Inspired by our Church of England foundation, the University’s mission is to pursue excellence in higher education: transforming individuals, creating knowledge, enriching communities, and building a sustainable future.

With our original campus built upon land that formed the outer precincts of St Augustine’s Abbey (founded in about 602AD), within clear view of Canterbury’s majestic and world-renowned cathedral, Canterbury Christ Church University was literally grounded in the church.

Today our connection to the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion is as important to our identity as ever.

Now as a University comprising three campuses across Kent and Medway, the meaning of our Church Foundation extends beyond history alone to encompass ethos, values, and practice. It underpins the welcome we offer to all, regardless of faith or belief.

The ethic of service to the public good, which coloured our small beginnings as a teacher training college, continues to inform the diverse syllabus that characterises our contemporary life. It has also determined the shape of our geographical footprint as we have sought to enhance accessibility to Higher Education for some of Kent’s most disadvantaged communities.

For us, even at a time when the cost of education is rising sharply, while a degree must represent value for money, it cannot be measured in financial terms alone. ‘The truth shall set you free’- so runs our University motto taken from John’s Gospel. Free for what? Education at its heart concerns learning for life, not just in the sense that its worth endures, but because what enhances life - for oneself, for one’s community, for our fragile earth – is learning’s ultimate quest.