The Students’ Union
The University of Bath Students’ Union exists to represent its members and to provide them with services, support and opportunities for development in order to maximise the benefit of the overall student experience.
The Union’s involvement with your time at Bath begins even before you start your course. The Students’ Union Academic Welfare and Representation Centre and University Accommodation Office organise a postgraduate house hunting weekend each August. If you contact either the Students’ Union or the Accommodation Office you will be invited to visit Bath for the weekend, where you will have the opportunity to meet other postgraduates who are seeking accommodation, and will receive details of accommodation which is currently available. A chance to find accommodation in a place you like – with people you know, and advice on hand – what could be easier?
Once you have arrived at Bath you will have the opportunity to become a member of the Students’ Union and its Postgraduate Association (PGA). The Students’ Union provides a wealth of social activities and support services as well as influencing the way in which the University is run.
The Students’ Union is able to campaign on your behalf on both national issues, such as student hardship, and local issues, such as public transport. The Students’ Union has a healthy relationship with the management of the University and is able to represent students’ views and concerns at appropriate meetings and committees, through the team of selected Sabbatical officers and the Postgraduate Association Executive.
The Students’ Union currently has over 50 Sporting clubs, with some of the best facilities in the country, together with over 80 non-sporting clubs and societies. The Students union media activities are particularly strong – with students running the student newspaper, and the radio and TV stations.
The Union has a range of facilities for students, including a bar, nightclub, a café and coffee bar as well as a shop. There are also two banks on campus and a STA travel shop.
The Students’ Union has also developed a range of services to help you during your time at Bath, and to help you broaden your experience of University life. These include:
The Academic Welfare and Representation (AWARE) Centre, the student advice centre for all issues from housing to academic.
The Academic Representation Centre (ARC) which provides academic representation, research, news and information.
Joblink which helps students find work opportunities.
The Volunteer Centre which supports links and provides opportunities with voluntary organisations, and is involved with RAG (Raising and Giving) and BUSCA (Bath University Student Community Action).
The Enterprise Centre provides training opportunities for Postgraduates through the SORTED training programme, which assists students in developing their abilities in such areas as presentation, negotiation and time management.
The Enterprise Resource Centre is a work space for those students who want to start up their own businesses and want to work on their entrepreneurial skills. We also have a student enterprise group (BANTER) which helps to organize the national student enterprise conference that we run in Enterprise Week, and the Student Business Plan Competition.
Further information about the Students' Union
The Postgraduate Association
Postgraduate studies are very different from the undergraduate studies with which you have probably been familiar. The Postgraduate Association is run by postgraduate students specifically to look after postgraduate issues at the University of Bath. It works closely with the Graduate Office, the International Office and the Students’ Union to make your time at Bath as fulfilling as possible. The PGA aims to represent your views about all aspects of postgraduate life back to the University, and on an individual level is there to provide support and information to all postgraduate students.
The Students’ Union volunteers and staff are experienced and trained in helping you to deal with any problems that you might have. The Union and the PGA currently offer you almost everything that you need, and if we cannot immediately help we have a large number of both full-time staff and student officers who are always willing to help you make the changes that you want to see.
As a postgraduate at the University of Bath you are automatically part of the PGA. You can also get involved with running the PGA and help represent your views and those of your colleagues to the University. Details of the roles of the Postgraduate Association are available on the PGA website.