About

Faculty of Arts and Humanities

Global leaders in arts and humanities

Our Faculty of Arts and Humanities offers a unique, research-led student experience across a broad range of undergraduate, postgraduate and research programmes.

Our schools and departments cover a huge range of disciplines and we are dedicated to encouraging interdisciplinary approaches, so our students see how subjects interconnect. We have an excellent reputation for the quality of student experience and are committed to helping our students develop the skills they need for the future. Our schools and departments also consistently achieve excellent results for student satisfaction in the National Student Survey.

We seek to build on our excellent reputation for the quality of student experience while helping our students develop the skills they need for their future careers. We include the development of relevant employability skills in degree programmes and are keen to help students gain work experience in their area of interest through internships, voluntary activity, group projects and increased links with regional business and creative industries.

Our graduates go on to a huge range of roles including teaching, the media, journalism, tourism, publishing, local government, voluntary agencies and research. We have seen our graduates go on to jobs at leading cultural institutions and organisations including the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Tate Modern, the Royal Academy and The National Trust.

Our academics are leading major research projects ranging from the art of Latin America through to the English Civil War and the issues surrounding mental capacity. Our Faculty's outstanding reputation for research was confirmed by the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, with Essex ranked in the top 20 for research excellence in art history, law and philosophy (Grade Point Average, REF2021).

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A world class reputation
  • 1st in the UK for Drama (The Guardian University Guide 2026)
  • 3rd for student positivity in liberal arts (NSS 2025, English Broad Discipline Universities)
  • 3rd in the UK for research power in law (Times Higher Education research power measure, Research Excellence Framework 2021)
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Funded PhD studentship: Fulfilling the Broken Promise of Support for Mental Capacity in an Era of Assisted Dying

The Essex Autonomy Project is offering this fully funded Collaborative Doctoral Award, supervised in collaboration with the National Mental Capacity Forum. Candidate criteria include holding a BA and MA (or the equivalent in professional experience) in Philosophy or a related discipline. The successful applicant will contribute to a multi-disciplinary research project applying philosophical tools to challenges of practice.

More about this studentship

Our Schools, Departments and Research Centres

Essex Law School

In the Essex Law School, we teach the law that matters. We are freer, more daring and more experimental than many traditional law schools and our Human Rights Centre is a recognised international leader.

This school is also home to the following Institute:

School of Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies

We have brought three fields of study together within our School of Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies to open up exciting new possibilities for dialogue and collaboration while preserving the distinct identities of each discipline. Our School offers research-led and innovative teaching in a friendly, interconnected environment.

This school is also home to the following Centres:

Department of Literature, Film and Theatre Studies

The Literature, Film and Theatre Studies department has expertise in journalism, drama, English literature, creative writing, film and screen media, and courses are taught by writers, film makers, journalists and leading academics. As a interdisciplinary department, students have the opportunity to follow specialised pathways, but are also able to combine interests across subject areas.

This department is also home to the following centres.

East 15 Acting School

East 15 equips the theatre professionals of the future by providing training and industry-enriched experiences that deliver outstanding outcomes for their students. Their courses provide rigourous training for those seeking a career in stage, TV, film and radio.

Edge Hotel School

The Edge Hotel School is the first UK hotel school of its kind. It provides industry-led hospitality and events management degrees with hands-on experience in a real 4* hotel on campus.

Edge Hotel School have a diverse academic community where different levels of industry-relevant experience and academic expertise, are brought together by shared passions and interests.

Essex Pathways Department

Our Essex Pathways Department is a gateway to the University of Essex. It helps students without standard entry requirements to grow in confidence, unlock their potential, and nurture their ambitions so they can progress in academic study.

Faculty related news
Marina Cusi on theatre, activism and power
26 Feb 2026
Double success for Essex graduates at Study UK Alumni Awards
20 Feb 2026
East 15 graduate lands role at Royal Court Theatre
17 Feb 2026
Faculty related events
Bhutan – how it has achieved Net Zero
02.03.26
Cancelled: Eco-fascism and far right environmentalism
02.03.26
The 18th Annual Human Rights in Asia Conference: “Human Rights, Technology and Development” - Day 1.
07.03.26