University of Kent

Summary

History

The University of Kent was granted its Royal Charter in 1965 and the first students arrived in the October of that year. The University grew rapidly through the 1960s and 1970s.

In the 2000s the university entered a collaboration with a number of other institutions, called Universities at Medway, to deliver university provision in the Medway area. This led to the development of the University of Kent at Medway, opened in 2001.

University Environment

There are two campuses at the University of Kent:

Canterbury Campus

- the main campus covers 300 acres just over 2 miles from Canterbury city centre. Kent’s Canterbury campus is self-contained, which means students are within walking distance of all the facilities on offer: the Sports Centre, the Gulbenkian Theatre and Cinema, a new music centre which opened in September 2012, the Templeman Library, the Medical Centre, the Computing Service, the Campus Shop and bookshop, a pharmacy, an off-licence, bank and cashpoints, bistros, bars, cafés, the Students’ Union, The Venue nightclub, public access terminals, bus stops and launderettes.

Medway Campus

- provides state-of-the-art study facilities near the redeveloped historic dockside of Medway. The recently expanded campus has award-winning buildings, cafés and its own pub, creating a lively social life and a great sense of community. There is also new student accommodation as part of a waterside development.

Academics

Faculties & Schools

• Faculty of Humanities

  • Kent School of Architecture
  • School of Arts
  • School of English
  • School of European Culture & Languages
  • School of History

• Faculty of Sciences

  • School of Biosciences
  • School of Computing
  • School of Engineering & Digital Arts
  • School of Mathematical, Statistics & Actuarial Science
  • Medway School of Pharmacy
  • School of Physical Sciences

• Faculty of Social Sciences

  • Brussels School of International Studies
  • Centre for Professional Practice consisting of Clinical Practice, Division of Dentistry, Professional Studies

Research

In the 2014 REF 73% of Kent's submissions were rated as world-leading or internationally excellent compared with 55% in the 2008 RAE. They also increased their number of research active staff by 40% compared to 2008. 

International & Industrial Opportunities

Kent has Erasmus partnerships with over 100 European partnership institutions in 15 countries.

The University also offers a number of Year in Industry opportunities with a Placement Officer who gives advice and guidance.

Fees & Finance

Scholarships

The 2016 Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence of £2,000 for each year of study is available for applicants that obtain AAA at A-level or equivalent .

Facilities

Learning Facilities

Kent’s libraries contain over 1.3 million books, periodicals and journals, as well as many on-line resources. The Templeman Library, on the Canterbury campus,also contains a number of special collections, study areas, student PCs, presentation practice rooms and viewing facilities. At Medway, the Drill Hall Library offers state-of-the art facilities in a Grade II listed building. As well as the rapidly expanding collection, there are study spaces with PCs, and a new café.

There are hundreds of open-access PCs across the Canterbury and Medway campuses, many available 24 hours a day. High-speed wireless access to the Kent network is available in student bedrooms and from many other locations on campus.

The Centre for English and World Languages offers language learning opportunities through Language Express. Students can learn a language outside their degree programme at a fee, with languages including Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish at a number of different difficulty levels.

Sporting Facilities

At Canterbury, Kent’s sports facilities include two multi-purpose halls, squash courts, cricket nets, a climbing wall, a dance studio, a gym and cardio theatre, outdoor tennis and netball courts, playing fields, artificial pitches, and a beach volleyball court.

At Medway, students have access to facilities such as Medway Park, the new £11 million regional centre for sporting excellence. The University contributed £3 million to the development, which opened in 2010. The excellent standard of the facilities led to the University being selected as a pre-games training camp for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Students studying at the innovative Centre for Sports Studies at the Medway campus also benefit from cutting-edge equipment, laboratories and clinics with specialist sports clinics and laboratories at Medway Park.

As part of the university’s Olympic Legacy Programme, they are developing additional sports facilities to create further opportunities for students. Due to be completed by early 2013, these include significantly enhanced/larger fitness suite with three distinct areas for general fitness, wellness/rehab and high performance training for sports teams and clubs; a third multi-purpose sports hall; a new larger dance studio which can be split into two for smaller, more intimate classes with enhanced lighting and sound; covered structure providing three indoor tennis/netball courts; a physiotherapy clinic linked to the new training facilities providing a seamless pathway from acute injury to full fitness.

Kent offers sports scholarships of between £250 and £5,000 that are open to all students who excel in their particular sport.

Students' Union

Students’ Union

Kent’s nightclub, The Venue, has played host to a huge range of acts including Florence and the Machine, Pendulum, Coolio, and the Ministry of Sound. The Attic opened in 2012, and is the place for live entertainment including local, student bands and mainstream bands, DJs and musicians. It hosts more niche entertainment nights such as jazz, comedy, trance and Dubstep. The University also runs Woody’s, a traditional pub serving hot food and drinks.

There are a number of shops on campus including Essentials, one of the biggest students’ union shops in the UK, and Park Wood Essentials. It also runs Extras, an off-licence with a large selection of stationery, and UNIque which sells Kent clothing and memorabilia. There are also a number of restaurants and cafes.

The Gulbenkian arts complex consists of a 340 seat theatre which presents student, professional and amateur shows throughout the year. The Gulbenkian Cinema is an independent cinema open to students and the public, and shows mainstream and non-mainstream releases.

Coopers, the bar on the Medway campus, regularly plays host to a range of events, such as open-mic night, beach parties, and band nights.

There are plenty of opportunities for student media including the student newspaper inQuire or CSR fm, the UK’s first community and student FM radio station.

Student Support

Religion & Spirituality

The University Chaplaincy have a number of different chaplains reflecting different faith. They hold a number of events and services every week.

Health & Wellbeing

The University offers counselling from a team of professionals. They also have advice on self help on a range of issues including time management, assertiveness, homesickness, self harm and stress management, and offer group work in the form of workshops and courses on issues such as assertiveness, relaxation, self esteem, and bereavement.

The University Medical Centre is an NHS general practice based on the University of Kent campus.

The Disability and Dyslexia Support Service can assist with arranging signers, notetakers; liaising with lecturers; discussing special arrangements for exams; and sorting out specific assistance.

Career Facilities

Kent’s Careers Advisory Service provides information on career options, as well as helping to identify students transferable skills, gain relevant work experience and put students in touch with past Kent graduates through the University’s Alumni Careers Network, giving students first-hand insight into graduate careers and jobs. The Service also offers practical advice on targeted job-seeking skills including writing a CV and covering letter, interview techniques and aptitude tests, with online exercises. All students are offered the opportunity to develop these skills, and to gain a Careers Employability Award, through the University’s Moodle virtual learning environment.

Building on the University’s students’ growing enterprise culture and activities, it can help students develop enterprise skills and business ideas. If you are interested in starting up your own business, Kent Business School runs several Enterprise modules that you may be able to take, regardless of your degree subject. The University’s student enterprise website, Kent RoundOne, helps you to engage in a wide range of options available to improve your enterprise and employability skills, add to your CV and help you to find the career that is best suited to you. On the Canterbury campus, The Bulb is the student innovation space in the Canterbury Innovation Centre, running talks and workshops on subjects such as project management or how to start an eBay business, with visiting speakers from the world of industry.

Accommodation

Kent is collegiate, with the five colleges named after distinguished British figures - Darwin, Eliot, Keynes, Rutherford and Woolf (the postgraduate college). These colleges are more than just halls because, in addition to living, social and catering facilities, they also house lecture theatres, seminar rooms, computer terminal rooms and academic schools.

Each college has a Master, who is responsible for student welfare within their college. Many social activities are also organised on a collegiate basis, and each college has a Student Committee that covers almost every aspect of student life. The Student Committee makes an active contribution to the way colleges are run by representing your interests and organising events and entertainment.

Colleges offer either part-catered or self-catered accommodation.

International

Scholarships

Scholarships worth £5000 per annum are available to international students towards the cost of tuition fees.

English Language Requirements

International Facilities

23% of Kent’s students are from overseas with 125 nationalities represented.

The university organises a Welcome Week for new international students, including a welcome dinner and visits to local tourist attractions.

The English Language Development Programme (ELDP) provides additional training in English for Academic Purposes to any registered international student at Kent. The ELDP aims to help students improve their English language and give them the chance to discuss specific difficulties. The programme consists of five components including grammar, essays, note-taking/listening, discussion and presentation skills, and individual writing tutorials.

Media