View source for University of Kent

{{short description|University based in Kent, England}}
{{distinguish|Kent State University}}

{{Use British English|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Infobox university
 | name                   = University of Kent
 | native_name            = 
 | native_name_lang       = 
 | image                  = Shield of the University of Kent.svg
 | image_size             = 170px
 | image_upright          = 
 | image_alt              = 
 | caption                = [[#Coat of arms and logo|Coat of arms]]
 | latin_name             = 
 | other_name             = <!--or, other_names-->
 | former_name            = University of Kent at Canterbury
 | motto                  = {{langx|la|Cui servire regnare est}}
 | motto_lang             = 
 | mottoeng               = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'<br />([[Book of Common Prayer]] translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')<ref name="Martin36">Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' (University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990) page 36 {{ISBN|978-0-904938-03-6}} As Martin notes "Our former Information Officer has ventured the opinion that [[Thomas Cranmer|Cranmer]] would not have got very high marks had this phrase appeared in an [[General Certificate of Education#O-level|O-Level]] Latin paper!"</ref>
 | top_free_label         = 
 | top_free               = 
 | type                   = [[Public university|Public]]
 | established            = {{start date and age|1965|01|04|df=y}}
 | closed                 = <!-- {{end date|YYYY}} -->
 | founder                = 
 | parent                 = 
 | affiliation            = 
 | affiliations           = [[Universities UK]]<br />SGroup European Universities' Network<br />[[European University Association|EUA]]<br />[[Association of Commonwealth Universities|ACU]]<br />[[Eastern ARC]]<br />[[Universities at Medway]]
 | religious_affiliation  = 
 | academic_affiliation   = 
 | endowment              = [[Pound sterling|£]]3.8&nbsp;million (2022)<ref name="Kent Financial Statement 21/22">{{cite web | url = https://www.kent.ac.uk/finance/about/accounts/Financial%20Statements%20-%202022.pdf| title = Financial Statements for the Year to 31 July 2022 | access-date = 11 February 2023| publisher = University of Kent| page = 18}}</ref>
 | budget                 = [[Pounds sterling|£]]260.4 million (2021–22)<ref name="Kent Financial Statement 21/22"/>
 | officer_in_charge      = 
 | chairman               = 
 | chairperson            = 
 | chancellor             = [[YolanDa Brown]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Chancellor -- Office of the Vice Chancellor -- University of Kent |url=https://www.kent.ac.uk/office-vice-chancellor/chancellor |date=6 November 2024 |access-date=6 November 2024}}</ref>
 | president              = 
 | vice-president         = 
 | superintendent         = 
 | vice_chancellor        = Professor Georgina Randsley de Moura (acting)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kent.ac.uk/ovc/vc/ |title=Vice-Chancellor – About Kent |publisher=Kent.ac.uk |date=6 November 2024 |access-date=6 November 2024}}</ref>
 | provost                = 
 | rector                 = 
 | principal              = 
 | dean                   = 
 | director               = 
 | head_label             = [[Visitor]]
 | head                   = [[Archbishop of Canterbury|The Archbishop of Canterbury]] ''[[ex officio]]''
 | academic_staff         = 
 | administrative_staff   = 
 | students               = {{HESA student population|INSTID=10007150}} ({{HESA year}})<ref name="HESA citation">{{HESA citation}}</ref>
 | undergrad              = {{HESA undergraduate population|INSTID=10007150}} ({{HESA year}})<ref name="HESA citation"/>
 | postgrad               = {{HESA postgraduate population|INSTID=10007150}} ({{HESA year}})<ref name="HESA citation"/>
 | doctoral               = 
 | other                  = 
 | address                = <!-- Not representative to use. University has multiple campuses. -->
 | city                   = [[Canterbury]], [[Medway]] and [[Tonbridge]], United Kingdom; [[Brussels]], Belgium; [[Athens]], Greece; [[Paris]], France; [[Rome]], Italy
 | state                  = 
 | province               = 
 | country                = 
 | postcode               = <!--or, postalcode or zipcode-->
 | coordinates            = <!-- {{Coord}} -->
 | campus                 = Semi-rural
 | language               = 
 | free_label             = 
 | free                   = 
 | free_label2            = 
 | free2                  = 
 | colours                = Kent Blue and Kent Red {{scarf|start}}{{cell|#010963}}{{cell|#56A0D3}}{{cell|#EFBBCC}}{{cell|#56A0D3}}{{cells|4|#010963}}{{cell|#56A0D3}}{{cell|#EFBBCC}}{{cell|#56A0D3}}{{cell|#010963}}{{scarf|end}}
 | athletics              = 
 | sports                 = 
 | athletics_nickname     = <!--or,  sports_nickname= -->
 | sporting_affiliations  = 
 | mascot                 = <!--or, mascots= -->
 | sports_free_label      = 
 | sports_free            = 
 | sports_free_label2     = 
 | sports_free2           = 
 | website                = {{URL|kent.ac.uk}}
 | logo                   = University of Kent logo.svg
 | logo_size              = 
 | logo_alt               = 
 | footnotes              = 
}}

The '''University of Kent''' (formerly the '''University of Kent at Canterbury''', abbreviated as '''UKC''') is a [[public university|public]] [[research university]] based in [[Kent]], [[United Kingdom]]. The university was granted its [[royal charter]] on 4 January 1965 and the following year [[Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark|Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent]], was formally installed as the first [[Chancellor (education)|Chancellor]].<ref name="Martin11-36" /> 

The university has its main campus north of [[Canterbury]] situated within {{convert|300|acre|ha|sigfig=2|abbr=off}} of parkland, housing over 6,000 students, as well as a campus in [[Medway]] in Kent and a postgraduate centre in Paris.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kent.ac.uk/locations/|title=Where can I study?|access-date=6 October 2014}}</ref> The university is international, with students from 158 different nationalities and 41% of its academic and research staff being from outside the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/university-kent#ranking-dataset/128777|title=University of Kent|website=Times Higher Education (THE)|language=en-US|access-date=7 October 2017}}</ref> It is a member of the Santander Network of European universities encouraging social and economic development.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sgroup.be/glowna.html |title=Santander |access-date=9 April 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714053117/http://www.sgroup.be/glowna.html |archive-date=14 July 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

== History ==

=== Origins ===
A university in the city of [[Canterbury]] was first considered in 1947, when an anticipated growth in student numbers led several residents to seek the creation of a new university, including Kent. However, the plans never came to fruition.<ref name="Martin14">Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' (University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990) page 14 {{ISBN|978-0-904938-03-6}}</ref> A decade later both population growth and greater demand for university places led to a re-consideration. In 1959 the Education Committee of [[Kent County Council]] explored the creation of a new university,<ref name="about59" /> formally accepting the proposal unanimously on 24 February 1960.<ref name="times250280">{{cite news|title=Step Towards Kent University|work=[[The Times]]|date=25 February 1960}}</ref> Two months later the Education Committee agreed to seek a site at or near Canterbury, given the historical associations of the city, subject to the support of Canterbury City Council.<ref name="times260460">{{cite news|title=Siting of a Kent University – Canterbury Area Recommended |work=[[The Times]]|date=26 April 1960}}</ref>

By 1962 a site was found at Beverley Farm, straddling the then boundary between the City of Canterbury and the [[Administrative counties of England|administrative county]] of Kent.<ref name="times010262">{{cite news|title=Site of University For Kent |work=[[The Times]]|date=1 February 1962}}</ref> The university's original name, chosen in 1962, was the ''University of Kent at Canterbury'', reflecting its cross boundary campus.<ref name="about59">{{cite web| url = http://www.kent.ac.uk/about/history/history59.html| title = About Kent – History – 1959–1969 | access-date = 5 August 2007| date = 11 January 2007| publisher = University of Kent}}</ref> The name adopted reflected the support of both the city and county authorities; as well as the existence of the [[University of Canterbury]] in New Zealand, which officially opposed the use of a name too similar to its own.<ref name="times171062">{{cite news|title=Second University Sponsor Resigns|work=[[The Times]]|date=17 October 1962}}</ref> The abbreviation "UKC"''' '''became a popular abbreviation for the university.<ref name="Martin29-30">Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' (University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990) pages 29–30 {{ISBN|978-0-904938-03-6}}</ref>

=== 1965 to 2000 ===
The University of Kent at Canterbury was granted its [[Royal Charter]] on 4 January 1965 and the first group of 500 students arrived on 11 October 1965.<ref>"The University of Kent at Canterbury", ''The Guardian'' (Manchester), October 11, 1965, p. 6 ("The first 500 undergraduate students arrive today at the new University of Kent at Canterbury")</ref>

On 30 March 1966 [[Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark|Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent]] was formally installed as the first [[Chancellor (education)|Chancellor]].<ref name="Martin11-36">Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' (University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990) pages 11–36 {{ISBN|978-0-904938-03-6}}</ref>

The university was envisaged as being a [[collegiate university|collegiate]] establishment, with most students living in one of the colleges on campus, and as specialising in [[Interdisciplinarity|inter-disciplinary]] studies in all fields.<ref name="times040463">{{cite news|title=University of Kent Sets Out To Be Different – Emphasis on Collegiate-Based Life |work=[[The Times]]|date=4 April 1963}}</ref> Over the years, changes in government policy and other changing demands have largely destroyed this original concept, leading to the present state, which is nearer the norm for a British university. However, the four original colleges – Darwin, Eliot, Keynes and Rutherford – remain, together with the newer Woolf and Turing colleges.<ref name="collegemasters">{{cite web|title=College Masters |url=https://www.kent.ac.uk/about/past-officers/masters.html |publisher=University of Kent|access-date=21 July 2017}}</ref>

The university grew at a rapid rate throughout the 1960s, with three colleges and many other buildings on campus being completed by the end of the decade.<ref name="KentLife4">"Kent Life" in ''Kent: The Magazine for The University of Kent'' Spring 2005 No. 44 page 4</ref> The 1970s saw further construction, but the university also encountered the biggest physical problem in its history.<ref name="Martin225-231">Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' (University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990) pages 225–231 {{ISBN|978-0-904938-03-6}}</ref> The university had been built above a tunnel on the disused [[Canterbury and Whitstable Railway]]. In July 1974 the tunnel collapsed, damaging part of the Cornwallis Building, which sank nearly a metre within about an hour on the evening of 11 July.<ref name="Martin228">Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' (University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990) page 228 {{ISBN|978-0-904938-03-6}}</ref> Fortunately, the university had insurance against subsidence, so it was able to pay for the south-west corner of the building to be demolished and replaced by a new wing at the other end of the building.<ref name="Martin231">Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' (University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990) page 231 {{ISBN|978-0-904938-03-6}}</ref>

[[Unix]] computers arrived in 1976 and UKC set up the first [[Unix to Unix copy]] (UUCP) test service to Bell Labs in the U.S. in 1979. UKC provided the first UUCO connections to non-academic users in the UK in the early 1980s.<ref name=":22">{{cite web|last=Houlder|first=Peter|date=January 19, 2007|title=Starting the Commercial Internet in the UK|url=https://www.uknof.org.uk/uknof6/Houlder-History.pdf|access-date=2020-02-12|website=6th UK Network Operators' Forum|archive-date=13 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213100236/https://www.uknof.org.uk/uknof6/Houlder-History.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{cite web|last=Reid|first=Jim|date=April 3, 2007|title=Networking in UK Academia ~25 Years Ago|url=https://www.uknof.org.uk/uknof7/Reid-History.pdf|access-date=2020-02-12|website=7th UK Network Operators' Forum|archive-date=9 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809015421/https://www.uknof.org.uk/uknof7/Reid-History.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=BBC Internet Services – History|url=https://support.bbc.co.uk/support/history.html|access-date=2019-09-19|website=support.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>

In 1982 the university opened the University Centre at Tonbridge (now the University of Kent at Tonbridge) for its School of [[Continuing education]], helping to enhance the availability of teaching across the county.<ref name="KentLife5">"Kent Life" in ''Kent: The Magazine for The University of Kent'' Spring 2005 No. 44 page 5</ref> Building elsewhere included the Park Wood accommodation village and the Darwin houses in 1989.

During the 1990s and 2000s the university expanded beyond its original campus, establishing campuses in [[Medway]], [[Tonbridge]] and [[Brussels]], and partnerships with [[Canterbury College, Kent|Canterbury College]], [[West Kent College]], [[South Kent College]] and [[MidKent College]].<ref name="KentLife5"/>

=== 2000 to present ===
[[File:School of Arts - UKC.JPG|thumb|right|The School of Arts Building at Kent's Canterbury campus; it is one of several buildings constructed by the university in recent years]]
In the 2000s the university entered a collaboration named [[Universities at Medway]] with the [[University of Greenwich]], [[MidKent College]] and [[Canterbury Christ Church University]] to deliver university provision in the [[Medway]] area.<ref name="about00">{{cite web| url = http://www.kent.ac.uk/about/history/history00.html| title = About Kent – History – 2000–2006 | access-date = 5 August 2007| date = 11 January 2007| publisher = University of Kent}}</ref> This led to the development of the ''University of Kent at Medway'', opened from 2001. Initially based at Mid-Kent College, a new joint campus opened in 2004.<ref name="about00" /> Small postgraduate centres opened in Paris in 2009, and later in Rome and Athens.

As a consequence of the expansion outside Canterbury the university's name was formally changed to the ''University of Kent'' on 1 April 2003.<ref name="about00" /> Part of the original reasoning for the name disappeared when [[Local Government Act 1972|local government reforms in the 1970s]] resulted in the Canterbury campus falling entirely within the [[City of Canterbury]], which no longer has county borough status, and Kent County Council.

In 2007 the university was rebranded with a new logo and website. The logo was chosen following consultation with existing university students and those in [[sixth form]]s across the country.<ref name="identity">{{cite web| url = http://www.kent.ac.uk/cdo/publications/corporate/UoK_Interim_Section_Guidelines.pdf| title = Our visual identity (pdf) | access-date = 25 July 2007| date = 14 March 2007| publisher = University of Kent |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070824031914/http://www.kent.ac.uk/cdo/publications/corporate/UoK_Interim_Section_Guidelines.pdf |archive-date = 24 August 2007}}</ref>

The University of Kent set its tuition fees for UK and European Union undergraduates at £9,000 for new entrants in 2012, which was approved by the [[Office for Fair Access]] (OFFA). The fee was approved by Council on 1 April 2011 and was confirmed by OFFA in July 2011. The proposed changes to UK and EU undergraduate tuition fees did not apply to international student fees.

Following the extension of Keynes College in 2001, two new colleges opened on the Canterbury campus, Woolf College for postgraduates in 2008 and Turing College for undergraduates in 2015. Several other new buildings were also added, including the Jarman School of Arts Building in 2009, the Colyer-Fergusson Music Building, a performing arts space, in 2012, and the Sibson building, housing maths and the business school, in 2017. A major £27m project to extend and refurbish the Templeman Library began in 2013, was completed in 2017 and formally opened in 2018.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Herrema |first1=Martin |title=£27m Templeman library refurbishment nears completion |url=https://www.kent.ac.uk/news/kentlife/15050/27m-templeman-library-refurbishment-nears-completion |website=University of Kent |date=13 September 2017 |access-date=15 July 2018}}</ref> Additional accommodation was provided for students at the Medway Campus with the completion of Liberty Quays in 2009.<ref name="2000sBuildings">{{cite web| url = https://www.kent.ac.uk/50/pride-in-our-past/index.html | title = Pride in our past | access-date = 21 July 2017| publisher = University of Kent }}</ref>

In 2015, the university held a number of events to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Festivals were held in Canterbury and Medway, a summer festival, the funding of twelve Beacon Projects and the temporary erection of a Ferris Wheel on the Canterbury campus.<ref name="50festival">{{cite web| url = https://www.kent.ac.uk/50/highlights/index.html | title = 50th Anniversary Highlights | access-date = 21 July 2017| publisher = University of Kent }}</ref> In 2016, a consultation was launched on a masterplan for future development of the Canterbury campus.<ref name="masterplan">{{cite web| url = https://www.kent.ac.uk/masterplan/| title = Master Plan Consultation | access-date = 21 July 2017| publisher = University of Kent }}</ref> In March 2017 it was announced that, in partnership with [[Canterbury Christ Church University]], the University of Kent had been given funding to develop [[Kent and Medway Medical School]].<ref name="UnivKentMedSchAnnounce">{{cite web|title=Universities receive funding to develop Kent and Medway's first medical school|url=https://www.kent.ac.uk/news/kentlife/17394/universities-receive-funding-to-develop-kent-and-medways-first-medical-school|website=University of Kent News Centre|date=20 March 2018 |publisher=University of Kent|access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref> In 2023, more than 450 students in the Kent's Student Union voted in favour of moving all catering to plant-based. The vote follows similar votes at other universities.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fuller |first=Christian |date=2023-06-27 |title=University of Kent students vote for plant-based catering |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg3npd4xvwjo |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

The University of Kent saw its first two alumni going on to win Nobel prizes, both for literature: [[Kazuo Ishiguro]] (English and Philosophy, 1978) in 2017 and [[Abdulrazak Gurnah]] (PhD, 1982) in 2021.  

In June 2022, the University of Kent signed a twinning agreement with [[Kherson State University]] (KSU) in [[Ukraine]] as part of the UK government-backed [[Universities UK]] (UUK) initiative.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-28 |title=Kent and Ukrainian universities team up for student support |url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/kent-and-ukrainian-universities-team-up-for-student-support-269415/ |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=Kent Online |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=New UK package offers a lifeline to Ukrainian researchers and entrepreneurs |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-uk-package-offers-a-lifeline-to-ukrainian-researchers-and-entrepreneurs |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref> The partnership aims to support KSU during the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]], providing academic and technical assistance, including online English classes, guest lectures, and research collaboration.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-25 |title=Celebrating the Twinning Collaboration with Kherson State University – Global Learning News |url=https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/global-learning/2024/06/25/celebrating-the-twinning-collaboration-with-kherson-state-university/ |access-date=2025-02-14 |language=en-US}}</ref> This agreement is part of a broader effort by UK universities to support Ukrainian institutions affected by the war.

In 2024, as part of its "Kent 2030" strategy to address financial challenges, the University of Kent announced plans to discontinue six courses: anthropology, art history, health and social care, journalism, music and audio technology, and philosophy. This decision raised concerns among students and staff regarding the potential impact on academic diversity and future career opportunities.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-21 |title=University of Kent confirms which courses will be axed |url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/university-confirms-six-courses-to-be-axed-303841/ |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=Kent Online}}</ref> In response to the proposed course closures and the planned elimination of 58 jobs, staff at the university voted in favor of strike action. Additionally, a petition to preserve the affected courses garnered over 16,000 signatures.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-21 |title=Staff vote for strike action at University of Kent over course closures |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6pmy2drr43o |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=BBC News}}</ref>

A revision of the university's ordinances in June 2025 deleted the section on colleges that had been present up to the 2024 revision, removing them from the university's constitutional documents.<ref name=Ordinances2025>{{cite web|url=https://media.www.kent.ac.uk/se/52238/OrdinancesJuly2025-Final.pdf|title=Ordinances|website=University of Kent|date=June 2025|access-date=24 July 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250214172204/https://media.www.kent.ac.uk/se/45164/OrdinancesJuly2024-FINAL.pdf|url=https://media.www.kent.ac.uk/se/45164/OrdinancesJuly2024-FINAL.pdf|date=July 2024|archive-date=14 February 2025|title=Ordinances|website=University of Kent}}</ref>

On the 10th September 2025, the university announced plans to merge with the [[University of Greenwich]], with degrees continuing to be awarded under either the Kent or Greenwich name rather than adopting a single unified university designation.<ref name=BBCSep2025>{{cite news|last=Jeffreys |first=Branwen|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy85905dj2wo|archive-url=|title=UK's first 'super-university' to be created as two merge from 2026|date=10 September 2025|work=[[BBC News]]|accessdate=10 September 2025|archivedate=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-09-10 |title=Shock university 'merger' announced |url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/shock-university-merger-announced-329672/ |access-date=2025-09-10 |publisher=Kent Online |language=en}}</ref> The two universities will form the [[London and South East University Group]].<ref name=BBCSep2025/>

== Campuses ==

=== Canterbury campus ===
The main [[Canterbury]] campus covers {{convert|300|acre|ha|sigfig=2|abbr=off}} and is situated in parkland in an elevated position just over {{convert|2|mi|km|0|abbr=off|spell=on}} from the city centre, with views over the city and [[Canterbury Cathedral]] UNESCO world heritage site. The campus currently has approximately 12,000 full-time and 6,200 part-time students, with accommodation for over 5000, in addition to 600 academic and research staff. Residential and academic buildings are intermingled in the central part of the campus, science building are clustered west of Giles Lens and there is a dedicated student village on the western edge, several minutes’ walk from the main campus. The campus is ecologically diverse and home to a number of protected species, including Great Crested Newts. The North West of the site is heavily forested, including pockets of ancient woodland, while the Southern Slopes contain a mix of wildflower and hay meadows, and there are seven ponds spread across the campus.

==== Facilities ====
[[File:Campus shops - UKC.JPG|thumb|right|The shops at the Canterbury campus, with the Kent Union offices housed in the offices above]]
The campus has a selection of shops, including a grocery store, bookshop, pharmacy and launderettes. Food and drink is provided by range of cafes and bars run either by the university or the student union. Bars include K-bar, in Keynes College, Mungo's, in Eliot College, Origins, in Darwin College, and Woody's in the Park Wood Student Village. Cafeteria style food is available in Rutherford College, fine dining at the Beagle Restaurant in Darwin College, and food is served at the bars and other cafes around campus.

The campus nightclub, The Venue, was refurbished and modernised in 2010 and is open Wednesday to Saturday. The upstairs area was originally used a live music venue, known as The Lighthouse and then the Attic, but has since been replaced with the Student Media Centre which hosts Inquire, KTV and CSR. Club nights and live music are also held at various bars on campus.

Sporting facilities are spread across two main sites: the sports centre, which contains several multi-purpose sports halls, a fitness suite, squash courts and climbing wall, and the Sports Pavilion site, with a variety of indoor and outdoor sports pitches and training facilities, including 3G and astroturf.

=====Gulbenkian arts complex=====
The Gulbenkian arts complex includes a theatre and cinema, as well as a small stage which hosts monthly comedy nights as well as occasional shows such as Jazz at Five and The Chortle Student Comedy Awards. The adjacent Colyer-Fergusson Building, which opened in 2013, includes an adaptable format concert/rehearsal hall with retractable seating and variable acoustics and practice rooms. The '''Gulbenkian Theatre''' seats 340 and presents student, professional and amateur shows throughout the year. The theatre was opened in 1969 and was named after the [[Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation]] which helped fund its construction. The Gulbenkian Cinema is an independent cinema in the Gulbenkian complex open to students and the general public. It is Kent's regional film theatre showing new mainstream and non-mainstream releases as well as archive and foreign language films. In the daytime the cinema is used as a lecture theatre for University students.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kent.ac.uk/gulbenkian/ |title=What's on – Gulbenkian |publisher=Kent.ac.uk |access-date=12 April 2010}}</ref> The Gulbenkian complex also hosts a cafe/ bar and restaurant facility open to students, staff and the general public.

==== Transport and access ====
The campus is accessed by road from either the West, with two entrances on the A290 Whitstable Road, or the East, via St Stephen's Hill. An off-road foot and cycle route connects the central campus to the Northern edge of the city, and a regular bus services (‘UniBus’) is also in operation, although with a more limited service outside of term time. The [[A2 road (Great Britain)|A2]] dual carriageway links the campus and city to London, the port at [[Dover]] and the national motorway network. The campus also lies at the southern end of the [[Crab and Winkle Line|Crab and Winkle Way]], a 7-mile off-road foot and cycle path running through farm and woodland to the coastal fishing town of [[Whitstable]], providing a link for cycle commuters.

The closest railway station to the campus is [[Canterbury West railway station|Canterbury West]] which is, as of 2009, served by [[Southeastern (train operating company)|Southeastern]] services to [[St Pancras railway station|London St Pancras]]. These services stop at [[Ashford International railway station|Ashford International]] en route, thus providing a direct connection to [[Eurostar]] services to France and Belgium. Southeastern services also connect Canterbury West and [[Canterbury East railway station|Canterbury East]] stations with London [[London Victoria railway station|Victoria]] and [[Charing Cross railway station|Charing Cross]]. Both of the Canterbury stations can be accessed by the UniBus service. The nearest international air services are provided from the London airports, [[Gatwick Airport|Gatwick]] and [[Heathrow Airport|Heathrow]], with indirect [[National Express Coaches|National Express coach]] services to both from [[Canterbury Bus Station]] with one transfer at London [[Victoria Coach Station]]. The campus is also served by two coach services (Route 007) to/from London each day, with further services operating from Canterbury bus station.

=== Medway campus ===
In 2000 the university joined with other educational institutes to form the "Universities for Medway" initiative, aimed at increasing participation in higher education in the [[Medway|Medway Towns]].<ref name="about00" /> The following year the ''University of Kent at Medway'' formally opened, initially based at [[Mid-Kent College]].<ref name="about00" /> By 2004 a new campus for the university had been established in the old [[Chatham Dockyard]],<ref name="about00" /> sharing a campus with [[Canterbury Christchurch University]] and [[University of Greenwich]].

The University of Kent and [[Medway Park Sports Centre]] have gone into a partnership to provide leisure facilities for university students and the general public. Medway Park (formerly the Black Lion Leisure Centre) was re-opened in 2011 by [[Anne, Princess Royal|Princess Anne]] for use as a training venue for the 2012 London Olympics, as well as a training venue for the Egyptian and Congo National teams.

The campus accommodation, called Pier Quays, formerly named Liberty Quays until 2019 when Unite Group acquired Liberty Living,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.insidermedia.com/news/south-west/unite-group-completes-liberty-living-acquisition|title=Unite Group completes Liberty Living acquisition|first=Insider|last=Media|website=Insider Media Ltd |date=29 November 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.unitestudents.com/medway/pier-quays|title = Medway student accommodation at Pier Quays &#124; Unite Students}}</ref> was finished in late 2009, and caters for over 600 students. The accommodation building includes a [[Tesco Express]], [[Subway (restaurant)|Subway]], and [[Domino's Pizza]], and Cargo, a bar showing sports, live music, and entertainment.

<gallery mode="packed">
File:University of kent medway2.jpg|View from Pier Road
File:Medway_Building_01.jpg|Medway Building at Medway campus
File:Gillingham Building UKM.JPG|Gillingham Building at Medway campus
File:Drill Hall library.jpg|[[Drill Hall Library]], sharing with [[Universities at Medway]]
File:Rochester Building at Medway Campus.JPG|Rochester Building at Medway campus
File:Liberty_Quays_Medway.JPG|Pier Quays accommodation
</gallery>

=== Tonbridge campus ===
In 1982 the university established the School of [[continuing education]] in the centre of [[Tonbridge]], extending its coverage to the entire county of Kent.<ref name="about80">{{cite web| url = http://www.kent.ac.uk/about/history/history80.html| title = About Kent – History – 1980–1989 | access-date = 5 August 2007| date = 11 January 2007| publisher = University of Kent}}</ref> Many buildings were added in the 1980s and 1990s.<ref name="KentLife5" /> The campus is now called the ''University of Kent at Tonbridge''. It collaborates with the [[Kent Business School]] and Kent Innovation and Enterprise.

[[File:Rutheford College extension.jpg|thumb|Overlooking the main Library from Rutherford Extension]]

== Organisation and administration ==
[[File:Marlowe Building - UKC.JPG|thumb|right|The Marlowe Building, formerly the Physics Department and now (as of February 2024) home to Faculty Offices, the School of Architecture and the School of Anthropology and Conservation]]

=== Faculties, departments and schools ===
Until 2020, the university was divided into three faculties, humanities, sciences and social sciences, which are further sub-divided into 20 schools:
{| 
|+ '''Faculties and Schools'''
|-  style="vertical-align:top; font-size:90%;"
|
;Humanities
*Kent School of Architecture and Planning
*School of Arts
*School of English
*School of European Culture and Languages
*School of History
*School of Music and Fine Art
|
;Sciences
*School of Bioscience
*School of Computing
*School of Engineering and Digital Arts
*School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science
*Medway School of Pharmacy
*[[Kent and Medway Medical School]]
*School of Physical Sciences
*[[University of Kent – School of Sport & Exercise Sciences|'''School of Sport and Exercise Sciences''']]
|
;Social Sciences
*School of Anthropology and Conservation
*Kent Business School
*School of Economics
*Kent Law School
*School of Politics and International Relations
*School of Psychology
*School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research
|}

The original plan was to have no academic sub-divisions within the three faculties (initially Humanities, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences) and to incorporate an interdisciplinary element to all degrees through common first year courses ("Part I") in each faculty, followed by specialist study in the second and final years ("Part II").<ref name="times040463" /> The lack of Departments encouraged the development of courses that crossed traditional divides, such as Chemical Physics, Chemistry with Control Engineering, Biological Chemistry and Environmental Physical Science.<ref name="Martin39-54">Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' (University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990) pages 39–54 {{ISBN|978-0-904938-03-6}}</ref>

However, the interdisciplinary approach proved increasingly complex for two reasons. The levels of specialisation at [[Advanced Level (UK)|A Levels]] meant that many students had not studied particular subjects for some years and this made it impossible to devise a course that both covered areas unstudied by some and did not bore others. This proved an especial problem in Natural Sciences, where many Mathematics students had not studied Chemistry at A Level and vice versa.
[[File:Kent Business School - UKC.jpg|thumb|right|[[Kent Business School]]]] Additionally many subjects, particularly those in the Social Sciences, were not taught at A Level and required the first year as a grounding in the subject rather than an introduction to several different new subjects. Problems were especially encountered in the Faculty of Natural Sciences where the differing demands of Mathematics and physical sciences led to two almost completely separate programmes and student bases.<ref name="Martin39-54" /> In 1970 this led to the creation of the School of Mathematical Studies, standing outside the Faculties.<ref name="about70">{{cite web| url = http://www.kent.ac.uk/about/history/history70.html| title = About Kent – History – 1970–1979 | access-date = 5 August 2007| date = 11 January 2007| publisher = University of Kent}}</ref> The addition of other subjects led to increased pressure on common Part I programmes and increasingly students took more specialised Part I courses designed to prepare them for Part II study.<ref name="Martin39-54" />

Substantial change to this structure did not come until the 1990s, driven more by national government policy than curricular demands, which were, after all, very flexible by nature. In 1989 the Universities Funding Council, which was merged into the [[Higher Education Funding Council for England]] (HEFCE) in 1992, was charged by the UK Government to determine the cost for teaching each subject. To meet these accountancy requirements, Kent required for the first time that each member of staff declare a single discipline they would be affiliated with in future. When departments were formed in the early 1990s this led to a great deal of reorganisation of staff, and destroyed many existing inter-disciplinary relationships. Following the formation of departments, finance was devolved to departments based on how many students were taught. This quickly evolved into undermining the interdisciplinary context further, as departments sought to control finance by increasing the amount of specialist teaching in the first year.

The university now has the Faculties further divided into 18 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]]. In 2005 a new department, the Kent School of Architecture, began teaching its first students. In 2008, [[Wye College]] came under Kent's remit, in joint partnership with [[Imperial College London]].

In 2020, because of financial pressures caused by a combination of the 2000 demographic dip and the 2020/21 [[COVID-19 pandemic]], the university abolished the faculties and reorganised itself into 6 divisions (see below).

{|
|- style="vertical-align:top; font-size:90%;"
|
;Division of Arts & Humanities
*Kent School of Architecture and Planning
*School of Arts
*School of English
*School of European Culture and Languages
*School of History
*Centre for Music & Audio Technology
|
;Division of Natural Sciences
*School of Bioscience
*School of Physics and Astronomy
*School of Chemistry and Forensic Science
*[[University of Kent – School of Sport & Exercise Sciences|'''School of Sport and''' '''Exercise Sciences''']]
*Medway School of Pharmacy
*[[Kent and Medway Medical School]]
|
;Division of Computing, Engineering & Mathematical Sciences
*School of Computing
*School of Engineering & Digital Arts
*School of Mathematics, Statistics & Actuarial Science (SMSAS)
!
;Kent Business School
|
;Division of Human & Social Sciences
*School of Anthropology & Conservation
*School of Economics
*School of Politics & International Relations
*School of Psychology
|
;Division for the study of Law, Society & Social Justice
*Kent Law School
*School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research (SSPSSR)
*Centre for Journalism
|}

=== Colleges ===
{{more citations needed section|date=November 2024}}
[[File:Darwin College - UKC.JPG|thumb|right|[[Darwin College, Kent|Darwin College]]]]
The university was formerly divided into eight colleges, six colleges named after distinguished scholars, one college after a town and one named after a student village.  As of 2025, colleges have been removed from the university's constitutional documents.<ref name=Ordinances2025/> Colleges had academic schools, lecture theatres, seminar rooms and halls of residence. Each college had a master, who was responsible for student welfare within their college. In chronological order of construction they were:
{| class="sort wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%"
!  style="text-align:left; background:#e9e9e9; vertical-align:top;"|Name
!  style="text-align:left; background:#e9e9e9; vertical-align:top;"|Foundation
!  style="background:#e9e9e9; text-align:left;"|Named after
|-
|'''[[Eliot College, Kent|Eliot College]]'''||1965 ||[[T. S. Eliot]]
|-
|'''[[Rutherford College, Kent|Rutherford College]]'''||1966 ||[[Ernest Rutherford]]
|-
|'''[[Keynes College, Kent|Keynes College]]'''||1968 ||[[John Maynard Keynes]]
|-
|'''[[Darwin College, Kent|Darwin College]]'''||1970 ||[[Charles Darwin]]
|-
|'''[[Park Wood College, Kent|Park Wood College]]'''||1989 (Became a college in 2022) ||Park Wood
|-
|'''[[Medway College, Kent|Medway College]]'''||2000 ||[[Medway]]
|-
|'''Woolf College'''||2008 ||[[Virginia Woolf]]
|-
|'''[[Turing College, Kent|Turing College]]'''||2014 ||[[Alan Turing]]
|}
The university also has an associate college named [[Chaucer College]].

There was much discussion about the names adopted for most of the colleges with the following alternative names all in consideration at one point or another: for Eliot: Caxton, after [[William Caxton]]; for Keynes: [[Richborough]], a town in Kent; [[Anselm of Canterbury|Anselm]], a former [[archbishop of Canterbury]]; and for Darwin: Anselm (again); Attlee, after [[Clement Attlee]], the post-war Prime Minister; Becket, after [[Thomas Becket]], another former archbishop (this was the recommendation of the college's provisional committee but rejected by the Senate); Conrad; Elgar, after [[Edward Elgar]]; Maitland; Marlowe, after [[Christopher Marlowe]]; Russell, after [[Bertrand Russell]] (this was the recommendation of the Senate but rejected by the council); Tyler, after both [[Wat Tyler]] and Tyler Hill on which the campus stands. The name for the college proved especially contentious and was eventually decided by a postal ballot of members of the Senate, choosing from: Attlee, Conrad, Darwin, Elgar, Maitland, Marlowe and Tyler.<ref name="Martin122-126">Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' (University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990) pages 122–126 {{ISBN|978-0-904938-03-6}}</ref>
(Both Becket and Tyler were eventually used as the names for residential buildings on campuses and the building housing both the Architecture and Anthropology departments is named Marlowe.)

Each college had residential rooms, lecture theatres, study rooms, computer rooms and social areas. The intention of the ''colleges'' was that they should not be just [[Halls of residence]], but complete ''academic'' communities. Each college (except Woolf) had its own bar, all rebuilt on a larger scale, and originally its own dining hall (only Rutherford still had a functioning dining hall;{{when|date=July 2025}} Darwin's is hired out for conferences and events; Keynes's was closed in 2000 and converted into academic space, but in 2011 Dolche Vita was expanded and became the dining hall for Keynes students in catered accommodation after Keynes's expansion in 2011; and Eliot's was closed in 2006). It was expected that each college (more were planned) would have around 600 students as members, with an equivalent proportion of staff, with half the students living within the college itself and the rest coming onto campus to eat and study within their colleges. Many facilities, ranging from accommodation, tutorials and alumni relations, would be handled on a college basis. With no planned academic divisions below the Faculty level, the colleges would be main focus of students' lives and there would be no units of a similar or smaller size to provide a rival focus of loyalties.

This vision of a collegiate university increasingly fell away. The funding for colleges did not keep pace with the growth in student numbers, with the result that only four colleges were built. In later years when there was heavy student demand for scarce accommodation in Canterbury the solution was found in building additional on-campus accommodation but not in the form of further colleges. The hopes that students living off campus would stay around to eat dinner in their colleges were not met, whilst the abolition of college amenities fees removed students' direct stake in their colleges. With the growth of specialist subject departments as well as of other university wide facilities, more and more of the role of colleges was transferred to the central university. Accommodation and catering were transferred to the centralised ''University of Kent at Canterbury Hospitality'' (UKCH).<ref name="MartinGen">Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' (University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990) {{ISBN|978-0-904938-03-6}}</ref>

Eventually, the university ceased to operate as a traditional collegiate university – applications were made to the university as a whole, and many of the colleges relied on each other for day-to-day operation. Academic departments had no formal ties to colleges other than those that are located within particular college buildings due to availability of space, with lectures, seminars and tutorials taking place wherever there was an available room rather than on a college basis. Many students were allocated accommodation in their respective college, but some were housed in developments with no defined collegiate link whilst others were housed in different colleges. [[Head of college|College masters]] were abolished in 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kent.ac.uk/governance/downloads/further-information/officers/college-masters.pdf|title=College Masters|website=University of Kent|access-date=31 July 2025}}</ref>

As of 2025, the university is no longer constitutionally collegiate,<ref name=Ordinances2025/> and only three of the offered residences still bear the names of colleges – Darwin, Keynes and Woolf.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/accommodation/options/|title=Your guide to university accommodation: What are your options at Canterbury?|website=University of Kent|date=9 April 2025 |access-date=24 July 2025}}</ref>

[[File:Templeman library.jpg|thumb|The newly renovated Templeman Library at the heart of campus]]

=== Finances ===
In the financial year ended 31 July 2013, the University of Kent had a total income (including share of joint ventures) of £201.3&nbsp;million, grew by 5.8% with an additional £21.4&nbsp;million of fee income (2011/12 – £190.2&nbsp;million) and total expenditure of £188.7&nbsp;million (2011/12 – £175.9&nbsp;million).<ref name=finstat>{{cite web|url=http://www.kent.ac.uk/finance/about/accounts/accounts20122013.pdf|title=Financial Statements 2013|publisher=University of Kent|access-date=30 July 2014}}</ref> Key sources of income included £98.5&nbsp;million from tuition fees and education contracts (2011/12 – £77.2&nbsp;million), £48.9&nbsp;million from Funding Council grants (2011/12 – £62.5&nbsp;million), £13.4&nbsp;million from research grants and contracts (2011/12 – £11.4&nbsp;million) and £1.2&nbsp;million from endowment and investment income (2011/12 – £1.09&nbsp;million).<ref name=finstat/> During the 2012/13 financial year the University of Kent had a capital expenditure of £28.2&nbsp;million (2011/12 – £16.1&nbsp;million).<ref name=finstat/>

At year end the University of Kent had endowment assets of £6.3&nbsp;million (2011/12 – £6.04&nbsp;million) and total net assets of £175.9&nbsp;million (2011/12 – £165.1&nbsp;million).<ref name=finstat/>

The annual income of the institution for 2021–22 was £260.4 million of which £17.7 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £326.7 million.

=== Coat of arms and logo ===
The University of Kent's [[coat of arms]] was granted by the [[College of Arms]] in September 1967.<ref name="about59" /> The [[white horse of Kent]] is taken from the arms of the [[Kent County Council|County of Kent]] (and can also be seen on the [[Flag of Kent]]). The three Cornish [[red-billed chough|choughs]], originally belonging to the arms of [[Thomas Becket]], were taken from the arms of the [[City of Canterbury]]. The Crest depicts the West Gate of Canterbury with a symbolic flow of water, presumably the [[River Stour, Kent|Great Stour]], below it. Two golden Bishops' [[Crosier]]s in the shape of a [[Saltire|St. Andrews Cross]] are shown in front of it. The supporters – lions with the sterns of golden ships – are taken from the arms of the [[Cinque Ports]].<ref name="Martin33-36">Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' (University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990) pages 33–36 {{ISBN|978-0-904938-03-6}}</ref>

The coat of arms is now formally used only for degree certificates, degree programmes and some merchandise, as a result of the university seeking a consistent identity branding.<ref name="identity" />

<gallery>
File:Universityofkentprelogo.png|The university logo pre-2007
File:Universityofkentlogo.png|The university logo post-2007
File:Arms of the University of Kent.svg|The official coat of arms of the University of Kent
</gallery>

== Academic profile ==

=== Research ===
Kent is a research-led university with 24 schools and 40 specialist research centres spanning the sciences, technology, medical studies, the social sciences, arts and humanities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.topuniversities.com/universities/university-kent|title=University of Kent|access-date=6 October 2014}}</ref> In the 2021 [[Research Excellence Framework]] (REF), which assesses the quality of research in UK higher education institutions, Kent is ranked 38th by GPA and 32nd for research power (the grade point average score of a university, multiplied by the full-time equivalent number of researchers submitted).<ref>{{cite web |title=REF 2021: Quality ratings hit new high in expanded assessment |date=12 May 2022 |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ref-2021-research-excellence-framework-results-announced |publisher=Times Higher Education |access-date=18 February 2023}}</ref> In the 2014 REF, the University of Kent was ranked 40th out of 128 participating institutions in a 'grade point average' league table in ''[[The Times Higher Education Supplement]]'' (falling from 31st in 2008),<ref name="timeshighereducation1">{{cite web|url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ref-2014-results-table-of-excellence/2017590.article|title=REF 2014 results: table of excellence|date=18 December 2014|publisher=Times Higher Education|access-date=21 July 2017}}</ref> 30th in terms of 'Research Power' (rising from 40th in 2008),<ref name="timeshighereducation1"/> and 19th in terms of 'Research Intensity' (rising from 49th in 2008).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ref-2014-winners-and-losers-in-intensity-ranking/2017633.article|title=REF 2014: winners and losers in 'intensity' ranking|date=19 December 2014|publisher=Times Higher Education|access-date=21 July 2017}}</ref> The university had a total research income of £17.7 million in the 2021-22 academic year.<ref name="Kent Financial Statement 21/22"/>

=== Reputation and rankings ===
{{Infobox UK university rankings
| ARWU_N = 34-38
| ARWU_W = 401–500
| QS_N = 45=
| QS_W = 397=
| THE_N = 45
| THE_W = 401–500
| LINE_1 = 0
| The_Guardian = 80
| Complete = 49
| Times/Sunday_Times = 56
| LINE_2 = 0
| TEF = Gold
}}
For 2020, ''The Guardian'' newspaper ranked Kent 65th in the UK, while ''[[The Sunday Times]]'' Good University Guide 2018 put Kent in 25th place, as did ''[[The Independent]]'s'' Complete University Guide. [[QS World University Rankings|QS]] placed Kent 46th in the UK and 366th in the world, while [[Times Higher Education]] placed it 44th in the UK and in the 301–350 group worldwide. In ''[[The Sunday Times]]'' 10-year (1998–2007) average ranking of British universities based on consistent league table performance, Kent was ranked 48th overall in the UK.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/pdfs/univ07ten.pdf|title=University ranking based on performance over 10 years|work=[[The Times]] |location=London |year=2007|access-date=28 April 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080414064446/http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/pdfs/univ07ten.pdf <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 14 April 2008}}</ref> In 2015, Kent ranked ahead of 10 [[Russell Group]] universities according to the ranking of [[The Complete University Guide]]. In research, both ''The Guardian'' and ''The Times'' newspapers ranked Kent 29th, with The Independent rating the university 28th for its overall research activity in 2014.<ref name="kent key facts">{{cite web|url=https://www.kent.ac.uk/about/keyfacts2018.html|title=Key Kent facts|access-date=3 August 2018}}</ref>

The [[National Student Survey]] in 2017 placed Kent joint 20th in the UK, with an overall satisfaction of 90%.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/news/national-student-survey-2016-overall-satisfaction-results |title=National Student Survey 2016: overall satisfaction results |date=10 August 2016 |publisher=Times Higher Education |access-date=21 July 2017}}</ref>

In the Times Higher Education's assessment of the 2021 [[Research Excellence Framework]], the History department at Kent was ranked first in the country.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-12 |title=REF 2021: History |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ref-2021-history |access-date=2022-06-04 |website=Times Higher Education (THE) |language=en}}</ref>

=== Library ===
[[File:Templeman Library - UKC.JPG|thumb|right|The Templeman Library, which sits at the heart of the Canterbury Campus. The upper floors offer views of the city of Canterbury.]]
The Templeman Library (named after [[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), yet it is still only half its planned size. 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, on a 24/7 basis. It receives 800,000 visits a year, with approximately half a million loans ''per annum''.

The library also houses the British Cartoon Archive,<ref name="cartoon">{{cite web|url=http://library.kent.ac.uk/cartoons/ |title=British Cartoon Archive website |publisher=Library.kent.ac.uk |access-date=12 April 2010}}</ref> (established 1975<ref name="about70" />) a national collection of political and social cartoons, with over 90,000 images catalogued and an extensive collection of related books.

In 2013 work began to extend, refurbish and completely modernise the Templeman Library, including the addition of study space, along with the creation of a new purpose-built lecture theatre. Additionally, the Library facade underwent major renovation. This work was completed in 2017, with additional refurbishment work planned for 2018.

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

The students of the Franco-British double-degree programme receive, at the end of the fourth year, the Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from the University of Kent, the Diplôme by the IEP of Lille and, at the end of the fifth year, either the [[Master of Arts]] (MA) degree in Canterbury or in Brussels or the Master delivered by the IEP of Lille, chosen between ''14 parcours de formation'' by the IEP of Lille.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://195.83.2.11/SCOLA/maquette/parcours_en.html |title=''14 parcours de formation'' |publisher=195.83.2.11 |access-date=12 April 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070929034854/http://195.83.2.11/SCOLA/maquette/parcours_en.html |archive-date = 29 September 2007}}</ref><ref>[http://195.83.2.11/formation/franco-britannique.html ''Official Site of the Franco-British course at the IEP of Lille and at the University of Kent at Canterbury''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060219004817/http://195.83.2.11/formation/franco-britannique.html |date=19 February 2006 }} – French and English</ref>

== Student life ==
===Admissions and enrolment===
{| class="floatright"
| 
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:85%; text-align:center; margin-bottom: 5px"
|+UCAS Admission Statistics
!
!2022
!2021
!2020
!2019
!2018
|-
| '''Applications'''{{efn-lg|name=mainscheme}}<ref name=UCASEoC22>{{cite web |title=UCAS Undergraduate Sector-Level End of Cycle Data Resources 2022|url=https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis/undergraduate-statistics-and-reports/ucas-undergraduate-sector-level-end-cycle-data-resources-2022 |at=Show me... Domicile by Provider|website=ucas.com |date=December 2022 |publisher=UCAS |access-date=8 February 2023}}</ref>
| 20,080
| 21,440
| 22,245
| 22,450
| 27,620
|-
| '''Accepted'''{{efn-lg|name=mainscheme}}<ref name=UCASEoC22/>
| 4,580
| 4,715
| 4,870
| 4,640
| 5,065
|-
| '''Applications/Accepted Ratio'''{{efn-lg|name=mainscheme}}
| 4.38
| 4.55
| 4.57
| 4.84
| 5.45
|-
| '''Offer Rate (%)'''{{efn-lg|name=ukjune}}<ref name="offer rate22">{{cite web|title=2022 entry UCAS Undergraduate reports by sex, area background, and ethnic group|date=2 February 2023 |url=https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis/undergraduate-statistics-and-reports/ucas-undergraduate-sector-level-end-cycle-data-resources-2022/2022-entry-ucas-undergraduate-reports-sex-area-background-and-ethnic-group|publisher=[[UCAS]]|access-date=2 February 2023}}</ref>
| 89.8
| 90.2
| 88.6
| 86.5
| 83.2
|-
| '''[[UCAS Tariff|Average Entry Tariff]]'''<ref name="CUG Entry">{{Cite web | url=https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?tabletype=full-table&sortby=entry-standards | title=University League Tables entry standards 2024 |work=The Complete University Guide}}</ref>
| {{n/a}}
| 127
| 123
| 125
| 125
|}
{| style="font-size:80%;float:left"
|{{notelist-lg|refs=
{{efn-lg|name=mainscheme|Main scheme applications, International and UK}}
{{efn-lg|name=ukjune|UK domiciled applicants}}
}}
|}
|}

The student population is mixed, with around 15,000 undergraduates and 4,000 postgraduates, with approximately 22% of students coming from overseas.<ref name="HESA2">{{cite web |url= http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php/component/option,com_datatables/task,show_file/defs,0/Itemid,121/catdex,3/disp,institution0506.htm/dld,institution0506.xls/yrStr,2005+to+2006/dfile,studefs0506.htm/area,institution/mx,0/ |title= Table 0a – All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2005/06 |work= [[Higher Education Statistics Agency]] online statistics |access-date= 6 August 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070928044647/http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php/component/option,com_datatables/task,show_file/defs,0/Itemid,121/catdex,3/disp,institution0506.htm/dld,institution0506.xls/yrStr,2005+to+2006/dfile,studefs0506.htm/area,institution/mx,0/ |archive-date= 28 September 2007 |url-status= dead |df= dmy-all }} There are approximately 18,00 students. 15,270 are United Kingdom students (3,385 postgraduates and 11,885 undergraduates), a total of 83.8%. 10,095 students are female (2165 postgraduates and 7390 undergraduates), a total of 55.4%.</ref> Approximately 128 different nationalities are currently represented, and the female to male ratio is 55 women to every 45 men.<ref name="HESA2" />

New students entering the university in 2021 had an average of 127 points (the equivalent of BBB-ABB at A Level).<ref name="CUG Entry"/> According to the 2023 ''Times'' and ''Sunday Times'' Good University Guide, approximately 4% of Kent's undergraduates come from independent schools.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://extras.thetimes.co.uk/gooduniversityguide/institutions/ |title= The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023 |work= [[Rankings of universities in the United Kingdom|The Good University Guide]] |location= London |access-date= 16 February 2023 |archive-date= 29 November 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221129125021/https://extras.thetimes.co.uk/gooduniversityguide/institutions/ |url-status= dead }}{{subscription required}}</ref>

=== Students' Union ===
The Students' Union, officially known as "Kent Union", is the [[students' union|student representative body]] for students at the university. It is led by five elected full-time officers (the '[[Sabbatical officer|sabbatical team]]'), a Board of trustees, part-time student officers and 'lay' members of the local community and business selected for their specialist expertise.

The university has two [[Co-op Food|Co-Op]] shops, one in the main campus area, and the other in Park Wood student village. The two all-purpose food and essentials stores were previously known ''Essentials'' and ''Parkwood Essentials''. The Union also operates the Park Wood bar ''Woody's'' and a 1,500 capacity nightclub ''The Venue'' which, unusually, is located on the central campus. Essentials, the Venue and other shops and Union offices are located in purpose-made buildings completed in 1998.<ref name="about90">{{cite web| url = http://www.kent.ac.uk/about/history/history90.html| title = About Kent – History – 1990–1999 | access-date = 5 August 2007| date = 11 January 2007| publisher = University of Kent}}</ref> Kent Union also co-ordinates over 200 sports clubs and societies, as well as media outlets, volunteering and charity activities, and provides student welfare services.

The Students' Union has hosted concerts by bands including [[Led Zeppelin]]<ref>{{cite web|title=University of Kent |publisher=Led Zeppelin – Official Website |url=http://www.ledzeppelin.com/venue/university-kent |access-date=29 May 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071220215819/http://ledzeppelin.com/venue/university-kent |archive-date=20 December 2007 }}</ref> and [[The Who]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Year 1970 |publisher=The Who Concert Guide |url=http://www.thewholive.de/konzerte/zeige_konzert.php?GroupID=1&Jahr=1970 |access-date=29 May 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071027153214/http://www.thewholive.de/konzerte/zeige_konzert.php?GroupID=1&Jahr=1970 |archive-date=27 October 2007 }}</ref>

==== Demonstrations ====
[[File:Kent Union Banner.jpg|right|thumb|The former banner of Kent Union, featuring the Union's old logo]]
In early March 1970 a General Meeting of the University of Kent at Canterbury Students' Union voted to occupy the Cornwallis Building as part of a national student movement to open personal records to individual student scrutiny.<ref name=Guardian1>{{cite news | author = a Staff Reporter | title = Students sit in at four universities | work = The Guardian | page = 3 | date = 8 March 1970 }}</ref> The occupation lasted about two weeks, with a majority vote ending the occupation on 18 March. Approximately 400 students marched out of the Cornwallis Building to present a set of demands that were handed by Union President David Lawrence to the University Registrar Mr Eric Fox. The demands had been drawn up and debated by groups of up to 300 students at a time in meetings and seminars held throughout the occupation.<ref name=Guardian2>{{cite news | author = Staff Reporters | title = Kent students end sit-in with no demand met | work = The Guardian | page = 6 | date = 19 March 1970 }}</ref>

In the early to mid-1970s, along with other plate-glass universities, the Union had a reputation for revolutionary politics, leading to demands for law changes from some staff trade unionists.<ref name="times021674">{{cite news|title=Trade unionists want law to curb student militants |newspaper=[[The Times]]|date=2 February 1974}}</ref> It was active in anti-poll tax, anti-student loans and anti-racism campaigns as well as safety campaigns on campus in the late 1980s.

In 2003, ahead of the 'Top Up Fees' vote, the Union took 300 students to take part in the NUS UK Student Demonstrations on three double decker buses. The Union covered all the transport costs to the demonstration. In 2010, ahead of a parliamentary vote on issues concerning raising tuition fees, the Union took part in the [[2010 UK student protests|national demonstrations]]. The union heavily subsidised the transport for 500 students to get to London.

=== Chaplaincy ===

Whilst the university is [[secular]], there is a chaplaincy consisting of permanent [[Church of England|Anglican]] and [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] priests and a [[Pentecostal]] [[Minister (Christianity)|minister]], as well as part-time chaplains from other denominations and faiths. The chaplaincy runs the annual Carol Service that takes place every year in [[Canterbury Cathedral]] at the end of Autumn Term.

[[File:Turing College.jpg|thumb|Turing College, a strictly residential college on the Canterbury campus]]

=== Student housing ===
The university has the following undergraduate student housing on the Canterbury campus:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kent.ac.uk/accommodation/canterbury/undergraduate-accommodation|title=Undergraduate accommodation|website=University of Kent|access-date=24 July 2025}}</ref>
* Becket Court (meal plan)
* Darwin College (self catered)
* Giles Court (self catered)
* Keynes College (meal plan)
* Keynes Flats (self catered)
* Keynes Houses (self catered)
* KMMS accommodation – dedicated rooms for Kent and Medway Medical School students in Park Wood (self catered) 
* Park Wood Flats (self catered)
* Park Wood House (self catered)
* Turing Flats (self catered)
* Turing Houses (self catered)
* Tyler Court (self catered)
* Woolf College (self catered)

Postgraduate rooms are available at Darwin College, Darwin Houses, Keynes College and Woolf College.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kent.ac.uk/accommodation/canterbury/postgraduate-accommodation|title=Postgraduate accommodation|website=University of Kent|access-date=24 July 2025}}</ref>

Accessible rooms are available in Giles Court, Keynes Flats, Park Wood Flats (Kemsdale Court), Turing Flats, Tyler Court and Woolf College.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kent.ac.uk/accommodation/accessible|title=Accessible and adapted rooms|website=University of Kent|access-date=24 July 2025}}</ref>

=== Student media ===

==== CSR 97.4FM ====
{{main|CSR 97.4FM}}
University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University, as well as their associated Students' Unions, fund Canterbury's only student and community radio station: CSR 97.4FM. The radio station broadcasts from studios at both universities 24 hours a day, with live broadcasting from 7{{nbsp}}am – 12{{nbsp}}am. CSR 97.4FM replaced [[UKC Radio]], the original student-run radio station at the university.

==== InQuire ====
The university has a student newspaper named InQuire and an online news website InQuire Media<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.inquirelive.co.uk |title=InQuire Media |publisher=InQuire Media |date=5 June 2019 |access-date=5 June 2019}}</ref> (launched in January 2008). The newspaper is published every month and is made in its entirety by a group of student volunteers. Content is edited by volunteers and is focused on campus issues and news that affects students. Funded by Kent Union, the newspaper is subject to moderation before publication.

==== Kent Television ====
{{main|Kent Television}}
Kent Television (KTV), founded in 2012, is the volunteer-run television studio at the university.<ref>{{cite web|title=KTV – Kent Union Website|url=http://www.kentunion.co.uk/organisation/13182/|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160514151151/http://www.kentunion.co.uk/organisation/13182/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2016-05-14|publisher=Kent Union}}</ref>

== Notable alumni ==
{{see also|List of University of Kent people|Category:Alumni of the University of Kent}}Alumni of the University of Kent include several academics (particularly at British universities), two recipients of the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]], a recipient of the [[Victoria Cross]] and relations of the extended [[British royal family]].

==See also==
*[[Armorial of UK universities]]
*[[List of universities in the United Kingdom]]
*[[Plate glass university]]

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* {{official website|http://www.kent.ac.uk}}
* [http://www.kentunion.co.uk/ University of Kent Students' Union]

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