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University of Kent

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University of Kent
Kent University Logo
Established 1965
Chancellor Sir Crispin Tickell
Vice-Chancellor Professor David Melville CBE
Location Canterbury, United Kingdom
Students 14,000 total (1,600 graduate)
Homepage http://www.kent.ac.uk

The University of Kent (originally titled University of Kent at Canterbury and still often referred to as UKC) is a plate glass campus university in Kent, UK.

History

A university in the ancient city of Canterbury was first considered in 1959, when Kent County Council explored the possibilites of a university through its education committee. The proposals were largely accepted by the authorities and by 1963 a suitable site was found at Beverley Farm. The University was granted its Royal Charter in 1965 and the first students arrived in the October of that year. In 1966 Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent was formally installed as the first chancellor.

Campus

Students studying in the Templeman Library, which offers impressive views of Canterbury and Canterbury Cathedral.

The main Canterbury campus covers 300 acres (1.2 km²) and is in an elevated position just over two miles (3 km) from Canterbury's city centre. It currently has nearly 14,000 students and some 600 academic and research staff.

Colleges

The university is divided into four colleges, named after four distinguished British thinkers who have made an outstanding contribution to ares of academic study:

Tyler Court, Block C, is part of a new halls of residence built in 2004.

Each college features residential halls, lecture theatres, study rooms, computer rooms and social areas. Each college has its own bar and originally its own dining hall (today, only Eliot and Rutherford have functioning dining halls, Darwin's is hired out for conferences and events such as wedding receptions). However the University cannot be considered collegiate in any true sense - applications are made to the University as a whole and many of the colleges rely on each other, for day-to-day operation. Many students are allocated accommodation irrespective of their college, which reduces the ties further. In addition to these college accommodations there is also:

  • Darwin Houses, a set of 26 student houses next to Darwin college, opened in 1989
  • Becket Court, next to Eliot college, opened in 1990
  • Tyler Court, three blocks of halls of residence. Block A was opened in 1996 mostly postgraduates; Blocks B and C were completed in 2004 for undergraduates.
  • Parkwood, a mini student village comprising of 262 two-storey houses and a recently built halls complex, about 5 minutes walk from the main campus.
Darwin Houses, a set of student housing next to Darwin college, surrounds a large rose garden

Library

The Templeman Library (named after Dr Geoffrey Templeman, the University's first Vice-Chancellor) contains over a million items in stock including books, journals, videos, DVDs, and archive materials (for example, a full text of The Times from 1785 onwards). It has a materials fund of approximately £1million a year, and adds 12,000 items every year. It is open every day in term time and recieves 800,000 visits a year, with approximately half a million loans per annum.

Theatre and Cinema

The University is home to the Gulbuenkian Theatre, an acclaimed 800-seat theatre that shows a variety of local, national and international plays and productions, as well as playing host to well-known comedians and celebrities. The theatre was opened in 1969 and was named after the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation which helped fund its construction. Attached to the building is the popular Cinema 3, an arthouse cinema showing a mix of classics, films in association with the University's film studies department, and new Hollywood movies. In the daytime the cinema is used as a lecture theatre. Both the cinema and theatre are open to the public and are popular with residents of Canterbury.

A new cafe-bar extension was completed in 2005.

Sports Centre

A £1.5million development completed in 2003 meant that the Sport Centre is among the best of all UK universities. Its facilities include tennis and squash courts, hockey and football pitches, a state of the art gymnasium, a cardio theatre, a dance studio, a multi purpose sports hall and a fair trade cafe.

Students' Union

Main article: University of Kent Students' Union

The Students' Union is known as "Kent Union" and has a considerable prescence on campus (although it has been claimed that the union has less power than it once did). Kent Union runs three shops on campus, Essentials (all-purpose food and essentials), Parklife (ditto, but in student vilage Parkwood) and Extras (off-licence). The Union also runs the Parkwood bar Woody's and the three-storey nightclub The Venue, which in 2006 is due to play host to Pendulum and Tim Westwood.

The union is notable for having the unique position of "Duck Warden" amongst its many office bearers.

Academic Faculties and Departments

The University is divided into three faculties:

  • Humanities
  • Social Sciences
  • Science, Technology and Medical Studies (STMS)

These Faculties are further divided into 27 Departments and Schools, ranging from the School of English to the Department of Biosciences, and from the Kent Law School to the Department of Economics. Also of note is the University's Brussels School of International Studies, located in Brussels, Belgium. The School offers Master's degrees in international relations theory and international conflict analysis, along with an LLM in international law.

The Franco-British double degree programme: a partnership with the Institut d'études politiques de Lille

This bi-lingual programme combines subjects in one degree and is taught in two countries. The first year is spent at the University of Kent, the second year at the Institut d'études politiques de Lille (IEP), the third year at the University of Kent, the fourth year at the IEP of Lille and the fifth is either spent in Canterbury, in Brussels or in Lille.

The students of the Franco-British double degree programme receive at the end of the fourth year the BA (Bachelor of arts) from the University of Kent, the Diplôme by the IEP of Lille and at the end of the fifth year, either the MA (Master of Arts) in Canterbury or in Brussels or the Master delivered by the IEP of Lille, choosen between 14 parcours de formation by the IEP of Lille.

People

Chancellors

Vice-Chancellors

  • 1963-1980 Dr Geoffrey Templeman
  • 1980-1994 Dr D J E Ingram
  • 1994-2001 Professor R Sibson
  • 2001-to date Professor D Melville

Famous Alumni

Trivia

  • Approximately 25% of students are from overseas; 128 different nationalities are currently represented.
  • Darwin College was originally to be named after Bertrand Russell, but this was changed due to a previous disagreement and/or scandal involving Russell and the wife of an undisclosed member of the university's upper management.
  • The male to female ratio is 54 women to every 46 men.

See also

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