University of Essex

HISTORY: A bid to create a university in Essex was first made in 1959 and the fully fledged University of Essex opened in 1964 backed by donors such as Sir Winston Churchill. In 2005 the University formed a partnership with the University of East Anglia to develop the University Campus Suffolk in Ipswich which offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees validated by both Essex University and UAE. Essex University is particularly well known for its teachings in the Social Sciences i.e: Economics, Political Science and Sociology. Business studies is another area of specialism.

LOCATION: All student residences at Colchester and Southend are either on campus or a 2 minute walk away. There is no university student accommodation at Loughton. In addition to student residences, the main Colchester campus provides shops, banks, a theatre and houses 16 academic departments and schools. The Colchester campus is located within Wivenhoe Park, 4 miles to the south of Colchester town. The Southend campus is home to the Essex Business School, the centre for Education and Social Care, the School of Health and Human Sciences and the Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies. University Square is the location for student accommodation, the sports centre, the Clifftown theatre and studios and the Albert Slothman Library which houses the Sigmund Freud collection of books and documents. The Southend campus is situated within Southend town centre. The Loughton site is the location for the University of Essex, East 15 Acting School, Theatre and Studio.

RANKING: University of Essex is currently ranked between 301-350th in the Times Higher Education rankings. Essex is ranked between 401-500th in the Shanghai Tong Jaio rankings. Essex is not a member of the Russell group of universities.University of Essex is ranked 105th in the National Student Survey Satisfaction rankings.

INTERNATIONAL: 2011 figures for international students studying at Essex University reported 4235, coming from 132 countries worldwide representing approximately 28% of all students.

SIZE: Latest figures indicate around 13,000 students in total, across the three campuses, of which 10,700 are undergraduates and 2,490 are postgraduates.

EMPLOYMENT: HESA govt statistics show that 94.1% of Essex graduates are in employment or in further education 6 months after graduation. However, a breakdown of post-graduation employment by course, showing the split into professional/managerial positions, rather than general employment figures, is available from Unistats an independent source of university data. For more information, please visit the REF Information page.

FACILITIES: There are currently 165 clubs and societies offered at the University covering the arts, sport, politics, culture and music. The Southend campus is home to the University Sports and fitness centre as well as Essex Business School and the Forum Student Centre. Southend is a busy seaside town, popular with holiday makers in the summer months. As well as water sports and a theatre there are museums, galleries, nightclubs, bars and restaurants. The Colchester campus at Wivenhoe is set in 40 acres of parkland and historic woodland. It is close to the seaside towns of Clacton and Frinton. Colchester offers theatre and musical events, nightlife, museums and art galleries.

ACCOMMODATION: All first year undergraduates are guaranteed accommodation in university owned purpose built residences mainly comprising self-catered flats of between 6 and 13 rooms with varying bathroom/kitchen facilities. Accommodation contracts are normally of 39 weeks duration for undergraduates and 50 weeks for postgraduates.The lowest price for a single room with shared bathroom and kitchen facilities is £105.21 per week.There is no catered university accommodation.

COST:

International students

International undergraduate tuition fees: Fees for full time undergraduate courses start at £16,850 for most courses including; Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences subjects. Laboratory based subjects including; Biological Sciences & Psychology are charged at £19,080 and Computer Science and Electronic Engineering costs £19,670.

SUBJECT AREAS: REF (Research Excellence Framework) was an independent government review conducted into the quality of research at UK universities and published in December 2014. This information highlights subjects of specialism within each university. We have listed all subject areas where at least 60% of the research conducted in these specific fields has been graded 3 or 4 stars. (4 stars being the highest ranking REF award). For more information, please visit the REF Information page.

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