Your first weeks

Your first couple of weeks at the University of Derby is known as ‘Welcome’, and this is a time to celebrate you joining our inspiring community. Welcome encompasses various aspects of your arrival, including Freshers where we host a range of events and activities to help you meet like-minded people and settle into student life. 

Welcome Heroes

There’ll be lots of new information to take in and we know this might be overwhelming but don’t worry – we have a team of friendly Welcome Heroes on hand to support you. Wearing their pink t-shirts, you can’t miss them, and they’ll be happy to answer your questions and show you around our campuses. Be sure to say hi!

Freshers

We’ve got lots of exciting events and activities planned to help you settle into student life at Derby. It all begins with a fantastic welcome event for Freshers on Saturday 14 September. The following week is jam-packed with opportunities to explore everything we have to offer, including a Freshers Fair and an Activities Fair.

Enrolment

You’ll hear from us in the weeks before you start, inviting you to complete online enrolment, so please keep an eye on your emails. During your first weeks, you’ll be invited to visit our Enrolment Hub to complete your confirmation of enrolment. This is a process to formally register you as a student with us and to provide you with your Unicard.

Your timetable

You’ll receive a personalised timetable 48 hours after successfully completing your enrolment, which will be confirmed via email. At this point, you’ll be able to access your personalised timetable on UDo – your student portal.

We expect you to fully engage in all lectures, seminars and course sessions on your timetable so that we can help you reach your potential. But of course, your experience and subsequent success is much more than your lectures – it comes from immersing yourself in all aspects of university life, including our societies, volunteering schemes and Develop@Derby. Throughout your time with us, you’ll be presented with lots of fantastic opportunities that we hope you’ll embrace with an open mind.

Academic calendar

Our term dates are agreed in advance so that you are aware of your academic schedule and can plan your time accordingly. Undergraduate teaching begins on Monday 23 September, but exact dates can vary depending on the programme. Take a look at our Key Dates page to see the full academic calendar for the current year.