Arriving at Southend

One of the first things you'll need to do to let us know you are coming to Essex is to complete your registration. We’ll email you to let you know you can register online with us. Once you're registered, you’ll have access to our online Welcome portal where you can start exploring where you’ll be studying for the next few years and meet your department.

Once you arrive on campus please book an appointment to complete your right to study check and collect your student ID card as soon as possible. You will need to bring your documents with you to complete this process.

One of the first things you’ll probably want to do when you arrive is get settled into your home.

First, you need to print off your Arrivals pass (which is available at the end of your e-induction) and have your ID, as you will need this to collect your key. When you arrive in Southend you'll need to collect your keys from University Square reception, which is open 24 hours a day. The earliest date you can move into your accommodation is the date specified on your letter of allocation.

Our accommodation allows you to walk to your lectures with ease and there are also many private accommodation options which are within walking distance of the campus, so you don’t have to use public transport.

• See more details on where you can collect your key, luggage, parking and moving into your new accommodation.

Get to know your Residents' Assistant

The Resident's Assistants (RAs) are students just like you and are employed by Residence Life to help you settle in, answer any questions you may have and organise fun events to help you meet other people. Every student living in campus accommodation is allocated to a specific RA and every off-campus student will also have the opportunity to contact an RA for support. If you live in University Accommodation, your RA will be emailing you when you arrive to say 'hello' and make sure you feel welcome in your new home.

Find out more about Residence Life services.

Register with a doctor

As a student studying on a course for more than six months, you're required to register with a local doctor throughout your period of study if you live on campus or in the local surrounding area.

Register as soon as possible after you arrive, in case you should suddenly need medical treatment.

Let us help you from A to B and explore the local area: 

• Download our Find Your Way app
• Explore beyond the campus
• Check out the cycling facilities at our Southend Campus
• Bus discounts for Essex students

Your departmental induction is your essential opportunity to learn more about your department and your course, and to talk with key members of staff like your personal tutor. You’ll also have the chance to meet the people you’re going to be studying with.

For those who are unable to join us on campus at the start of term, we’re offering a range of ways for you to engage from virtual classrooms to the use of technologies like Zoom, to keep you in the loop. The majority of departmental induction events will take place online and other essential/compulsory activities will only have on-campus elements when absolutely essential.

Your department will be in touch before you join us with more details and we’ll also be sharing everything on our events pages.  Information may be shared with you by email or Moodle (our virtual learning platform that can be accessed once you have set up your Essex email account).

For more information please see your department pages below:

 Faculty of Arts and Humanities:

• East 15 Acting School
• Edge Hotel School
• Essex Pathways
• Department of History
• Department of Literature, Film and Theatre Studies
• School of Law
• School of Philosophy and Art History

 Faculty of Science and Health:

• School of Life Sciences
• Department of Mathematical Sciences
• Department of Psychology
• School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering
• School of Health and Social Care
• School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Science

Faculty of Social Sciences

• Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies
• Department of Economics
• Essex Business School
• Department of Government
• Department of Language and Linguistics
• Department of Sociology

For students starting their degree, Welcome Week will be a big part of getting started at Essex. One of the first things you'll need to do to let us know you are coming to Essex is to complete your registration.

You will be introduced to our online Welcome Portal where you will get to know the Students' Union, how to get started in your studies and the resources available from our student services.

You will also be introduced to your department/school and receive an informative induction from them. Alongside the academic information, we are designing online Welcome activities for you to get stuck into, including useful videos for settling in and ways to help you get to know those on your course with you. There will be information about keeping you safe on campus, learning online and starting/continuing your studies, our values at the university, who to contact for student services and support. Plus, you will be able to access your online departmental induction as a resource all year round for you to refer back to whenever you need.

You will still be able to volunteer and make a positive impact on the local community with our VTeam (Volunteering Team), and we are developing a programme of open air activities which maximise the space on our campuses. We'll keep you updated with our plans!

There will also be a variety of one-off, online programmes delivered throughout the year, such as virtual photography workshops, art workshops, origami workshops, card games, karaoke, virtual celebrations of cultural events - if you can't be on campus, there'll still be plenty of things to do!  

From tennis to yoga and dance classes to climbing, we've found a way to help keep you active on campus. To find out what we've got planned visit our sports pages.