Welcome week - Undergraduate - American Studies

The University is made up of three faculties and you will be joining the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (FHSS). FHSS has four schools: 

• School of Culture and Communication 
• School of Law
• School of Management
• School of Social Sciences

During your time here you’re taught within your home school, or schools if you are part of a joint honours programme, but we’re all part of the vibrant faculty community. This means that there will be faculty-wide social, academic and community events throughout the year, which will provide you with the opportunity to meet, socialise and learn with colleagues and students from the other Schools.  

You will have lots of opportunities in induction week to meet the people on your course. Your department induction sessions will include activities which will let you interact with lots of different people. Make sure you swap contact details with people who you’d like to get to know more! As you’ll see from the welcome week timetable, there are plenty of opportunities to meet people within your programme, School and across the University. Once teaching starts, you will have even more formal contact hours where you’ll be mixing with lots of other students – don’t be afraid to suggest meeting up for a coffee, or sticking around for a chat after lectures! If you’re living in university accommodation, you will also be surrounded by other students and will have every opportunity to make friends.  

You will meet many of your lecturers during the induction programme put on by your department. Lots of the planned activities will help you get to know your lecturers and find out a little bit about them. You will also meet your academic mentor during induction week. Your mentor will oversee your academic progress throughout your degree and help to guide you through your studies. Once teaching starts, in addition to timetabled teaching, your lecturers will hold regular office hours when you will be able to contact them to discuss questions or concerns – or even just to have a chat about something interesting you talked about in class! 

If you’re studying in more than one subject area, e.g. BA English Literature and History, then your course has a “home” Department. You should follow the timetable for your “home” Department in the first instance.  

Check out the timetable for your other subject too, and make sure to go along to any sessions where you don’t have a clash. There will also be plenty of opportunities to get to know people at our School socials, and you’ll be regularly interacting with coursemates on both halves of your degree once teaching starts! 

If you’re not sure which subject is your “home” department, check out the Joint Honours Information Page for the full list.  

When you start University you will be allocated a Personal Tutor, usually a member of teaching staff from your department. They will contact you via your University email to arrange regular meetings throughout the year, and will be able to support you with a range of queries including; signposting to pastoral support, academic guidance, employability and more. You can find out who your tutor is and their contact details by logging into your individual intranet page, under Course Details > Course Contacts.

Your Student Information and Experience Team provide support and guidance relating to the student experience including Wellbeing, Disability and Attendance within the College. If you require assistance, experience difficulties which are affecting your studies or personal lives, the team can offer help or signposting to appropriate support within the University. For enquiries and appointments contact: studentsupport-cultureandcom@swansea.ac.uk and once you’re here, they’re based in the Student Information Office, Ground Floor Digital Technium on Singleton Campus, and Reception in the School of Management Building on Bay Campus.  

You can also find information on the University support services and some self-help information on the CampusLife web pages.

As University, we recognise that many of our students may have caring responsibilities. We aim to provide a welcoming environment for all our students and want to support you to achieve success.

As the University is a place of work and study and our buildings, activities and risk control measures are not generally designed for children. Please note, children should not be brought into learning and teaching spaces (unless for an organised event). The Children on University Premises policy has more information.

The Students’ Union Nursery provides high quality and affordable childcare on Singleton Campus for children aged from 3 months up to their 8th Birthday. For more information on childcare and schooling please refer to Council web pages:

City and County of Swansea Council

Neath Port Talbot Council

If you're a UK student, check out the University's guide to student finances for student parents. We have also developed a comprehensive Family Information Guide for our international students.

For information and support on student pregnancy, please visit our webpages.

Joining a society can be a great way to get involved in student life and meet like-minded people. There’s such a range of societies within Swansea Students’ Union there really is something for everyone! Our academic departments have their own student-led societies who play an active role in organising social activities within the School. For the full list and contact details of the societies you can get in contact with, check out the Students Union Societies web page. 

Your “First Steps” Session in Welcome Week will introduce you to the main IT platforms we use across the University, and your lecturers will let you know about any course-specific software you’ll be using in your studies.  

Before you arrive, you could prepare by downloading Canvas, our digital learning platform. Each of your modules will be hosted on Canvas, which will store many of the learning resources you’ll need. You’ll also access the School Canvas Hub, which is your one-stop-shop for key information, resources, contacts and events at the School, Faculty and University level throughout your studies.  

The University use Zoom for many meetings, conferences and information sessions, so it’s a good idea to download this. Once you’re enrolled, you’ll be able to log on with your University account on your computer, tablet or phone. If you’re not yet familiar with Zoom the University have produced further information and user guides.  

Please visit the University Enrolment webpages for guidance on how to enrol:

If you experience any problems with online enrolment, please contact MyUniHub myunihub@swansea.ac.uk and the team will be happy to help.

Want to know when you'll be expected to be at University and when you'll have your holidays? Find your semester and term dates here.