University of Sussex

The University of Sussex received its Royal Charter in 1961, the first of the new universities created during the expansion of UK higher education in the 1960s. Its campus at Falmer, on the edge of Brighton and Hove, is set in parkland bordering the South Downs National Park, around 10 minutes from the city centre and about an hour from London. Several of its original buildings, designed by Sir Basil Spence, are Grade I listed.

The university has around 19,000 students, roughly a third of whom are international, and staff and students from more than 170 countries. Teaching and research are organised across schools covering subjects including engineering, business, psychology, law, the social sciences and medicine, the last through the Brighton and Sussex Medical School run jointly with the University of Brighton. Sussex is particularly well known for development studies, supported by the Institute of Development Studies on campus. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, 89 per cent of submitted research was rated world-leading or internationally excellent, and the university counts six Nobel Prize winners among its current and former academics.

Information for International Students

International students account for around a third of the student body, and the university attracts students from more than 170 countries. Specialist Immigration Advisers help students with Student visa applications and immigration questions before arrival and throughout their studies, and the university offers support with travelling to campus on arrival. An English language team provides workshops and one-to-one tutorials during degree study.

English language requirements vary by course, typically IELTS 6.0 or 6.5 overall for most programmes and 7.0 for some. The university runs on-campus pre-sessional English courses of 16, 10 and 5 weeks for students who hold a conditional offer. The University of Sussex International Study Centre, operated in partnership with Study Group, offers an International Foundation Year, International Year One and Pre-Masters programmes. The university guarantees a single room in university accommodation to new undergraduate, Master's and PhD students who apply by the published summer deadline, with a small number of course exceptions. Graduates may be eligible for the Graduate Route.