Faculties

Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

A global reputation for research excellence and transformational education

The Faculty is built upon a thriving academic community housed across 11 departments.

Home to world-leading researchers and committed educators, our Faculty brings together exceptional expertise across the arts, humanities and social sciences. Through our individual research, research centres, pioneering projects, impactful partnerships and education focused on making our graduates career-ready, we create knowledge that transforms lives, communities and society.

What makes us
global leaders?

Four social science subjects are in the UK top 10 for research quality (REF 2021)

7th in the UK for research impact in philosophy (Grade Point Average, REF2021)

We were awarded the UK's first and only Regius Professorship of Political Science

3rd in the UK for Drama (The Guardian University Guide 2027)

We house the UK Data Archive, the UK's only nationally-funded research infrastructure for social science data

1st for student positivity in liberal arts (NSS 2026, English Broad Discipline Institutions)

A row of old looking library books

Photograph of the street sign for Downing Street

Drama students rehearsing with script

Image of computer screen with code on showing data

three students walking up a tree covered path on a sunny day

Our schools and departments

Essex graduate recognised as emerging leader by The Obama Foundation

KTP with social care charity up for national award

Legal expert to support economic rebuild of war-torn Syria

What it's like to live at Essex

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