University of Essex
Location: Colchester, England, UK
Website: University of Essex (see Information for Exchange Students)
Virtual tour: Colchester campus tour
Language of instruction: English
Terms: Fall semester (late September - December) // Spring semester (January - late June)
Highlights
- The main campus of the University of Essex is situated on more than 200 acres of beautiful parkland, is two miles from the centre of Colchester and 45 minutes from London by train, and is 30 minutes from the seaside.
- The University of Essex, with more than 8000 students studying at its three campuses, is the most internationally diverse university in the UK.
- Colchester offers many historic sites and buildings and the surrounding countryside of the region has been the inspiration for many artists throughout history.
- Support for student equality, diversity and inclusion.
Area of study
- Art History
- Biological Sciences
- Computer Science and Electronic Engineering
- Economics
- Government
- Health and Human Sciences
- History
- Language and Linguistics
- Literature
- Film and Theatre Studies
- Mathematical Sciences
- Philosophy
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies
Course catalogue
Courses available to incoming exchange students: https://www1.essex.ac.uk/modules/
Credits
Credits at Essex:
- Full-time option (7.5 UVic units): 60 UK credits per term at Essex
Course Evaluations at UVic:
- Before departure, UVic students will be able to submit exchange courses to UVic for evaluation. The results will indicate how many UVic units each exchange course is worth, as well as the course equivalency.
- Students must use the evaluation results to ensure their exchange courses credits add up to the equivalent UVic units. The total number of units for each exchange term should be 4.5 UVic units for part-time exchange or 7.5 UVic units for full-time exchange.
- This course evaluation process will be made available and explained in detail during the pre-departure session in early October for Spring exchange terms and in late March for Fall exchange terms. Evaluations take 2-6 weeks to complete and will be emailed to students.
- Course evaluations results are tentative until the end of the exchange term, when a second, final evaluation is conducted by OREM using the students’ exchange transcript, and the results are applied to their UVic record.
Exchange credit history
- Click here to check out the exchange credit history of courses that have been previously evaluated by UVic for this host university.
- Students are not limited to this list when selecting courses for their upcoming exchange and should consult the host university’s course catalogue for a full list of offerings.
- Important note: this document is a guide only and previously evaluated courses are not guaranteed to be evaluated in the same way in the future.
- After being accepted into the ICS Exchange Program, students will have the chance to submit exchange courses to UVic for evaluation. The results will provide updated unit and credit equivalency information.
Transcript Information
Host university transcript release varies by school and region. As a result, students should plan their exchange and return to UVic accordingly.
At the University of Essex, grade results are released for the Autumn Term (Fall Term at UVic) in February, and for the Spring Term (Spring Term at UVic) in July. Transcripts will be released in mid-July for students studying at the University of Essex for the full year. For more information about assessment results please visit the official information page on the University of Essex website.
Exchange students are responsible for requesting their host university send their final official exchange transcript directly to the ICS exchange team at goglobal@uvic.ca, as soon as it is available.
Housing
- On-campus housing: Guaranteed
- Guarantee only available for full-year exchange students, whereas single-term students will be subject to availability.
- Essex offers a range of different types of accommodation, from shared facilities to ensuite rooms. The costs of each type of accommodation varies. Further details are available on the Accommodation Services website.
- Off-campus housing: Available
- The Student Union may be able to offer assistance to find private local accommodation.
Medical Insurance, Immigration & Orientation
Full-year exchange students:
- Need to apply for Student Visa
- Visa fee from outside the UK can be found here
- Students may be able to work
- Student will be required to pay Healthcare surcharge
- Essex will provide student with CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies) in order to apply for Student Visa.
One-term exchange students:
- Students MUST check here if they need to apply for a Standard Visitor Visa. Not all Non-EU/EEA students will require a visa.
- Students of certain nationalities need to apply for an ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation) to travel to the UK. Further information is available here.
- Student will be provided with a standard visitor letter by Essex Abroad to show at the UK border.
- Students are NOT allowed to work.
- Students are permitted to undertake volunteering (for a registered Charity organisation / no more than 30 days in total).
- Health surcharge not required but the student will need to pay for any NHS care they get at the point they use it - unless it’s a free service.
- Students must ensure they have adequate health cover before leaving their home country.
How to apply
Learn how to apply or sign up to receive emails about studying on exchange at a partner university. We will send you information about events, application deadlines, funding opportunities, and more!