About The University
The University of Essex is one of the UK's leading academic institutions and has an international reputation for the quality of its research and teaching. The University has 18 departments spanning the Humanities, Social Sciences, Law and Management, and Science and Engineering. There are around 7,400 full-time students at the University with over 125 countries represented. In the most recent assessments, Essex was ranked in the top 10 UK universities for the quality of its research, with many of the departments rated 'outstanding' by international standards.
The University received its Royal Charter in 1965 and has been teaching and researching at its Colchester Campus since then. Recent years has seen the University extend beyond its main campus for the first time to merge with East 15 Acting School in Loughton in 2000, followed by the opening of a new campus in Southend in 2007.
The Colchester Campus, located two miles from the centre of Colchester, is set in over 200 acres of parkland, much of it landscaped in the eighteenth century. There is easy access to coast and countryside, including the area of outstanding natural beauty known as 'Constable Country', after the famous landscape artist John Constable, who painted many local scenes, including Wivenhoe Park itself. Visitors are able to take advantage of the facilities available at Wivenhoe House, the original focus for the park, which has now become the University's hotel and conference centre.
The Colchester Campus has shops, banks, cafès, bars and restaurants, and a wide selection of modern, purpose-built student accommodation. The University also boasts an excellent range of sporting and leisure facilities, including squash and tennis courts, grass and synthetic sports pitches, a climbing wall, a fitness gym, an eighteen-hole frisbee golf course, and a large multi-purpose sports hall. The arts are also well catered for at Essex, with the lakeside theatre and gallery offering an extensive programme of musical, artistic and dramatic events.
