Your Welcome week

16-20 September for most students.*

To give you a chance to settle in, make new friends and find your way around campus before teaching starts, we have a whole week full of Welcome and Induction activities planned for you. It's made up of several parts and is all about getting you set up and settled into Kingston!

* Dates for Welcome Week Sessions are different for some courses – your faculty will be in touch with more details.

Online and on-campus activities

Welcome Week offers a mix of activities and is made up of your compulsory course induction session, an online welcome module and a 'pick and choose' Freshers and Welcome programme which offers events and sessions for all different interests.

Your course induction

Course Inductions are essential and mandatory to attend. They take place during Welcome Week (16–20 September*) and are an important introduction to your course where you will meet your lecturers, find out about the course, our libraries, study skills and more!

Your course induction schedule will be published on the KU App in early July.

Welcome to Kingston online module

Our Welcome to Kingston online module will give you an introduction to the support services available should you need it.

Once you have completed your online enrolment, you'll be able to access the online module on your Canvas dashboard, (Canvas is our virtual online learning environment) or by selecting the right module for you below:

Welcome programme and Freshers' Week

The Welcome Programme runs alongside your course induction. It's a mixture of pop-ups and bookable events (which are all free to attend) and introduce you to some of the opportunities you'll have as a Kingston student, help you settle into life at Kingston and give you the opportunity to meet new friends and have some fun! Everything is designed to fit around your course induction.

From comedy night, sports pop-ups and live music to academic writing advice, speed friending and a paint & sip arts social, you get to pick and choose what you'd like to attend based on your interest.

View the Welcome programme.

Join Kingston Students' Union for some of the biggest events in the SU calendar at our official Freshers' Week. See the full line up which includes a quiz night, laser tag and a boat party, as well as information on how to get tickets, on the Kingston Students' Union's event page.

Finding your feet during Welcome and Induction

There's a lot to navigate during your first few weeks at university, whether it's getting your head around the new digital tools you'll be using as a student, finding your way around campus or knowing where to go and who to speak to if you have any questions once you're here. Don't worry, you'll find many friendly faces on campus ready to help.

Campus tours

To get you acquainted with your campus, tours will be running during Welcome Week.

They'll leave from the Welcome Help Points at 10am and 2pm at every campus, from Monday 16 September to Friday 20 September.

There is no sign-up required, but numbers for each tour will be capped at a maximum of 12 people (allocated on a first-come basis).

Please make sure you wear comfortable shoes.

Introducing our One Stop Shop

One Stop Shop is an all-in-one spot, where you can get assistance with admissions, compliance, finance, ID cards, course support admin, and much more. Our teams at One Stop Shop are ready to help you with any queries or situations you may need support with.

Dates

From Monday 9 September 2024 – Teams from Information Centre and ID Card Collection
From Thursday 12 September 2024 – Teams from Admissions, Compliance, Finance, and Course Support Admin

Where to find us

You can find the One Stop Shop in these locations: 1st floor Town, House, Penrhyn Road campus Ground floor, Nightingale Centre, Kingston Hill campus

Welcome Help Points

Our on-campus Welcome Help points should be your first stop if you have questions or are not sure where to go. We've got a wonderful bunch of friendly Student Ambassadors who will be ready to give you directions, answer your questions (or just have a chat!)

Welcome Help Points will be open from 8.30am to 4pm at the following locations:

Penrhyn Road – outside Town House
Kingston Hill – outside the Business School
Roehampton Vale – by the main reception
Knights Park – outside main reception

After Welcome and Induction Week, the Information Centre will serve as a first point of contact for any questions you have. They can be found in the libraries on each campus and contacted by phone and digital channels.

Freebie pack

We've got FREE Welcome to Kingston starter packs which can be picked up during your course induction activities. They contain a re-useable canvas bag (designed by a KU student), notebook, pen and other useful stuff to get you started.

Classroom finder

Check out our room finder guide to bust our room names:

Room key – Where to find your classroom

Digital toolkit

Explore the digital toolkit you will use as a Kingston student.

International post arrival activities

There are some additional steps you need to take after arrival, if you are an international student in the UK on a student visa.

Collect your BRP – You must collect your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) within ten days of arriving in the UK.
Attend the Life in the UK session – Running during Welcome week, this session offers guidance to international students. Book via KUExtra.
Comply with visa requirements – It is essential that you comply with the conditions of your visa and attend all your classes.
Know the rules about working in the UK – There are strict rules in place for students who wish to work while they study. You must follow the conditions set out in your visa.

Your Welcome and Induction explained

Follow our steps to find out everything you need to do (and when), before you join us:

1. Read the pre-arrival checklist

Make sure you're ready to join us by reading our handy checklist of things to do before you arrive.

Get started

2. Complete your enrolment

The most important thing you need to do to become an official Kingston student is to enrol.

How to enrol

3. Attend Welcome and Induction Week

Get the lowdown on what's in store for you on your first week at Kingston.

Plan your week

Help and advice

Whether you have a specific a question to ask or just want to speak to someone who's been there done that, we're here to help.

Ask KUBot for instant answers to your burning questions

Ask our friendly KU ChatBot anything you need to know, just click on the pink icon at the bottom of the screen.

FAQs for new students

Get answers now to the questions most frequently asked by new students.

If you have further queries and want to get in touch, email us at welcome@kingston.ac.uk.

Speak to a current student

Start a convo and chat with our current students to find out all about what life is really like at Kingston!

Useful information

Browse the pages below to find more useful information – we'll be updating this information throughout the year, so be sure to bookmark this page for more useful information.