Explore your options
Explore your options, make new friends and develop your skills for employment.
Beyond the classroom, we have over 250 different clubs and societies, as well as countless activities, events and volunteering opportunities for you to get involved with.
Volunteering
Thousands of students get involved in student volunteering each year at York. We have a wide range of placements, community projects and one-off activities. Each can give you a taste of what might become a potential career and support you to make a positive social impact.
I volunteered for the charity Minds in Motion. They hold social and recreational events for people living with dementia. My role included organising all the logistics like booking venues, inviting guests and recruiting volunteers to run the session. Through my volunteering, I’ve realised that working for a charity is what I want to do in the future.
Heather, BA English Literature and Philosophy
Get involved
- Be a classroom assistant through our award-winning York Students in Schools scheme.
- Help to organise a music festival, create a community garden, support people with dementia and much more. Explore all the Students' Union (YUSU)’s volunteering projects.
- YUSU’s Raising and Giving (RAG) brings you fun events and adventurous activities, all in aid of good causes.
- Become involved in the Students' Union or the Graduate Students' Association by campaigning or running in the elections.
- Run or setup a student society or media group.
- Help at open days, chat online with prospective students, and facilitate school activities by becoming a Student Ambassador.
If you're an international student, it is important that you check that any voluntary work you decide to get involved with complies with the terms of your visa.
Join a society
YUSU has over 200 student-run societies and more than 60 sports clubs for you to get involved in. Societies are run by students who plan activities around shared interests, hobbies, religions, nationalities and cultures.
As well as having fun, you can develop skills highly valued by employers. For example, joining a society committee is a great way to develop your leadership and teamwork skills. You can get your skills and contributions towards societies recognised through the York Award.
Study, work or volunteer abroad
We have links with top academic institutions and employers all over the world. Expand your horizons and prepare for a career in a global job market with our global opportunities.
Enterprise and entrepreneurship
Connect with business advisers through Enterprise at York. Helping to make your start-up business ideas into a success through workshops, funding and use of Student Enterprise work spaces.
Enterprise at York also arranges regular events to help you build up your industry network.
The experience I gained through joining York’s Entrepreneurs Society and the Travel Society gave me the skills and confidence to run my own company. University funding also helped me develop my business idea.
Charlie Thuillier, Founder and Managing Director of Oppo Ice Cream, BA Applied Social Science – Crime and Criminal Justice, 2011
Go beyond academic borders
Step outside your degree programme and expand your knowledge with elective modules.
Studying modules from another department lets you broaden your knowledge, make unique academic connections and boost your employability.
Boost your employability
Work while you study
Gain valuable work experience and expand your skill set while you study.
Careers and placements
Expand your horizons, apply for jobs, placements and internships and develop your skills.
Learn a language
Build up your language skills and cultural knowledge with our free language courses.