Welcome
Welcome to all our new students. Whichever country you’re coming from, and whatever you’ll be studying -
thank you for choosing Essex, and becoming a member of our University community.
An Essex education means excellence: you'll have the experience of a lifetime in living and learning,
with research-led teaching by our world-class academics, at one of the UK’s top ten universities for research
excellence. We have a friendly, welcoming student community, with more than 130 nationalities represented across the University,
and the full range of student activities, clubs and societies awaits you.
We hope you find all the Welcome information useful. Look out for this symbol
which will appear next to
information that has been amended or updated.
Welcome!
Main arrivals dates are:
- Colchester Campus - Sunday 29 September 2013*
- Southend Campus - Sunday 15, 22, 29 September and 6 October 2013*
- Loughton Campus - Monday 23 September 2013
*For School of Health and Human Sciences students at our Southend and Colchester Campuses, and East 15 students at Southend,
this depends on your degree course, and the School will notify you.
Find out more about Southend Campus arrival times.
Welcome, too, to other students arriving at different times throughout the academic year, especially during January or later in the spring term,
such as for pre-sessional courses, or if you're coming to Essex as part of your home university overseas programme of study. We hope you find all these
webpages useful, to help you prepare for when you leave, and settle when you get here.
Don't forget to Register this week!
Once you're here you must of course complete your Registration process by visiting our Registration teams in
person in the Sports Hall (located within the Sports Centre) at our Colchester Campus, or The Gateway Building at our Southend Campus.
Times and dates allocated to for your department are in
Your First Week (.pdf) booklet
for Colchester Campus students, and on the Southend Campus events webpage
for Southend Campus students. Our teams will process your Registration as quickly as possible and you can also collect other useful documentation and
ask about timetabling and IT services. If you have any queries the Registration webpages may help.
If, due to circumstances beyond your control, you can't arrive in order to attend Welcome events and Register at your alloted time,
we permit late registration starting from the second week of term – but only as an emergency measure. Please
contact registry@essex.ac.uk if you think this might apply to you.
Register online and in person at the health centre
If you're a new student coming to our Colchester Campus on Sunday, and have not yet completed your pre-registration for our University Health Centre,
please do so now! You must also attend the Health Centre in person on your arrival to complete your
registration process with them. You can find it near the North Towers - it's a single-story brick building (pictured, right).
Signing-up quickly might just help you avoid getting freshers' flu!
Any questions? Ask a peer mentor!
Most new undergraduate students have questions about starting at university. Why not ask your peer mentor – a
student in their second or third year of study – who you can talk to, e-mail and ask any questions you may have?
Most departments automatically allocate a peer mentor to new students. If you’re not sure who your peer mentor is,
please contact your department or e-mail: peermentor@essex.ac.uk and we’ll help.
New students who've taken up this opportunity have said they really appreciated having a peer to talk to,
and would recommend it to others. You might like peer mentoring so much that you’ll want to attend the training
to become a mentor in your second or third year! Find out more about peer mentoring at the University of Essex.
During Welcome Week, choose your adventure!
Make sure you explore all the Welcome webpages fully before you get here, so you can start building your first week's timetable. For new students
coming to our Colchester Campus that includes the main Welcome Talk (Monday), the International Welcome Talk (Monday), Departmental Welcome Events
(throughout the week), and lots of other non-compulsory activites like the Postgrad Mixer, Choose Your Adventure, Just Play, and Freshers' Fair.
Read full details on the Colchester Campus Events page and the
Departmental Events page.
Support to help you get settled
You're bound to have many more questions now you've arrived for Welcome Week, and potentially throughout your first term. During Welcome Week, there will be lots of student helpers
and staff around to help you. But, if you have any kind of issue or problem that may require further assistance, don't worry - there are a number of services offering support to help you and
a good place to start is by taking a look at these pages:
How will you prepare for your studies?
From day one of your lectures and seminars we want you to achieve the very best in your studies at Essex; and that means understanding the
transition from A-level and similar levels of study - to getting ready for degree-level. Use any spare time you have during Welcome Week wisely; such as
finding out more about how the University Skills Centres at our Colchester Campus
or our Southend Campus can help you. Such as with numeracy,
academic literacy, library research, IT, one-to-one advice, online resources, courses and workshops.
Please complete your employability audit
We’re asking all new students to complete a quick, online audit of your current skills, experience and other things,
such as any volunteering you may have done. Don't worry – this isn’t a test and there are no right or wrong answers!
It’s just a useful snapshot so you can follow your Essex journey and build on your experiences throughout.
The online audit takes no more than five minutes to complete, and at the end we'll give you some great feedback
and a tailored checklist you can download, save and print – and remember to bring your checklist with you
when you arrive at Essex. It has loads of practical advice and things you can do from day one here that will help you gain experience,
develop crucial skills and ultimately make yourself more employable. Plus, you’ll be entered into a prize draw to win an iPad.
So don’t delay, do your online audit today!
FAQs: there's no such thing as a silly question
We've compiled lots of questions that previous Essex students have asked us in the lead-up to arriving at the University to
start their studies. From pre-registration confusion, when to arrive and where, to reading list queries and module mishaps -
it's ok to ask us anything you need to! But first, why not take a look at to see whether a fellow student has already
asked it?
Log-in, password and pre-registration
This is now live. Once you've been formally accepted as student, you can do the first part of your registration process online,
called pre-registration, which means you can get your University of Essex log-in and password details, then upload a photo,
provide us with your contact details, and register for your University e-mail and IT account.
Get-ready videos for international students
You've got your place as a new student from outside the UK , EU or EEA - so now it's time to 'Get Ready for Essex!'
These useful new videos for students coming to our Colchester and Southend Campuses give you all the information you need to prepare for your journey,
including visa and travel arrangements, and help you get settled once you've arrived. Make sure you view yours with audio switched on
and show it to your family and friends! The video for students coming to our Loughton Campuses will be online soon - watch this space!
International and Essex Abroad students - essential information
If you're coming from outside the UK or EU as an international student or as part of our Essex Abroad programme, make sure you have all the correct documents you will need to enter the UK
and study at the University of Essex. This includes a valid passport and visa. Full information and guidance on what you need to do, plus contact details if you need help,
feature on our international students pre-arrival guidance page. Please read all this guidance carefully, and the other links below.
If you'll be studying at Essex as part of an overseas study programme from your home university, our Essex Abroad team will be your 'umbrella' department for the duration of your time at Essex.
Please read the information for new Colchester Campus students and see the full welcome programme for all Essex Abroad
students on the departmental welcome events page - select 'Essex Abroad' on the drop-down menu.
Please read everything we send you!
We will be sending you useful information by post and e-mail, and updating this website regularly.
Make sure you read all the information to be prepared for when you arrive and so you know which
essential events to attend, such as the main Welcome Talk and your departmental Welcome Event...
and don't forget to watch the videos!
Which campus?
Whenever you arrive at your chosen campus, you will be made to feel welcome and part of the University community. Each campus is different, so make sure you,
and your parents or other adults, read all information about the campus where you'll be studying so you can enjoy all it has to offer.
Students with disabilities – please get in touch
If you have a disability, we would encourage you to contact our disability service before you arrive at our University -
please see our opening times in the leaflet attached below. This is particularly important if you have complex support needs.
You will need to provide supporting evidence of your condition, such as a doctor’s letter, medical report or a diagnostic assessment,
and together we can plan how best to support you in your studies. Get in touch with us today by telephone: 01206 872365 or by e-mail:
disab@essex.ac.uk. You can also
find out more about disability support on our webpages.
Order essential items before you leave
Before you leave home you can pre-order household goods and other essential items online such as bedding,
pots and pans, safe UK electricity adaptors, meal plans, and sports membership. Items will be delivered to your study bedroom, so that means less luggage for
you, and everything you need will be here when you arrive. This offer is open to all new and returning students coming to our Colchester and Southend Campuses.
Visit the Your Essentials online shop. This service is also
available to returning students.
Bookmark our Students' Union online
Welcome Week is all about making sure you get settled into your new home and University life, so you're well-prepared and ready to start your academic studies.
But living and learning at Essex means making the most of your spare time, too. And there's no better place to start than by looking at the many
exciting and varied social events offered through the week by our Students' Union at our Colchester, Southend and Loughton Campuses. Essex has one of the top Students' Unions
in the UK, and alongside social events, clubs and societies, the union offers a vast range of other opportunities and services to our students - from volunteering to advice.
Read our students' blogs
If you'd like to know more about what it's really like to study at Essex before you get here, follow our student bloggers
to get a first-hand insight into their experiences of studying and living at the University of Essex. Our bloggers write about their experiences at Essex, but they will also tell
you more about what they have been getting up to outside of University and other interests.
Join your Welcome page on Facebook
'Like' our University of Essex Welcome Facebook page
'Like' our University Square, Southend Campus Facebook page
'Like' our East 15 Acting School, Loughton Campus Facebook page
'Like' our Students' Union Facebook page