University of Kent

The University of Kent (originally titled University of Kent at Canterbury and still often referred to as UKC) is a Glass Plate University in the United Kingdom. It was granted its Royal Charter in 1965 and the first students arrived in the October of that year. The main 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 has approximately 7,500 undergraduates. A second campus has recently been established at Medway - this has resulted in the formal title of the University being contracted from the original "University of Kent at Canterbury".

This campus university's on-campus residential facilities are of modern design, and are divided into four "colleges", named after famous thinkers: Keynes, Rutherford, Eliot and Darwin. Each building also contains a mixture of teaching rooms and offices, alongside social facilities. However the University cannot be considered collegiate in any true sense - many of the colleges rely on each other, for day-to-day operation. For example, Keynes & Darwin Colleges no longer have dining halls, and so the students resident there are catered by Rutherford and Eliot colleges (The Eliot dining hall is converted to a temporary study area during the exam period which forces Rutherford dining hall to extend its opening hours from 09:30 to 10:00 am. Eliot will convert back to a fully capable cafeteria and dining hall for the commencement of the new academic year. Does anybody know when?). Many students are allocated accommodation irrespective of their college, which reduces the ties further. In addition to these college accommodations there are also Becket and Tyler Courts, two new blocks catering to undergraduate (Becket Court & Tyler Court B & C) and postgraduate students, and Parkwood, a small purpose built village slighty removed from the main campus solely for student accommodation.

Like other Glass Plate Universities, such as the University of York and the University of Warwick, Kent has evolved to become a popular and successful institution drawing its students from a wide cross-section of society.

The University of Kent is renowned for it's high intake of students from countries other than the United Kingdom, with students from outside the European Union alone accounting for more than 12%.

The Grimond Lecture Theatre is named after a former Chancellor of the University, Jo Grimond. Another important building on the campus is the Gulbenkian Theatre, named in honour of the Gulbenkian Foundation which helped fund its construction.

Popular with the local community is Cinema 3, a cult and arts style cinema that operates out of the Cornwallis Lecture Theatre in the evenings.

The University of Kent Students' Union, also known as "Kent Union", is notable for having the unique position of "Duck Warden" amongst its many office bearers.

Academic Faculties and Departments

The University is diveded 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.

Chancellors

Chancellor Sir Crispin Tickell (left), Vice-Chancellor Professor David Melville (right)

• 1963-68 Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent
• 1970-90 The Lord Grimond
• 1990-95 Robert Horton
• 1996- Sir Crispin Tickell

Alumni

• Rosie Boycott - journalist, former editor of The Independent
• Alan Davies - comedian and actor
• Gavin Esler - BBC Newsnight Presenter
• Fi Glover - BBC radio presenter
• Charlotte Green - BBC radio presenter, voted "Most Attractive Female Voice on National Radio"
• Shiulie Ghosh - ITV News Presenter
• Kazuo Ishiguro - novelist, Booker Prize winner
• David Mitchell - novelist
• Hugh Orde OBE - Chief Constable of Northern Ireland
• Tom Wilkinson OBE - actor, Oscar nominee
• Frederick Kambemba Yamusangie - novelist
• Johnny Yeo - Artist

Trivia

• In 1987 an honorary degree was awared to Oliver Postgate, creator of Bagpuss. He stated that the degree was really intended for his creation, who was subsequently displayed in academic dress.

• The male to female ratio is 54 women to every 46 men.

External link

• University of Kent website (http://www.kent.ac.uk)
• University of Kent Students' Union website (http://www.kentunion.co.uk)