New Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences established

The University of Essex is establishing the Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences to create a dynamic new academic community focused on understanding people, cultures, and societies while tackling some of the most pressing challenges facing the world today.

The new faculty combines two highly respected and successful faculties with strong reputations for excellence in research and in education.

The Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences will foster greater interdisciplinary collaboration, strengthen research and civic impact, and further enhance the student experience by bringing together expertise from across a broader range of disciplines.

The move reflects growing recognition of the value of closer collaboration across arts, humanities, and social sciences disciplines, aligned, for example, with new thinking championed by the British Academy through its SHAPE framework (Social Sciences, Humanities, and the Arts for People and the Economy).

The launch marks an important milestone in the University's development as it transitions to a two-faculty model comprising SHAPE and STEM disciplines.

The new Faculty brings together 11 academic departments with an outstanding record of success in research and education. Four subjects are ranked in the UK top 10 and six in the top 20 for research power (REF 2021). Essex is also home to the UK's only Regius Professorship of Political Science, the UK Data Archive and the Institute for Social and Economic Research. In The Guardian University Guide, seven subjects are ranked in the UK top 20, including Drama, which is ranked first in the UK.

Driving research, education and impact

The Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences will build on Essex's established strengths in research and education, creating new opportunities for innovation, partnership and academic excellence.

Bringing together expertise from across a broad range of disciplines, the Faculty will strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration and support research that helps address major societal challenges, from conflict and social justice to culture, heritage and human experience.

Students will remain at the heart of the faculty's mission, benefiting from research-led teaching, opportunities to work across disciplines and stronger links with employers, policymakers and community partners. Our aim is to equip every graduate with the critical thinking, communication and analytical skills needed to succeed in a rapidly changing world.

Acting Executive Dean for Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, Professor Shane Martin said: "The launch of our Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences represents an exciting new chapter for the University of Essex.

“By bringing together exceptional expertise from across our disciplines, we are creating a Faculty that is greater than the sum of its parts. Our ambition is to build a new vibrant intellectual community where disciplinary excellence and interdisciplinary collaboration reinforce one another, generating new ideas, new ways of teaching, new partnerships, and greater impact.

“Our research seeks to understand and address the complex challenges facing societies today, while our education equips students with the critical thinking, creativity and confidence they need to succeed in an increasingly interconnected world.

“This faculty places students at its heart. As a student-centred, research-intensive community, we are committed to ensuring every student benefits from an outstanding academic experience that prepares them intellectually, ethically, and professionally for the future."