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Study In UK << Universities << University of Essex

University of Essex

The University of Essex, based at Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, received its Royal Charter in 1965. It 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 17 departments spanning the Humanities, Social Sciences and Science and Engineering.

There are currently around 9,100 students at the University, 25% of these within the Graduate School. The University is an international community with students from more than 125 countries. In recent assessments Essex has regularly ranked among the top twelve UK universities for the quality of its research, with many of its departments rated as 'outstanding' by international standards.

Over 200 acres of attractive parkland, much of it landscaped in the eighteenth century, provides the setting for the University's Colchester campus. 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 close knit Colchester campus has shops, banks and restaurants, and the University is able to offer accommodation to a high proportion of its students. As part of its excellent range of sporting and leisure facilities - all on the campus - the University boasts four squash courts, fitness gym, climbing wall and an eighteen-hole frisbee golf course. The Arts are also well catered for at Essex - there is a University Theatre, an Exhibition Gallery, and an extensive programme of musical and dramatic events.

Teaching and Research

The University of Essex has enjoyed an enviable international reputation for the high quality of its research for many years. This was supported by the results of the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise which awarded 11 out of 15 departments the highest grade of 5 or 5-star, with seven departments improving on their grade from the 1996 assessment. The exercise showed that 99% of the academic staff at Essex work in departments awarded ratings of '4' or '5', placing the University 10th in the national research league tables. Essex is now the top-ranked university in the UK for social science research, with only Essex obtaining the maximum 5-star grade for its Sociology, Government and Economics Departments.

In recent Teaching Quality Assessments those departments tested all demonstrated the high standard of their teaching. The University was rated among the very best for its teaching with an average score of 22.5 out of 24 for departments assessed up to the end of 2001. In particular, Economics, Electronic Systems Engineering, Government, Philosophy and Sports Science obtained the highest possible mark of 24 points.

Essex is also considered to be one of Britain's leading 'social science' universities, housing three major Economic and Social Research Council funded projects:
- The Data Archive (the largest depository of computer retrievable information outside the USA).
- The Institute for Social and Economic Research.
- Qualidata - the Qualitative Data Service.
Essex is a member of the 1994 Group of internationally recognised, research-led British universities.

Teaching Quality Assessments

The University was rated among the very best for its teaching with an average score of 22.5 out of 24 for departments assessed up to the end of 2001. In particular, Economics, Electronic Systems Engineering, Government, Philosophy and Sports Science obtained the highest possible mark of 24 points

Links with Industry and Commerce

The University's links with industry are co-ordinated by the Research and Business Development Office which provides the following services:

Technology Auditing: Research activities of individual departments are audited to help pinpoint and develop ideas with commercial potential.
Intellectual Property Rights: All University patents are held within and exploited by Wivenhoe Technology Limited, a University owned company.
Links with Industry: Links are continuously being made with industry to secure funding for research and student sponsorship, and to introduce University inventions to the commercial market.