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About the University of Sussex
The University of Sussex was the first of the new wave of universities
founded in the 1960s, receiving its Royal Charter in August 1961. Forty years
on, the University has become a leading teaching and research institution,
characterised by a number of academic strengths including research excellence,
internationalism and interdisciplinarity.
Research excellence
Sussex is a leading research university, as reflected in the 2001 national
Research Assessment Exercise. All subjects at Sussex were rated as either
grade 4 or 5, recognising research of national and international standard
respectively. Over 90% of staff are researching at this high level, the
majority in areas of international excellence.
In respect of teaching quality, 13 of the 15 subjects assessed under the
current teaching quality assessment scheme have scored 21 or more points (out
of 24), with Philosophy and Sociology achieving the maximum score. Under the
previous assessment scheme, Music, English and Social Anthropology were judged
Excellent.
International reputation
Sussex has an international reputation for its innovative styles of
teaching and for the quality and range of its research work. Academic links
with every continent, over 2,300 international students from 100 countries,
and teaching staff from 40 nations give the University a strongly
international feel. Additionally, one in seven of all Sussex undergraduates
spend a year of their degree outside the UK.
Interdisciplinary focus
Sussex is distinctive both academically and organisationally. The
commitment to interdisciplinarity, whereby students are required to broaden
their academic horizons by studying topics other than those directly allied to
their major subject, remains strong. Reinforcing this approach, the University
is organised into Schools of Studies and Graduate Research Centres, rather
than more traditional faculties or departments, promoting the cross
fertilisation of knowledge between subjects. Over 200 undergraduate and 120
taught postgraduate courses are now offered.
Campus life
Sussex is the only university in England which is entirely located in a
designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Situated on the edge of the
Sussex Downs, the University campus is like a large, self-contained village,
with lecture theatres, seminar rooms, libraries, labs, accommodation,
restaurants, bars, shops and sports facilities all within easy walking
distance. Just a few minutes away is the lively, friendly seaside town of
Brighton with its great leisure facilities and its rich, eclectic cultural
life.
Designed in the main by Sir Basil Spence, the campus buildings include
Falmer House, which won one of the coveted medals of the Royal Institute of
British Architects in the year it opened (1962) and the striking circular
Meeting House based on the design of the traditional oast house which won a
Civic Trust award in 1969. In 1993, the buildings which make up the core of
Sir Basil Spence's original design were given listed building status. Falmer
House was one of only two educational buildings in the UK to be given Grade 1
status of "exceptional interest".
A distinguished faculty
In the sciences Sussex counts among its faculty two Nobel Prize winners,
Sir John Cornforth and Professor Harry Kroto. Sir Harry, the first Briton to
win the chemistry prize in over ten years, received the prize in l996 for the
discovery of a new class of carbon compounds known as the fullerenes. The
University has 15 Fellows of the Royal Society - the highest number per
science student of any British university other than Cambridge. In the arts,
there are six members of faculty - an unusually high proportion - who have the
distinction of being Fellows of the British Academy. Faculty publish around
3,000 papers, journal articles and books each year, as well as being involved
in consultative work across the world.
Unique resources
Its consistently high reputation in experimental subjects has ensured that
Sussex has an excellent infrastructure of laboratories and academic support
services. It has invested heavily in the Library; a major extension was
recently completed, including a new computer system. The stock now comprises
about 750,000 printed volumes, while access to electronic sources is
facilitated by a gateway to the internet that reflects local interests and
priorities. The Library is noted for its specialist holdings including the
Woolf, Kipling and New Statesman papers, the Mass-Observation Archive, and a
European Documentation Centre.
A University for the region
The knowledge, training and facilities at the University are also used to
promote the economic development of the region, an important example of which
is the Academic Corridor project, in which Sussex plays a key role. The
project is based on the geographical 'corridor' of the educational
institutions flanking the main A27 road from Lewes to central Brighton, and
its flagship is the Sussex Innovation Centre housed on the University campus.
This Centre is a key resource for the area and its facilities for
high-technology companies and support for business development provides
additional means of commercially exploiting the University's research and
expertise.
Lifelong learning
Sussex is strongly committed to expanding its local and regional role. A
central part of its mission is to contribute to the enhancement of the
economic, educational and cultural life of the locality and it has formal
relationships with over a dozen colleges of further and higher education in
the region. The University is also committed to the principle of lifelong
learning. This is put into practice through its Centre for Continuing
Education, which offers short courses both on the campus and at locations
throughout the county.
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