University of Essex – A Perfect Guide

Home to curious minds and a place of creativity, innovation, and brilliance– the University of Essex is a powerhouse of excellent learning. This public research university began its journey of being a solid visionary in the educational field in 1964. At first, the university only housed 122 students, but over the next five decades, it nurtured curious minds from around the world. Today, students from over 140 countries can be found pursuing their dreams at Essex. Situated at Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom (UK) the University of Essex stands at #439 in QS World University Rankings while Times Higher Education (THE) ranks the university between 301–350th in World University Rankings 2022.

Infrastructure

The university is divided into three campuses which stretches across the culturally rich county of Essex:

1. Colchester campus

2. Southend- on- Sea campus

3. Loughton campus

The university has plenty of study facilities, including libraries and research labs.

Let’s take a quick look at how the university supports its students and allows them to learn and collaborate with others:

1. Albert Sloman library– Six floors full of resources, facing the beautiful parkland and lakes in the Colchester campus

2. The Forum– state-of-art academic and public library with more than 150,000 books on the Southend campus

3. STEM Centre– an exploratory learning space and wet lab for the Faculty of Science and Health

4. Robot arena– the global leader of robotics research facilities

5. Essex Law and Human Rights clinic– a place of practical exposure for students of law and human rights

6. Dental skills lab– present in the Southend campus for students to gain practice concerning oral health

7. Hospital ward– equipped to offer students a chance to hone their consultation experiences with hands-on experience in robotic patients

8. Translation lab– learning place for all interpreters to gain their expertise

9. Baby lab– to study the learning and development of the brain and bodies of babies and infants

10. Virtual trading lab– for students ambitious to learn the ABCs of trading and business worldwide

11. Centre for Brain Science– a center for students to track brain activity, understand eye movements, learn physiological responses

12. Sports therapy clinic– Sports therapy students can treat people suffering from musculoskeletal and sports injuries here

The university is also a hub for research, ready to challenge the status-quo norms and how one sees the world. The research areas offered by the university are:

1. Arts and Humanities– includes research in departments of History, Law, Philosophy, Art History, Acting, Human Rights, Literature, Film and Theatre studies

2. Science and Health– includes projects like Catalyst project, Liverpool Multi-Vector Energy Exchange, green exercise, peri-natal mental health, resilience, and delivery of HIV care in South Africa

3. Social Science– includes research in departments of Economics, Business, Government, Language and Linguistics, Psychoanalytic and Psychosocial Studies, Sociology, Social and Economic Research, and UK data archive

The medium of instruction at the University of Essex, UK,  is English.

Academic

Students aspiring to join the class of October 2022 can send in their undergraduate and postgraduate applications by August 1, 2022. However, the University of Essex admission process differs for both.

For an undergraduate course, a student needs to apply through UCAS. Follow these steps:

1. Apply through the UCAS Apply and Track Service

2. Pay the application fee

3. Fill out personal details, including educational qualifications and predicted grades

4. Attach a personal statement

5. Include an appropriate reference

6. Track the status of your application

7. Be mindful about the code– the University of Essex has a code of ESSEX E70. The code for Loughton and Southend Campus is L and S, respectively.

The university will review your application, post which you will either receive a conditional or unconditional offer. You can also receive an unsuccessful application status, and the university can withdraw the course choice too.

The admission process for postgraduate study differs a little.

1. If you are a current student, apply via the myEssex student portal. You may also receive an Alumni Loyalty tuition discount of up to 33%.

2. New students can also create an application on the myEssex applicant’s portal.

3. A PG number/unique reference code will be issued to you.

The university will then take about two weeks to respond to the application. You can download the offer from the portal within 24 hours.

Usually, about 30 days are offered to you to respond to the offer received.

You can find the University of Essex admission requirements on a specific course page, but these are general requirements for undergrad courses:

1. A-levels

2. T-levels

3. BTEC qualifications

4. CTEC qualifications

5. QAA-approved Access to HE Diplomas

6. International Baccalaureate Diploma and Certificates

7. Open University courses

8. Practicing professional qualifications

For a postgraduate degree course, the necessary documents needed are:

1. Personal statement

2. English language skills

3. Official transcripts of academic results

4. A copy of CV

5. Appropriate references

The University of Essex acceptance rate stands at 74%, as per EduRank.

The university has bifurcated the courses under the following subjects:

1. Accounting

2. Acting, producing, and stage management

3. Actuarial science

4. American (US) studies

5. Art history

6. Biochemistry

7. Biological sciences

8. Biomedical science

9. Business and management

10. Childhood studies

11. Computational finance

12. Computer science

13. Creative writing

14. Criminology

15. Data analytics

16. Drama

17. Economics

18. Engineering

19. English language

20. English language teaching

21. Entrepreneurship

22. Environment

23. European studies

24. Film studios

25. Finance and banking

26. Genetics

27. Global studies

28. Health and social care

29. History

30. Hospitality and events management

31. Human rights

32. Journalism

33. Latin American studies

34. Law

35. Liberal arts

36. Linguistics

37. Literature

38. Marine biology

39. Marketing

40. Mathematics

41. MBA

42. Modern languages

43. Nursing

44. Occupational therapy

45. Oral health sciences

46. Philosophy

47. Physiotherapy

48. Politics and international studies

49. Psychology

50. Psychology: applied and clinical

51. Psychosocial and psychoanalytic studies

52. Robotics

53. Social work

54. Sociology

55. Speech and language therapy

56. Sport and exercise

57. Sports therapy

58. Translation and interpreting

Here’s a breakdown of credit points required in undergraduate and postgraduate courses:

Essex has also gained considerable momentum and confidence in some of its top programs at a subject level. As per the Complete University Guide, the university’s top subjects are:

1. Drama, Dance, and Cinematics (3rd rank)

2. Creative Writing (12th rank)

3. Sport Science (13th)

4. Linguistics (14th rank)

5. Communication and Media

6. Politics

7. Sociology

Lastly, the critical dates for the academic year 2022-2023 are:

1. Autumn term: October 6, 2022-December 16, 2022

2. Spring term: January 16, 2022-March 24, 2023

3. Summer term: April 24, 2023-June 30, 2023

4. Graduation: To Be Announced

Extracurriculars and diversity

The University of Essex, UK, boasts of students from culturally diverse backgrounds, coming from over 140 nationalities.

About 40% of the student population comprises individuals belonging to Europe, Asia, North & South America, Australia, and Africa, while 25% of the teaching staff are from outside the UK.

However, the geographical location of half of Essex’s population isn’t the only thing that brings diversity and inclusion to the university. There is heartening support towards people from the LGBTQ+ communities and those practicing different beliefs and faith.

The university has seven different societies that a student can partake in and hone their skills or cultivate a hobby.

1. Activities: includes anime and manga, blockchain and cryptocurrency, bookish, chess, debating, Enactus, Essex entrepreneurs, game development, gym and fitness, origami, Ted X, self-improvement, study group, travel, video games, wellbeing, etc.

2. Arts: includes art history, theatre arts, arts and crafts, UoE photography, film, writing, makeup, musical theatre appreciation

3. Cultural: includes activities pertaining to different cultures like Arabic, Bengali, Malaysian, Malyali, Filipino, Chinese, Indian, Irish, Italian, Thai, Pakistani, Palestine solidarity, Russian, Spanish, etc.

4. Departmental: includes artificial intelligence, data science, economics, maths, literature, nursing, philosophy, politics, sociology, history, law, etc.

5. Musical: includes choir, music, show choir, DJ

6. Politics, and representation: include LGBTQ+, feminist, left, Kashmir solidarity, politics, Marxist, human rights, liberal democrat, a black social and political conservative, etc.

7. Religious: Sikh, Jewish, Hindu, Islamic, Catholic, Christian Union, First love communities, etc.

Career/professional

As per Graduate Outcomes 2021, 88% of the University of Essex graduates are either interested in further study or are satisfactorily employed.

The university has an excellent business connection with some of the best, most renowned names in the industry, like

1. Mondaq

2. Mersea Homes

3. Provide

4. Railscape

5. BT

6. Profusion Media

7. Sea-kit

The work opportunities during and after your course duration are also plenty. To give you an idea, here’s where your specific course may lead you!

The university offers many career services to support and help its students and their career. From one-on-one career advice to employment events and opportunities, Essex is always on the thoughtful front.

1. CareerHub: It is for students hunting for jobs or internships or is scouting for events and workshops to upskill themselves or for students who need a personal advisor.

2. Career Services Moodle Page: This page contains numerable blogs, videos, podcasts, links, and articles to help the students arm up with abundant resources.

3. Career mentoring program: Offers a minimum of 6-hours of contact with a seasoned professional for personal guidance, training, and support.

4. Funding opportunities: Essex goes a step further and offers to fund up to EUR 3,000 (~INR 3 Lakhs) under EIRA to support new and innovative start-ups.

Some of the notable alumni from the University of Essex are:

1. Oscar Arias: Ex-president of Costa Rica

2. David Yates: Film-maker

3. Christopher Pissarides: Winner of Nobel Prize for Economics, 2010

4. Brian Hanrahan: BBC correspondent

5. Nick Broomfield: Documentary film-maker

6. Douglas Oliver: Poet and novelist

Financial

Let’s take a quick look at the fee structure of some of the popular undergraduate and postgraduate courses at Essex:

Average living costs at the three campuses of the University are as follows:

Disclaimer! All course fees/salaries/expenses are indicative.

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4. Cambridge University Scholarships

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