Strategy 2009-10 to 2013-14
Faculty Academic Strategy
Social Sciences
The Faculty of Social Sciences boasts an outstanding international
research reputation that places the University as the top university for
social sciences in the UK, as confirmed by the 2008 Research Assessment
Exercise, and in the top 100 in the world.
The Faculty will retain this position by:
- Maintaining its research strength and further growing research
income
- Increasing its collaborative research
- Improving its ranking in worldwide social science league tables
through improved communication, extending international networks, and
developing links with its international alumni
The
Faculty is already well placed to demonstrate the social and economic impact
of its work, in particular through the activities of the Institute for
Social and Economic Research, the UK Data Archive, the Centre for Research
in Economic Sociology and Innovation and the Essex Summer School in Social
Science Data Analysis.
The Faculty will develop these further by:
- Growing its consultancy and its work with professional bodies .
- Further developing external provision of training seminars and
methods courses, and continuing to give public lecturers.
- Engaging with cultural and social issues in the eastern region.
The Faculty delivers a broad range of taught and research programmes,
providing a quality educational experience. Students enjoy access to leading
specialists and research-led teaching ensures that all students benefit from
the latest developments.
The Faculty’s key objectives are to:
- Increase its focus on equipping students with key transferable
skills, whilst ensuring they graduate with a core knowledge base in
their subject area.
- Expand numbers of internships and other forms of work-based
experience and will seek to maintain its international presence by
establishing new overseas institutional links.
- Increase the numbers of students undertaking study abroad, develop
an internationally focused curriculum and respond rapidly to global
curriculum trends.
- Improve its ranking in the national student satisfaction league
tables to reflect the quality of its offering and continue to aim to
select the best students, irrespective of their background.
More information on the Faculty of
Social Sciences, its Departments and Centres.