01
1963
UEA opens: Biological Sciences and English Studies welcome the first student cohort to UEA.
Landmarks
There have been many momentous events in UEA's history - from royal visits, to the founding of new schools of study, to student protests, to iconic gigs at the LCR. Click on the panels below to reveal some of UEA's greatest moments. Tell us about UEA Landmarks that mean something to you.
02
1964
The Schools of European Studies, Chemical Sciences, Mathematics and Physics and Social Studies open.
03
1964
Arthur Miller's The Crucible is the first drama production to be staged at UEA. Actor John Rhys Davies, (Lord of the Rings) is the Drama Society's first President.
04
1965
Benjamin Britten is appointed Music Advisor at UEA. In 1967, he conducts the UEA Choir in a performance of his War Requiem.
05
1965
UEA's first official student newspaper, Mandate is published. Concrete, the newspaper which is in circulation today, was re-launched in 1992, having made its first appearance at UEA in 1973. Throughout the years, other student publications have included Phoenix, Can Opener, Mustard Magazine and Kett.
06
1967
The School of Environmental Sciences opens. Solly Zuckerman, public servant and widely-acclaimed scientist, implements his pioneering vision for the interdisciplinary study of the environment at UEA, a principal which the Faculty still adheres to today. (Image courtesy of the Zuckerman Archive, UEA)
07
1967
Ziggurats – the iconic student residences, ingeniously designed by Denys Lasdun to recall, "vineyards in France…or a rocky outcrop on a slope" are completed.
08
1967
The John Innes Centre moves from Bayfordbury on the outskirts of Hertfordshire to Colney Lane, forming the foundation of the modern Norwich Research Park and raising Norfolk's profile as a region for scientific investigation.
09
1968
There is unrest across campus as students protest against the Vietnam War. The 1970s saw further demonstrations, with students boycotting Nestle and occupying the Arts block during the ‘Increase Grants Campaign'.
10
1968
In the year that the Library opens on campus, UEA receives two Royal visits. Both Princess Margaret and the Queen come to tour the new university for the first time and are shown around student residences and academic buildings.
11
1970
Malcolm Bradbury and Angus Wilson establish the first Creative Writing course in the UK. UEA's School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing (LDC) has produced some incredibly successful authors, including prize-winners Kazuo Ishiguro, Ian McEwan, Rose Tremain, John Boyne and Andrew Miller.
12
1970
Start of Nexus, student-made television service. When it first launches programmes are transmitted daily, for two hours over lunchtime. UEA:TV continues to operate today with students still involved in documenting campus life.
13
1972
The Centre for Climatic Research opens, founded by climatologist Hubert Lamb. Lamb gained attention during the 1970s, initially for his theories on world cooling and a future ice age and - after the heat wave of 1975-76 - for his warnings about global warming and climate change. The Hubert Lamb (CRU) building is opened in 1986.
14
1972
The Square wins a Civic Trust Award. The architect, leading conservation designer Sir Bernard Feilden, oversaw completion of Sir Denys Lasdun's plans for the initial phase of the campus. His firm, Feilden and Mawson had been architects for the University Village.
15
1973
Work begins on the UEA Broad, and will continue for the next five years. The project, which involves excavating eighteen acres of gravel, is arranged as part of a ‘no money' deal whereby a local aggregate company excavates the gravel free of charge leaving the University a landscaped body of water fed by the River Yare.
16
1973
Union House and the Street open, along with the SU bar and LCR. Until the LCR was launched, students had enjoyed spending their evenings in ‘The Barn', by the University Village. The first shops on campus include a SPAR supermarket and Bowes & Bowes bookshop.
17
1973
The School of Computing Science opens at UEA. CMP was one of the first ten Computing departments in the UK and pioneered many courses, including Accountancy, which laid the foundations for what is now the Norwich Business School.
18
1975
The University begins offering Education degrees from Keswick Hall, a manor house owned by the Gurney family and situated on the outskirts of Norwich. Education is initially offered as a postgraduate qualification only, however by the late 70s a BA is also created.
19
1978
The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, designed by Norman Foster and built to house both the Robert and Lisa Sainsbury collection and UEA's School of Fine Art (now the School of World Art Studies and Museology), opens in 1978.
20
1984
LAW moves to Earlham Hall. The building, dating back to 1580, was once home to many famous local residents including Elizabeth Fry and the Gurney family.
21
1989
Kazuo Ishiguro wins the Man Booker Prize for Remains of the Day becoming the first of three UEA graduates to receive the award. Ian McEwan was recipient in 1998 for his novel Amsterdam and Anne Enright won in 2007 for The Gathering.
22
1989
The British Centre for Literary Translation is founded by WG Sebald. Before his untimely death in 2001, many had tipped Sebald as a future recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
23
1989
The Arthur Miller Centre for American Studies is set up to encourage and facilitate the study of the United States. In 2000, Arthur Miller spends his 85th birthday at UEA and is made an honorary graduate.
24
1989
The Sainsbury Laboratory opens at the John Innes Centre. The Laboratory has since gained a global reputation in plant and microbial science, paying credit to the Sainsbury family's continued investment in scientific and arts-based research at British universities.
25
1990
The University's student radio station, Livewire helped to kick-start the career of current Radio 1 DJ, drama alumnus Greg James. Previous Radio 1 DJ and UEA honorary graduate, John Peel first opened the station in 1990. It is now one of the longest running student radio stations in the country.
26
1993
The UEA Drama Studio opens, providing the campus with a professionally-equipped 200-seat, fully working theatre building and teaching space. The Studio is officially opened in 1994, by acclaimed actor and honorary UEA graduate Timothy West.
27
1993
Union of UEA Students' take over the management of The Waterfront. The venue has gone from strength to strength over the years, hosting artists such as Radiohead, Nirvana, Amy Winehouse and MGMT.
28
1994
1994 is another good year for Royal visits as the Queen's Building, which now houses the School of Allied Health Professions, is opened by Queen Elizabeth. Also this year, the Prince of Wales visits UEA's School of Environmental Sciences.
29
1995
The Elizabeth Fry Building is completed, providing new lecture and seminar facilities capable of catering for almost 800 students at a time.
30
1999
UEA academic, Andrew Motion is appointed Poet Laureate following the death of his predecessor, Ted Hughes. Motion succeeded Malcolm Bradbury as UEA Professor of Creative Writing in 1995 and was co-Director (with Paul Magrs) of the MA in Creative Writing until 2002.
31
1999
Sacré Théâtre is formed, giving a name to the longest running staff-student French theatre company in the country. The School of Language and Communication studies have now been staging annual productions for over 45 years and are the UK's only permanent French theatre company.
32
1999
The Institute of Food Research brings its leading science centre to Colney Lane, joining other world-class organisations situated on the Norwich Research Park.
33
2000
Based on our impressive reputation for environmental research, the government choose UEA as the site of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, bringing together a range of scientists to develop sustainable responses to climate change in partnership with businesses, the media and general public.
34
2000
The Sportspark opens its doors to the public on 1 September. The £17.6m building is formally opened by Princess Anne, bringing international sporting facilities to Norwich. The Sportspark houses an Olympic-sized pool, floodlit astro-pitches and the tallest climbing wall in Norfolk.
35
2001
UEA alumnus, Sir Paul Nurse is awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine. He wins the Prize together with Timothy Hunt and Leland Hartwell, "for their discoveries of key regulators of the cell cycle".
36
2002
UEA is the first UK university to implement an Ethical Investment Policy. The Student's Union has protested against unethical corporations since its formation. The official boycott of Nestle products, first implemented in the 70s, is still in place across the Students' Union today.
37
2002
UEA Medical School opens with 110 students enrolled, enjoying close collaboration with the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and world-class research centres. A year later, the School of Pharmacy opens. Over the last ten years, it has risen to become one of the top Pharmacy departments in the country.
38
2003
UEA founding father, Frank Thistlethwaite dies at the age of 87. It is said that he found the idea of creating a university from scratch "quite irresistible". The first Vice-Chancellor's vision and enthusiasm - which did not stop following his retirement in 1980 - helped to make UEA what it is today.
39
2003
In the same year that one of the most energy efficient buildings in the country - the Zuckerman Institute for Connective Environmental Research (ZICER) - opens on campus, the walkways and a number of UEA's original buildings - the Teaching Wall and Ziggurats - gain Grade II listed status.
40
2004
UEA team appears on University Challenge. The University was first represented on the famous television show by members of the 1963 student cohort. Over Christmas 2012, four of our high-profile alumni took place in a special series, coming second in a final against New College Oxford.
41
2006
UEA's newest student residences are opened on the anniversary of Lord Nelson's birth by his descendent Lord Walpole. Victory House is named after Nelson's ship and continues a tradition of naming UEA buildings in celebration of the region, notable people and local families.
42
2007
INTO University East Anglia, a £30m study centre for international students, admits its first students. The centre has its own five-storey, 140,000 square foot centre, comprising multi-purpose lecture theatres, classrooms, IT and science laboratories, flexible teaching and self-study space, as well as 415 en-suite study bedrooms.
43
2008
UEA wins a bid to become one of the UK's six beacons of public engagement and CUE East is formed, to enhance connections between UEA and the Norwich Research Park and local communities.
44
2008
The University celebrates the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), to which UEA has contributed more than any other university in the world.
45
2009
In November, ‘Climategate' hits UEA as the Climatic Research Unit servers are hacked and emails leaked, calling scientists into question over the validity of climate change research. UEA academics are subsequently fully exonerated following an investigation.
46
2009
UEA London opens, in partnership with INTO, providing language tuition for prospective university students. As well as establishing an important centre in the capital, UEA London provides a home for a number of flagship Norwich Business School programmes and the MA in Creative Entrepreneurship.
47
2009
The School of International Development is awarded a Queen's Anniversary Prize in recognition of more than 40 years' sustained, highly respected responses to environmental change and poverty in some of the world's poorest countries.
48
2010
The Thomas Paine Study Centre is opened by playwright, Trevor Griffiths. Named after the local luminary and visionary thinker, the building is home to the Norwich Business School.
49
2011
UEA wins a second Queens Anniversary Prize for its distinguished Creative Writing programme, further bolstering the region's reputation as a literary hub and helping Norwich to achieve its status as England's first UNESCO City of Literature in 2012.
50
2013
UEA celebrates its 50th Anniversary! 2013 marks 50 years of successful innovation, creativity and academic prowess, giving us an opportunity to reflect on all we have achieved so far and to look ahead to the many ways in which we will continue to resolve the world's grand challenges.