University of East Anglia

University of East Anglia

University of East Anglia coat of arms
Motto	Do Different
Type	Public research university
Established	1963
Endowment	£7.6 million (2015/16)
Chancellor	Karen Jones CBE
Vice-Chancellor	David Richardson
Administrative staff	3,910
Students	16,145 (2015/16)
Undergraduates	11,645 (2015/16)
Postgraduates	4,495 (2015/16)
Location	Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom 52°37′18″N 1°14′30″E / 52.62167°N 1.24167°E / 52.62167; 1.24167Coordinates: 52°37′18″N 1°14′30″E / 52.62167°N 1.24167°E / 52.62167; 1.24167
Campus	320 acres (130 ha)
Chair of Council	Joe Greenwell CBE
Colours	Blue & yellow
Affiliations	ACU AMBA Aurora Eastern ARC EUA Universities UK Norwich Research Park
Website	www.uea.ac.uk

The University of East Anglia (abbreviated as UEA) is an English public research university located in the city of Norwich. Established in 1963, the university comprises four faculties and 26 schools of study. Situated to the south-west of the city of Norwich, the university campus is approximately 320 acres (130 hectares) in size.

In national league tables the university has most recently been ranked 15th in the UK by The Times and Sunday Times and 14th by The Complete University Guide. The university also ranks among the top 3 for student satisfaction in the National Student Survey, when considering mainstream English universities. It is the only institution to rank in the top 5 since the survey began. The university also ranks in the world top 1% according to the Times Higher Education World Rankings (2015/16) and within the World Top 100 for research excellence in the Leiden Ranking (2016).

Attempts had been made to establish a university in Norwich in 1919 and 1947, but due to a lack of government funding on both occasions the plans had to be postponed. The University of East Anglia was eventually given the green light in April 1960, and opened its doors in October 1963 to biological sciences and English studies students. Initially, teaching took place in the temporary "University Village". Sited on the opposite side of the Earlham Road to the present campus, this was a collection of prefabricated structures designed for 1200 students, laid out by the local architectural firm Feilden and Mawson. There were no residences. The vice-chancellor and administration were based in nearby Earlham Hall.

In 1961, the first vice-chancellor, Frank Thistlethwaite, had approached Denys Lasdun, an adherent of the "New Brutalist" trend in architecture, who was at that time building Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, to produce designs for the permanent campus. The site chosen was on the western edge of the city, on the south side of Earlham Road. The land, formerly part of the Earlham Hall estate was at that time occupied by a golf course. Lasdun unveiled a model and an outline plan at a press conference in April 1963, but it took another year to produce detailed plans, which diverged considerably from the model. The first buildings did not open until late 1966.