ABOUT US
Home to the curious, brave and bold
We’re a university where curiosity prevails, and where exploring new ways of thinking and pushing boundaries, isn’t just encouraged, it’s expected.
We were named University of the Year at the Times Higher Education Awards 2018 for our determination to do things differently and put student success at the centre of everything we do.
We’re proud to be gold rated in the Teaching Excellence Framework 2017 and we're in the top 25 for research quality in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide. This year we were also in the top 15 for the seventh year running in the National Student Survey for overall student satisfaction (2019, overall student satisfaction, English mainstream universities*).
We're committed to two things: excellence in teaching and excellence in research. We put student success at the heart of our mission, supporting every student from every background to achieve outstanding outcomes; preparing our students to thrive in their future lives.
Our mission
Excellence in education and research, for the benefit of individuals and communities
Our vision for 2025
We will put student success at the heart of our mission, supporting every student from every background to achieve outstanding outcomes; preparing our students to thrive in their future lives and nurturing our community of educators to support and promote student success.
Our research will continue to focus on asking difficult questions, challenging conventional wisdom, tackling with rigour the questions that matter for people and communities and putting ideas into action to improve people’s lives.
In 2025 we will be recognised nationally (top 25 Times Good University Guide) and globally (top 200 Times Higher Education World Rankings) for the quality and impact of our transformational education and for the international excellence and world-leading quality, scale and impact of our research.
We will nurture and celebrate our shared commitment to social action, supporting every person in our University community to realise the potential of their Essex Spirit through their contribution to our shared mission.
We will have grown the University, enabling us to offer transformational education to about 20,000 students, to achieve transformational research through a community of about 1,000 researchers, to extend the knowledge base by investing in new disciplines that meet the needs of our time and to ensure the financial sustainability of the University.
