► About Your Union

  About Your Union

The University of Plymouth Students’ Union is a charitable organisation run by the students, for the students.

The Union was formed in 1992 and has grown and developed to become one of the UK’s biggest Unions, and a leading campus establishment for all recreational, athletic, social and cultural activities and entertainment. Find out more using the links below. 

	Representation This will take you to the Representation section which will provide you with all the Rep information you'll ever need or want.		Campaigns Here's where you'll be able to find out all the causes UPSU is fighting for on behalf of you, and also how you can become involved.
	Vision, Mission & Values This is the place to be if you want to discover UPSU's Vision, Mission, Values and future Objectives.		Partner Colleges Partner College student? Then you, my friend, are in the right place.

What we do...

The University of Plymouth Students' Union provides representation, entertainments, sports and societies, volunteering opportunities and advice to all University of Plymouth students.

UPSU is separate from the University of Plymouth as an independently run, student-led organisation. The work we do is governed by a constitution and led by 5 elected student officers (‘Sabbatical Officers’). The Union is a charity and therefore these 5 elected officers, along with 2 further students and 3 external advisors, make up the board of trustees. Our charity status also means that we do not make a profit – all money taken through our bar, shop and entertainments services are invested right back into UPSU to provide our members with better services.

The day to day running of the Union is carried out by our team of over 40 full-time staff, led by the General Manager and Senior Management Team – who report weekly to the Union Executive Committee. This committee consists of the 5 full time officers, along with 5 faculty reps from across the University.

UPSU also co-ordinates Student Parliament, an open meeting for students to put forward their views and ask questions of the Union officers. All students are welcome to attend and speak, but only full-time or part-time elected officers have voting rights. See the Elections or Student Parliament section of the site for details.

Entertainments...

UPSU has a good reputation for providing a great variety of events and aims to cater for all groups of people. One of the biggest is the End of Year Ball – held on campus for the first time in 2009. Apart from that, the Students’ Union building contains a nightclub and several bars. This is widely known as the most popular venue for students, regularly selling out its 1400 capacity on a Friday and Saturday night. We also provide live music events, from both well known and smaller bands. 

UPSU works with a range of nightclubs in the city centre – Oceana, Walkabout, C103 and Revolution. Not only does this mean that you will always find your mates at these venues on student nights, but that we know our members are safe there, and get some money back to provide you with more services.

During the day, the Union is a great place to socialise between lectures, discuss work or grab a bite to eat from the Snack Shack.

Sports, Societies and Volunteering...

UPSU is home to over 100 Sports Clubs and Societies, all run by students for students. So whatever you are in to there's bound to be something for you. What's more is that you can start your own club or society if you can find 20 like-minded people to join up!

See the Sports and Societies section of the site for more...

The UPSU Volunteering department is based in the Hive, and with four full time staff represents one of our biggest departments. Over a year we expect to see over 1000 students taking part in Voluntary activities in the local community. These activities range from befriending older members of the community, to environmental conservation work in nearby areas of Devon and Cornwall. The Volunteering department has been nationally recognised as a leader in its field, winning two Higher Education Academy awards and many others.

Need Advice?

Our Advice centre is located on the 1st floor of the Union building. Offering free, confidential and independant advice to students on issues from academic complaints to accommodation this is one of our most valued and important services.

See the Advice section of the website for more details