University of Sunderland

We’re known as the friendly University – we welcome students from all corners of the globe and have a number of events and activities to help you make new friends and settle in.

Our Students’ Union offers a buddies scheme and a peer support scheme so if you want make some new friends, we can connect you with other students to help and guide you through your first weeks and months of university life.

There are also over 50 Sports Clubs and Societies for you to join, covering everything from feminism, football, games, and hockey, to snow sports, debating and rugby. Whatever your interests, we’ll help you find friends and have a happy and fulfilling student experience.

Beaches

With endless sands and miles of beautiful coastline, Sunderland’s Seaburn and Roker beaches and their long promenades are ideal for summer walks and taking in the raw beauty of the North East.

Both beaches have been awarded the prestigious Blue Flag status for their cleanliness and facilities and were named among the best beaches at the 2015 Seaside Awards.

Thrill seekers are well catered for as well – Adventure Sunderland is based on the Roker seafront and offers a range of activities from kayaking and canoeing to abseiling and surfing.

City of Sunderland

Sunderland has the perfect combination of city and seaside living and is a friendly, diverse and affordable place for you to live and study.

There’s something to suit all tastes and budgets in Sunderland. You’ll find high street favourites in The Bridges Shopping Centre, the beautiful Mowbray Park, an international-class airshow, the award-winning National Glass Centre, the Northern Centre for Contemporary Art and achingly-cool independent venues such as Frankie and the Heartstrings’ Pop Recs – a record shop, art space and live music venue.

Sunderland is establishing itself as a national centre for arts, heritage and culture, and is building upon our proud history with a range of exciting cultural events in line with our bid for UK City of Culture 2021. The city, once known as the largest shipbuilding town in the world, is also set to welcome the world famous Tall Ship Races in July 2018.

Safety on Campus

Sunderland is one of the safest universities in England. A number of support services are available to help you study and socialise in a safe environment. Our free campus bus provides safe and reliable transport between the two campuses and all student housing, and a night service provides safe travel to popular social spots.

A Crime Prevention team with a dedicated Campus Police Officer run drop-in sessions to help you stay safe and also provides UV pens and an engraving tool for marking property.

The University of Sunderland does not tolerate any form of hate crime on or off campus, and we have strong links with ARCH, an organisation that supports the victims of racism, homophobia, transphobia, religious hate incidents or disability hate incidents.

Facilities

The University's facilities are among the best in the UK – almost £130m has been invested in our two campuses over recent years. Whatever your course, you can be sure you'll be provided with everything you need to succeed.

Sport

Sunderland has some of the best facilities for sport in the UK, including an Olympic-size pool, a dry ski slope, an LTA accredited tennis centre, an athletics track, rugby and cricket grounds, and a marina and watersports centre on the beach.

If you prefer to watch sport, we have football with Sunderland AFC, county and international cricket at nearby Durham County Cricket Club, rugby fans can watch Newcastle Falcons or Gateshead Thunder, and for basketball lovers we have the Newcastle Eagles.

We also have our own University sports teams. Over 20 teams compete in the British Universities College Sports (BUCS) leagues every Wednesday as well as other competitions throughout the year. So if you want to play, coach, study or watch sport, the University can cater to all of your sporting needs.
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Healthy eating and living

Maintaining good health and wellbeing will give you the best chance of succeeding at university. Our confidential Health and Wellbeing service offers advice and support on mental health, depression, drug and alcohol issues, contraception, eating distress and much more. A Counselling service is also available to all students.

There are several cafés and places to eat on campus, all offering a range of healthy and vegetarian options at reasonable prices. For fitness lovers, our £12m fitness suite features 70 stations, cardio, strength, free weights and flexibility areas, body stats tests and a huge range of courses and classes. Student membership is only £130 for a full 12 months.

If the gym isn’t for you, being so close to the coast means there is never a bad time to take a walk along the beach.

Music & Nightlife

Home to nationally-acclaimed musicians, The Futureheads, Hyde and Beast, Frankie and the Heartstrings and The Lake Poets, Sunderland’s music scene is eclectic and electric.

Student favourite INDEPENDENT hosts art exhibitions and craft markets and every Friday and every Saturday you’ll find DJs and bands playing everything from nu-jazz and house to funk, soul and indie. As well as a thriving independent scene, we’ve also hosted some of the world’s biggest bands and artists at the Stadium of Light such as Beyoncé, Foo Fighters, Rihanna and Bon Jovi.

You’ll find everything you want in Sunderland, from cheesy clubs and student-friendly bars to real-ale pubs and sophisticated restaurants.