Societies

Looking for friends who share your interests? Look no further. Whether you’re looking for members of your faith or cultural background, searching for others in your department or just want to hang out with those who share the same interests; Essex’s 100 student-led societies have something for everyone to get involved with.

Can't find a society that suits your vibe? No worries! You can kickstart your own!

And the fun doesn't stop there! With tons of socials, mixers, and events happening every term, you'll become a part of the tight-knit SU family in no time.

GET INVOLVED

Joining is easy – simply choose from the list below, add the membership to your basket and checkout! There’s no limit to the number of clubs you can join. Membership prices and options vary from one club to the next.

Cinema Critics Southend

START YOUR OWN

Societies can be of many benefits to you; they can create a home away from home, compliment your studies, or simply just provide you with something really fun that you love to get involved in.

18 new societies were created in 22/23. If you have a particular passion you want to explore then you can simply start your own!

START A NEW SOCIETY

SOCIETIES TOOLKIT

Your go-to page for training, forms, risk assessment templates and much more.

VISIT SOCIETIES TOOLKIT PAGE

FAQS 🔥

A community set up and run by our members. Whether you’re looking for members of your faith or cultural background, searching for others in your department, or looking to hang out with those who share the same interests as you, there is something for everyone to get involved with.

You can join an SU society by purchasing their membership on their SU webpage. You must remember to be logged in to do this. Purchasing a society membership will mean that you receive all emails that the society sends out and some society events will be ‘members only’ or that members could be eligible for discounted event tickets. Even if the membership is free, you must checkout in order to join a society.

Your society membership will start from the point of purchase until expiry on the following 31st July. There is an exception for those who are January starters (their membership will expire on the following 31st December upon purchase and proof of start date).

Couldn’t find a society for you? Luckily, you can start a new society. You must first make sure that the name and goals of your new society are not too similar to any existing society. After this you must find at least four students to fill the core Exec roles of: President, Secretary (or Vice-President), Treasurer, and Welfare Officer. To submit your new society for approval you first complete the new society form and send this to susouthend@essex.ac.uk, cc’ing in all 20 of your signatories. If you have any questions about this form or the general process of starting a society please get in contact at susouthend@essex.ac.uk.

Yes, you are able to join a society if you are not a student. However, only active students of the University of Essex can hold the core exec positions for a society.

If you have any concerns about how a society is being run or wish to make a complaint, please get in touch with us at susouthend@essex.ac.uk or come and talk to us.

All of our society execs are volunteers. We know it can be challenging to balance studies with running a society. We first recommend sending the society exec an email. Their contact information can be found in the ‘contact’ tab of their society page. You may also find details on their society page about social media accounts or WhatsApp groups for the society. Please reach out to them first and allow time for them to respond. If you still haven’t heard back, email susouthend@essex.ac.uk and we can help out.