University of Kent

Overview

The University of Kent is a public research university based in the county of Kent in the United Kingdom, with campuses in Canterbury, Medway, and Tonbridge. The university is known for its diverse student body and staff, a large majority of whom are from outside the U.K.

The university is currently composed of three main faculties—the Faculty of Humanities, the Faculty of Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences—which are further divided into more specialized schools, such as the Kent School of Architecture and Planning, the School of Bioscience, and the School of Anthropology and Conservation. These schools provide a wide variety of undergraduate and postgraduate programs at full-time or part-time capacities. The university also provides a vast study abroad program, supported by over 190 universities in 39 countries. Mobility for students and staff at the University of Kent is also possible through the Erasmus+ program.

The student body at the University of Kent is also divided into seven colleges. Based in the Canterbury and Medway campuses, these colleges are intended to serve as complete academic communities, providing student services such as accommodations as well as support and assistance for pastoral or personal issues.

The University of Kent at Canterbury is the predecessor of the University of Kent. The University of Kent at Canterbury was established through a Royal Charter in 1965. With an initial enrollment of 500 students, the university grew rapidly throughout the 1960s and 1970s. By the 1990s and 2000s, the university had expanded to establish campuses in the areas of Tonbridge and Medway. The university also established centers for postgraduate centers throughout Europe, specifically in Rome, Paris, Brussels, and Athens. With these significant expansions to the university's campus network, the university was renamed to the University of Kent in 2003.

Today, the University of Kent is focused on achieving teaching and research excellence. The university has achieved a gold rating in the U.K. government's Teaching Excellence Framework, with research that has been rated to be of international quality. Researchers at the university explore a diverse range of fields of study, including race and migration, aesthetics research, computational intelligence, and econometrics.

Research and innovation are also a core factor of the University of Kent's 2025 strategy. With this strategy, the university aims to deliver one of the best student experiences in the U.K., increase the intensity and reputation of the university's research, and deliver social, educational, and cultural benefits to the Kent and Medway communities.