Making friends from day one

Residence Life

One of the advantages of halls is our exclusive Residence Life programme, designed to help you test out new hobbies, make friends and settle into your new surroundings. You can choose to get involved in free activities including sports tournaments, quiz nights, cookery classes or go on low-price day trips to visit popular UK cities.

Chat to current students

Join The Ambassador Platform (TAP) where you can chat with our current students ambassadors before you arrive. No-one knows student life in Derby better than they do, so discover all their go-to restaurants, favourite bars, popular walking routes and top tips for how to spend a weekend.

We have student ambassadors from diverse backgrounds so you can get your questions answered by a life-minded student who you can relate it. Simply visit the ‘Chat to our students’ page, create an account and get started.

Sports and societies

Joining a Union of Students club or society is a great way to make friends, develop yourself and try something new.

Your Union of Students offers over 30 sports clubs that you can get involved in, from archery to snowsports, so why not take your skills to the next level or try something new? Most of the clubs offer a chance to compete in BUCS (British Universities and Colleges) events. If you aren’t the competitive type, we also offer the opportunity to play socially.

Union societies form a big part of your university life. Run by students, for students, they provide the perfect opportunity to continue a much-loved hobby or test our a new one. There is a wide range of societies to choose from including ballroom and Latin dance, debate, musical theatre and Warhammer. The best thing about societies is that the possibilities are endless – if we don’t have the society you’d like to join, you can start your own!