Tips for postgraduate freshers

To an incoming postgraduate student it can feel like Freshers’ week is all about the incoming undergraduate students, but Southampton’s Students’ Union (SUSU) and the University represent ALL students and all of the events that may appear to be for undergraduates are available to everyone. Your department will also be running meet and greet sessions and informational tutorials specific to your degree programme – so there are plenty of ways to meet fellow postgraduate students when you arrive!

So where can you find out the information you need to make the most of your postgraduate Freshers’ experience? The Official SUSU Freshers' Facebook page has all of the information on events for incoming students, and you can also visit the SUSU calendar to find out about all the events that are happening each day, allowing you to pick and choose which ones to visit.

Another key SUSU website to visit is their postgraduate page, which has links to course specific postgraduate societies and social and networking opportunities. This page also details the Students’ Union council members that will be representing you for the coming year, which is always useful to know.

The University also has a great course-specific Welcome Calendar that lists events from the meet-and-greet services, guides for international students and informational events such as advice on what to see and do in Southampton. These course-specific introductory events run from Wednesday 16th September to Friday 18t September.

One event that I personally highly recommend that postgraduate students don’t miss out on is the Bunfight, which is when all University Societies get together in a bit fair and you can find out more about what to get involved in. My partner is a PhD student here and when he started he didn’t hear about the Bunfight or many of the great Freshers’ events that SUSU runs, which is what inspired me to write this post. This year the Bunfight is on the 23rd September – so make sure you try and get there as early as possible to avoid the long queue and make the most of what’s on!

9:30 am and already packed – the Bunfight is always popular and it’s worth getting there early!

The key thing for postgraduate students is to pay attention to your email inbox and go along to the events your department will be running.

Socially, if you don’t fancy going out with a big group, I really recommend finding a small group and booking a table at The Rockstone (a pub in the local Portswood area). A group of us (PhD, Post-doctorate and Master’s students) meet there once a month to catch up and chow down on some amazing food. The friendly and relaxed atmosphere makes for a great evening out with new friends. There are plenty of other great local venues to choose from if you want to try somewhere different too!

The Rockstone is one of our favourite Postgraduate hangout spots, but there are so many places to choose from for social events!

For many of you, September is also Conference month, so to any presenting a talk, paper or poster, good luck! I’m off to BSPS (British Society for Population Studies) in Leeds in a couple of days, and am entirely jealous of my partner who is going to the SCCS Conference in Granada for a week!

So to all incoming postgraduate students, make sure you make the most of everything Freshers’ Week has to offer you! It’s not just for first-time students. I know I can’t wait to experience it all again.

Emma