Pre-tendering gets underway this week for the landmark academic building, expected to cost around £25m.
The four-storey, 85,000 sq ft complex in Parkwood Road will be home to both the Kent Business School and the School of Mathematics, Statistics & Actuarial Science.
The University and its project team is now in planning application discussions with Canterbury City Council.
Once a contractor has been found construction work is due to start in October, with fitout getting underway in May 2016.