The University of Sussex is a British campus university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, 4 miles (6.4 km) from Brighton. It was the first of the new wave of British universities founded in the 1960s. It received its Royal Charter in August 1961. Sussex quickly came to be identified with postwar social change and an innovative interdisciplinary approach to teaching and research.
The university is ranked within the top 30 in the UK: The Guardian university rankings for 2005 placed Sussex 16th; the 2008 Good University Guide placed it 24th. According to the 2008 Guardian university rankings, Sussex has Britain's best chemistry department. Its professor, Geoff Cloke, was in 2007 elected a fellow of The Royal Society. In 2008 the University of Sussex was Ranked 20th in the UK, within the top 50 in Europe and 130th in the World. Sussex is the only English university located entirely within an area of outstanding natural beauty, the South Downs.
History
The University of Sussex initially began as an idea for the construction of a university to serve Brighton. In December 1911 there was a public meeting at the Royal Pavilion in order to discover ways in which to fund the construction of a university. However, the project was halted by the First World War and the money raised was instead used for books for the Municipal Technical College. However, the idea was revived in the 1950s, and in June 1958, the government approved the corporation's scheme for a university at Brighton, the first of a new generation of red brick universities which came to be known as plate glass universities. The University was established as a company in 1959, with a Royal Charter being granted on 16 August 1961. The University of Sussex rapidly gained a reputation of radicalism and liberalism.
In 2004, the University started using a new corporate-style logo in place of its coat of arms. Former vice-chancellor, Professor Alasdair Smith, said: "Our new visual identity is the starting point for what will be a fresh look and feel for Sussex. It is based on the university's vision and values, themselves a statement of what it aspires to be: pioneering, creative, international, excellent, engaging and challenging". The new logo is also meant to reflect the large changes that are occurring at Sussex, such as the opening of the new Brighton and Sussex Medical School, new degree programmes, and the largest amount of building work on campus since the university opened. The University retains the right to resume use of its coat of arms.
Campus
The campus, designed by Sir Basil Spence, is located in the village of Falmer, next to its railway station, and accessed by car from the A27 road. It is situated next to the Sussex Downs, which influenced Sir Basil Spence's design of the campus.
Sir Basil Spence's designs were appreciated in the architecture community, with many of the buildings on the University's campus winning awards. The gatehouse-inspired Falmer House won a bronze medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects. Another campus building, The Meeting House, won the Civic Trust award in 1969. In 1993, the buildings which made up the core of Sir Basil Spence's designs were given listed building status, with Falmer House being one of only two buildings to be given a Grade 1 status of "exceptional interest".
Library ( Special Collections )
The University of Sussex holds a number of internationally acclaimed archival, manuscript and rare book collections, mostly relating to twentieth-century literary, political and social history. Our special collections include the papers of Rudyard Kipling, the New Statesman Archive, a series of collections relating to the Bloomsbury Group, including the Monks House Papers (Virginia Woolf), and over 60 other manuscript collections. The Mass-Observation Archive contains the papers of the social research organisation of the 1930s and 40s and continues to collect new material in the present day. We also hold the University’s own archival and administrative records. Special Collections also cares for the Barlow Collection of Chinese ceramics, bronzes & jades.
Research
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 the latest Times Higher Education Supplement – World University Rankings 2008, Sussex ranked in the top 20 in the UK, the top 50 in Europe and the top 150 in the world. Within those rankings, Sussex is ranked 5th in the UK in terms of the impact of its research.
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.
In 2006, Thomson Scientific ranked the University second in the United Kingdom in terms of research, based on the impact levels per paper, shortly behind the University of Oxford. The fields noted for the University were Physics and Space Science.
Schools
- Humanities
- Life Sciences
- Science and Technology
- Social Sciences and Cultural Studies
- SPRU - Science and Technology Policy Research
- Sussex Institute
- Brighton and Sussex Medical School
University of Sussex was ranked 130th in the 2008 THES-QS World University Ranking.
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