Exchange at University of Essex , Whakawhiti kei te Whare Wānanga o Essex

Learn about student exchange at University of Essex

University of Essex, England

  • Limited placement university.

The University of Essex, based at Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, received its Royal Charter in 1965. It is one of the UK's leading academic institutions and has an international reputation for the quality of its research and teaching. The University has 17 departments spanning the Humanities, Social Sciences and Science and Engineering.

The campus is spread over 200 acres of attractive parkland, much of it landscaped in the eighteenth century, including two lakes as well a country house (now a hotel). There are about 8,000 students studying at Essex, including students from more than 130 countries, affording it a multicultural atmosphere.

The University has probably the largest Students' Union bar in East Anglia! Top bands like The Prodigy, Blur and Jamiroquai originate from Colchester and the surrounding area. As part of its excellent range of sporting and leisure facilities on campus, the University boasts an 18-hole frisbee golf course and hosted the 1994 World Frisbee Championships. The cost of university accommodation is relatively low by national standards and particularly so for a university in the south-east. Some student accommodation is in the towers which, when they were built, were Europe's tallest load-bearing brick structures; they remain the country's tallest brick buildings. Rooms in the towers have commanding views over the surrounding countryside.

Colchester is Britain’s first capital and oldest recorded town with over 13,500 historic buildings. Today, the city has a population of 150,000 and one of the driest climates in England. There are excellent transport links to the whole of the UK and Europe, and Colchester is less than one hour by train from London.

Credit system

The credit system at the University of Essex is similar to Massey. A full-time course load is four courses, called modules, with a maximum of 60 credits per semester and 120 credits per year.

Course codes

At the University of Essex, the fourth number of the module code (the number between the hyphens) indicates the level. At Essex, 4 is equivalent to 1st year, 5 is 2nd year, and 6 is 3rd year. 7 is a postgraduate course.  3 is a foundation (pre-degree) course.

The letters at the end of the code indicate when the module is taught. FY is Full Year, AU is Autumn Term, and SP is Spring Term.

As an example, HR100-4-FY is a 1st year undergraduate course taught across the full year (two semesters).

Academic calendar

The University of Essex has two semesters per year, the first (Autumn) beginning in early October and ending in December, while the second (Spring/Summer) begins in mid-January and ends in June. Students may begin their exchange in either semester.

English language requirement

International students at Massey interested in going on exchange to Essex need to be aware that the University of Essex requires non-native speakers of English to provide formal evidence of their English language ability (e.g. IELTS or TOEFL).  The IELTS score required is 6.0 overall, with a minimum of 5.5 in all components.

Subjects

Accounting, Finance, Management, Biological Sciences, Computing and Electronic Systems, Entrepreneurship, Government, Health Sciences, History, Language and Linguistics, Literature, Film and Theatre Studies, Mathematics, Philosophy, Psychology, Sport Science, and Sociology and more.

Most modules in Health & Human Sciences are not available to exchange students.  Modules in the Human Rights Centre and E15 Acting School are also not available for exchange students.