Academic societies are student-led groups designed to enhance both learning and the overall student experience at university. These societies receive financial and administrative support from the Students' Union, which ensures that activities are inclusive, accessible, and beneficial to all participants. Any student can join any academic society, regardless of whether it aligns with their course of study.
The primary aim of academic societies is not to replicate classroom teaching but to complement and enhance it. They provide opportunities for peer support, discussions, and a variety of extra and co-curricular activities. These activities can range from industry expert talks and Q&A sessions, skills workshops and networking events through to fun and social quizzes, trips and games nights.
Each academic society is typically linked to a specific area of study, such as a course or department, though some may focus on more specialised topics. Some societies affiliate to or work closely with Professional Bodies, such as The Chartered Institute for IT and the Institute of Engineering and Technology, whilst such affiliations are not mandatory, they do provide excellent opportunities for members to network, upskill and develop their expertise.
The benefits to students are far-reaching
- You can explore your individual talents and passions with peers who share common interests,
- Develop knowledge, confidence, and identity within a broader learning community, and grow as part of a supportive peer group
- Academic societies support your learning outside of contact time and you can expect to develop key employability skills
- Academic staff have the opportunity to engage with students within a more social setting while exploring the academic field of study further
- Student sense of belonging is found to be most prevalent where the academic and social spheres fuse
Over the years, we seen that academic societies have empowered students to stay in higher education, graduate with valuable skills, and form lasting friendships.
Our dedicated student leaders enable us to offer a wide range of academic societies for you to get involved with, including:
- Staffs Computing Society
- Cop Shop
- Creative Technologies SUL
- Digital Art Society
- Engineering Society
- Forensics and Crime Science
- Game Development Society
- Law Society
- OMG Radio
- Paramedic Society
- Psychology Society
- Staffs Esports Society
- Staffs Women In STEM
- Staffs Uni Racing
- The Graphic Design Society
So what are you waiting for?
> Check out the Clubs and Societies Webpages, to find out a little more about the groups,
> Visit the What's On page to see what events they have lined up
> Pop along to the next meetings / events and find out where your academic society membership leads you.