Academic Information

Level of courses

Courses are numbered according to a University of Essex scheme and are not necessarily equivalent to the numbering schemes in American or other universities and colleges. In choosing courses, you should be guided by the year of study in which the course is offered to British degree students, rather than the reference number of the course. The course code indicates which year of study an Essex degree student would take the course in. For instance, a course code might be AR254-6-FY. The number between the hyphens indicates that this is a third-year course. A four indicates a first-year course, a 5 indicates a second-year course, and a 6 indicates a third-year course. (The first number of a course code does not signify anything about the level of the course.) Bear in mind that most bachelors degrees in the UK are of three years' duration. In general, second- and third-year courses will qualify as upper division. First-year courses should be regarded as lower-division.

Courses with a '7' in the middle of the course code (for example, AC336-7-FY) are postgraduate courses and as such are only available to postgraduate students.

The course code also reveals when the course is taught: FY = full year, AU = Autumn Term, SP = Spring Term. In many cases, students who are at Essex for only part of the year can take the relevant portions of full year courses.

If you have queries about the suitability of a particular course or level of courses, the Study Abroad Office will be happy to give advice.

Availability of courses

The hard copy and on-line Course Catalogue list the courses which the University regularly provides. Most of the courses listed are available every year as they form a permanent part of particular undergraduate degree programmes. Some courses may be unavailable in a given year for various reasons, such as those affecting staff – leave of absence, resignation, or new appointments. Up-to-date information is available from the Study Abroad Office. If we have to withdraw a course for which you have applied, we will suggest alternative courses to you. If the availability of a particular course is essential to your plans, please enquire specifically about its availability when you apply.

Please note that some business courses are taught on the Southend campus, and it is not possible for students studying at Colchester to take courses at Southend because of the distance involved. Students are also not able to take courses listed under 'Business and Management Training' because they are one-day courses which are not credit-bearing and which are intended for staff.

Pre-requisites

Many courses can be taken by all students, but in some cases we require evidence of previous study of the subject or of a related subject. The pre-requisites are referred to in the course descriptions in the on-line catalogue. If you are in doubt about your eligibility for a course for which there are pre-requisites, please include brief details of your previous study when you apply. If a department considers that you are not eligible for enrolment for a course they will suggest alternative courses for which you would be eligible.

The academic year at Essex

The academic year is divided into three terms of ten weeks as follows:

• Autumn Term: October to December
• Spring Term: January to March
• Summer Term: April to June

Full details of dates of terms can be found by looking at the University calendar. There is no teaching in the Summer Term; it is used for revision and examinations. The exam period begins in early/mid-May and ends in the first week of June. Although term extends until the end of June, students are permitted to leave as soon as their exams are completed. This means that some students may be finished by the middle of May. It is understood that some students must return home for summer jobs or summer sessions at their home universities, but other students prefer to remain until the end of term as there are many social events on campus such as the Summer Ball. Students also use the campus as a convenient base for travelling around the UK or Europe. Please note that students electing to leave early will remain responsible for accommodation charges till the end of the term.

Teaching methods

The methods used in teaching the courses vary; some are taught by lectures and classes, others by seminars, others involve laboratory or practical work. Seminars and classes are normally tutorial groups of no more than 20 students. The period of each individual session is usually one hour though some courses have 90-minute or two-hour classes. A typical Humanities first-year course would consist each week of a one-hour lecture to the whole group which would then divide into sections of fifteen--twenty students, each of which would have a one-hour tutorial during the same week. Students are required to undertake a significant quantity of independent study in addition to time in class.

Methods of assessment

The following information highlights the various methods used by departments in the University to assess work included in the grading for their courses. It should be noted that in addition to this work, students may be required to produce seminar, class, or discussion papers, or laboratory results.

Departments of Art History and Theory, Government, History, Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies, Philosophy, and Sociology:
Each year-long course is normally assessed by written essays (usually three per course) and a three-hour ‘closed’ examination at the end of the year. The weighting of coursework to examination performance is usually 50:50. Each term-long course is also assessed by coursework and closed examination, the weighting being 50:50. In the case of theatre or creative writing courses there are often practical elements of assessment.

Department of Biological Sciences:
Most courses are assessed by written examinations, incorporating multiple choice (First Year courses only) and short- and long-answer questions, which account for 67% of the assessment. The remaining 33% is assessed from laboratory/field work and/or coursework.

School of Computer and Electronic Engineering and Department of Mathematical Sciences:
Assessment is by a combination of written examination, coursework and (except for Mathematics), laboratory work. The proportions vary, but the written examinations normally account for the major proportion of the overall mark.

Department of Economics:
The first-year courses are assessed by written assignments and tests which account for 50% of the assessment. The remaining 50% of the assessment is a ‘closed’ three-hour examination.

The core second-year courses (EC201 and EC202) are assessed by coursework (assignments and tests) and a ‘closed’ three-hour examination at the end of the year. The final mark is a weighted average of the coursework and the examination mark or the examination mark alone, whichever is higher. The weights are 25% coursework and 75% examination. Other second-year courses (optional modules) are assessed by a term paper and a one-and-a-half-hour examination at the end of the year. The final mark is an average of the term paper mark and the examination mark or the examination mark alone, whichever is higher.

Third-year courses (modules) are assessed by a closed one-and-a-half-hour examination at the end of the year and an optional term paper. If the term paper mark exceeds the examination mark, the final mark is an average of the two. Otherwise the final mark is the examination mark alone.

Essex Business School:
Courses are assessed by coursework assignments during the year and a three-hour ‘closed’ examination at the end of the year. Some third-year courses may use a term paper instead of or in addition to the ‘closed’ examination.

Department of Health and Human Sciences:
Assessment methods vary depending upon the type of course.

Department of Language and Linguistics:
Each course is assessed by coursework (50%) and either a ‘closed’ examination (50%). Coursework may include essays, exercises or tests. Language examination will normally include a language laboratory examination and may also include an oral examination.

School of Law:
Each course is assessed by a three-hour examination (usually weighted at 75%) taken during the Summer Term and two essays.

Music courses at Colchester Institute:
Assessment is arranged on an individual basis depending on the course requirements of the student.

Department of Psychology:
First-year courses are assessed 50% by coursework in the form of reports or end of term tests and 50% by end of year examinations. Second and third-year courses are assessed on written essays, practical lab reports and end of year examinations.

Studio Art courses at Colchester Institute:
Assessment is arranged on an individual basis depending on the course requirements of the student.

Part-year students

Study Abroad students are assessed in the same way as Essex degree students on each course. However, there are certain modifications for part-year students (that is, students who leave in December or who arrive in January).

All the examinations at Essex are held in May/June—even for courses which are taught wholly in the Autumn Term. This means that students leaving in December will need to undertake some additional assessment in place of the examination. In some departments this takes the form of a special examination in the last week of term, but in other departments there will be an additional essay, or an essay that is longer than normal.

Students arriving in January sit examinations at the usual time, but of course where students have joined full-year courses part way through, they will sit shorter examinations that do not include material from the Autumn Term.

Credits and Grades

Students must take the equivalent of a full load for a British student.
On average the total US-style credits for a full year’s work would be 32. A student at Essex for only the Autumn Term will normally obtain 12 credits. A student at Essex for the Spring and Summer Terms will obtain 16--20 credits.
In most cases, a student should be taking four courses per term. This could comprise four full-year courses, four half-courses each term, or a combination of full-year and half-courses, so long as at any given time a student is enrolled for four courses.

NB students who are registered for the Spring/Summer Terms or for the full year do not have the option of absenting themselves from exams for fewer credits.

There are a small number of courses with unusual credit weightings but most conform to the table above.

Transfer of Credits and Grades

In January (for December leavers) and July, marks are ratified by an Examination Board largely consisting of Deans. After the Board, a transcript of results will automatically be sent to each student and also to each student’s home university. There is a similar process in April for students leaving in March in order to commence the new academic year in Japan.

Of course, policy on the transfer of credits and grades is a matter for each student’s home institution, but the following table is a guide to the translation of marks.