The University of Essex received its Royal Charter in 1965. 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 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. Famous alumni include Dr Oscar Arias, former president of Costa Rica and a Nobel prize winner, and Dr Rodolfo Neri Vela, the Mexican astronaut.
The main campus is two miles from the centre of Colchester, which is Britain’s oldest recorded town. Today it has 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 Southed campus offers a city-centre but seaside location.
Academic strengths
Essex is one of the UK's leading academic institutions, ranked eighth nationally for teaching (Sunday Times 2008) and tenth for research. Accounting, finance and management, economics, electronics, history of art, history, law, linguistics, politics, sociology and psychology were all rated 5 or 5* in the last Research Assessment Exercise. Other popular subjects are biological sciences, computer science and literature, all rated as 4.
Many Essex undergraduate degrees offer flexibility and choice, enabling first-year students to combine core modules of their subject with options in other subjects.
A pre-degree Bridging Year caters for good overseas high-school leavers who need a foundation course before their 3-year degree scheme and, alternatively for these students, there is a suite of 4-year degrees with the option of a 3-year fast track route for students who perform strongly in the first year. Most departments have one-year taught master’s degrees and all supervise PhD students. Scholarships are awarded annually to outstanding new postgraduate research students.
Facilities
On the Colchester campus, self-catering single rooms, with the option of en-suite facilities, are guaranteed to overseas students for their whole period of study at rents from around £62 per week. All have an internet connection.
Central open access laboratories on campus provide over 400 Pentium PCs, all available seven days of the week, with over 100 accessible 24 hours a day.
The library has long opening hours (84 per week in term time) and stocks over 910,000 volumes, including 3,800 current periodicals.
There are two banks and a post office on campus, as well as many different catering outlets and a launderette.
Student life
The Students’ Union provides both academic support and entertainment with over 100 clubs and societies including an International Student Association. There is a Multi-Faith Chaplaincy Centre and worship facilities on campus.
Support services include airport pick-ups, pre-sessional English classes and an orientation programme, free in-session language classes, a campus health centre, day nursery, international careers advice (two dedicated International Student Careers Advisers) and a JobShop to help find part-time work.
The on-campus Sports Centre provides a gym, indoor climbing wall and facilities and teams for more than 30 different sports. The University has its own nearby sailing club.
