Essex excellence in social sciences confirmed.

Essex’s position as one of the UK’s top universities for social sciences was confirmed in the new Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, published this week.

Politics, Linguistics, Sociology and Economics at Essex all ranked in the top 20 among UK universities.

Essex’s strength in the humanities was also reinforced with Philosophy, History of Art, American Studies and Dance, Drama and Cinematics also gaining top 20 rankings.

Overall, the 2014 Guide put the University at 39th place out of 121 universities across the UK, up one place from last year.

Essex saw improvements in its student satisfaction ratings – up five places to 12th. This reflects the University coming second for overall student satisfaction earlier this year in the National Student Survey, with record scores across all categories.

Professor Jane Wright, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education) at the Essex, said: “We are committed to offering an outstanding education and our students recognise the investment we are making at Essex to improve the student experience, reflected in the fact we came second for overall student satisfaction in the recent National Student Survey.”

A decline in the number of students choosing postgraduate study saw a fall in Essex’s graduate prospects ranking, which masked a four-year high for students progressing to graduate level jobs.

Professor Wright added: “We are working hard to prepare our students for the jobs they aspire to, making sure they have the skills employers are looking for. We are making progress, with a 3.1 per cent improvement in the proportion of graduates getting graduate level jobs - the highest level for four years.”