiful parkland at Colchester, the UK’s 3rd safest town according to official surveys. The University of Essex has a further state-of-the-art campus at Southend (the safest town!) and also incorporates the East 15 Acting school based at Loughton. All three campuses are less than one hour from London.The main campus is two miles from the centre of Colchester, which is Britain’s oldest recorded town.

Health centre

The University of Essex has a full range of on-campus health facilities with doctors, nurses and dentists. All students have full access to the health centre and all health care fees are fully covered by the National Health Service for full time students.

Location

The University of Essex’s Colchester campus is set in 200 acres of parkland on the outskirts of Colchester with good road (A12), rail (Colchester main line station, 40 minutes from London) and airport links (Stansted airport). The port of Harwich is also nearby.
The Southend campus is accessed from the High Street in a new multi-million pound campus.
The Loughton campus is a five-minute walk from the nearest London Underground station, Debden, at the east end of the Central Line, 35 minutes from Liverpool Street station.
URL: www.essex.ac.uk