University of Essex

The University of Essex is one of the UK's leading academic institutions, rated ninth nationally in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (December 2008) for research excellence. Many of our departments, schools and centres enjoy world-renowned reputations, meaning our teaching and research is information by leading, world-class academics.

We have around 11,000 students, studying at three campuses across Essex. Our academic departments span the humanities, social sciences, science and engineering, and law and management. Essex is also one of the UK's most internationally diverse campus institutions, with students and staff drawn from 130 countries.

Academic excellence

The most recent Research Assessment Exercise (which saw Essex rated ninth in the UK) also re-confirmed our place as the UK's leading university for the social sciences, with politics and sociology top in the UK, economics third and linguistics fourth.

Essex also scored strongly in other fields, featuring in the UK's top ten in more than half our 14 submitted subject areas. This includes being second in the UK for history and for Essex Business School (accounting and finance subject area), ninth for art history and tenth for philosophy.

Studying at Essex

We offer a wide range of taught Masters courses and research opportunities. Our Masters courses allow you to explore your chosen subject in depth, reaching a high level of specialist knowledge in a short time, while our research students work at the heart of our internationally-acknowledged and well-connected research community.

Most of our departments are large by British standards and all are strongly committed to research:

• Biological Sciences
• Computer Science and Electronic Engineering
• East 15 Acting School
• Economics
• Essex Business School
• Government
• Health and Human Sciences
• History
• Institute for Social and Economic Research
• International Academy
• Language and Linguistics
• Law
• Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies
• Mathematical Sciences
• Philosophy and Art History
• Psychology
• Sociology
• UK Data Archive

There are also a number of renowned centres and institutes at Essex, including:

• Centre for Computational Finance and Economic Agents
• Human Rights Centre
• Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies

Living and learning at Essex

Our Colchester Campus is just two miles from the town centre and set in over 200 acres of beautiful parkland. All teaching buildings can be found on site, along with shops, a well-equipped library, extensive computing laboratories, excellent sporting facilities (including a gym and 40 acres of pitches) and an active Students' Union. Our theatre shows regular professional and student productions, and a full programme of musical events, while our art gallery holds regular exhibitions. When taking a break from studies, students can relax in our numerous cafés and restaurants, bars or nightclub on campus.

Colchester is the perfect town for students. It has an excellent variety of shops, cafés, bars and restaurants to visit. There is also a multi-screen cinema, theatres, art galleries, museums and further leisure facilities, including a swimming pool.

Our Southend Campus offers a purpose-built, high-quality teaching and research environment in the heart of Southend-on-Sea. We combine state-of-the-art teaching facilities, including an IT lab, open study area, rehearsal studios, medical skills lab and Students' Union, with a business hub and retail units.

Being located in the town centre means that shops, cafes, transport hubs and other amenities are right on your doorstep. Seven miles of coastline, an array of leisure and cultural activities, and only 50 minutes to London by makes Southend a great destination for postgraduate study.

Our Loughton Campus, located near London, is the base for students on many East 15 Acting School courses. East 15 has been training actors for almost 50 years and is one of the UK's most innovative acting schools.

Accommodation

We provide a range of accommodation, ensuring that you quickly feel at home and have the necessary facilities and support to make the most of your studies. If you are a new postgraduate applying to either our Colchester or Southend Campus, you will normally be offered a single room in our University-provided accommodation, providing your application and pre-payment is returned by the published closing date.

All our accommodation is modern and purpose-built, with the majority situated on or close to our campuses. University-provided accommodation consists of single study-bedrooms, grouped in self-contained flats of varying sizes with communal kitchen-dining facilities. All residences are self-catered, offering independence and the change to cook with your new flatmates. All our accommodation is networked, so you can use your computer to access the Internet and University network from your room, free of charge.

Location

Our Colchester and Southend campuses are around an hour by train to London and there are excellent road and rail links across the south east. Stansted airport, which offers many budget flights to Europe, is less than an hour away both campuses, Southend airport is just three miles from our Southend Campus, while Harwich ferry port can be reached in 30 minutes from Colchester.

Our Loughton Campus is just five minutes from the nearest London Underground station, Debden, on the east end of the Central Line.

Employability at Essex

We equip you to make informed future career choices and succeed in entering your chosen field. Our Employability and Careers Centre provides opportunities to develop your employability through work experience, volunteering, internships and placements, as well as careers advice and guidance, and opportunities to meet graduate employers.

Visiting the University of Essex

We hold a number of postgraduate open days throughout the year. For more information, and to book a place, please visit: www.essex.ac.uk/opendays.

Our postgraduate open days allow you to:

• meet academic representatives from all departments to answer subject-specific question;
• speak to staff from our Graduate Admissions Office about applying for postgraduate study; and
• take a guided tour of our Colchester Campus with a current Essex student.

We welcome visits from prospective postgraduates throughout the year, so if you are unable to attend our next open day, please contact us on telephone: +44 (0)1206 872719 or e-mail: scl@essex.ac.uk.

If you would like to have an informal discussion about your application, then please contact the relevant school/department directly.

For further details about studying at Essex, please contact us:

T: +44 (0)1206 872719
E: pgadmit@essex.ac.uk

Social media links

• Find us on Facebook
• Follow us on twitter
• View our photo gallery
• Watch our videos