The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a semi-collegiate public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1965 and is recognized as a Beloff’s plate glass university. The University was granted its Royal Charter on 4 January 1965 and the following year Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent was formally installed as the first Chancellor.

The university has a rural campus north of Canterbury situated within 300 acres (1.2 km2) of park land, housing over 6,000 students, as well as campuses in Medway and Tonbridge in Kent and European postgraduate centers in Brussels, Athens, Rome, and Paris. The University is international, with students from 158 different nationalities and 41% of its academic and research staff being from outside the United Kingdom.

As of 2019, the University of Kent is ranked within the top 55 universities in the UK by the Guardian, The Times and the Complete University Guide, and scores 85% for overall satisfaction in the 2018 National Student Survey.

In 2016, over 28,000 students applied to the University through UCAS and 4000 accepted an offer.