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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 are determined to do things differently and put student success at the centre of everything we do.

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 determination to make a difference in society means we’re ranked 76th in the global Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, which ranked more than 1,400 universities around the world.

Making an impact through our research is at the heart of our University. We're in the UK top 10 for research quality in four subjects (Grade Point Average, REF2021) and in the UK top 10 for research power in five subjects (Times Higher Education 2022). Find out more about our REF2021 performance.

We are open about our aims and how we want to achieve them. Our strategy sets out our ambitions for 2025. On these pages you'll find more on our plans, our finance, our senior team and how we work.

We are...

25th in the UK for research quality (Times Good University Guide 2022)
Top 25 for the most international student community in the THE World University Rankings 2022
We're are number 1 in the UK for the number of Innovate UK funded Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
Essex is top 40 in the UK (Complete University Guide 2023)
Two students taking a selfie with a mobile phone
Close up of the front of the Innovation Centre building at Colchester Campus
Students at holi-paint festival
Latest news
Supporting the next generation of researchers in African linguistics
19 May 2023
High-tech businesses thriving with University of Essex support on Parkside
19 May 2023
Bringing languages to life through art
18 May 2023