Postgraduate community

Postgraduates at St Andrews are invited to join an active and lively community through membership of the St Leonard's Postgraduate College. The College provides students with opportunities to join in a number of academic events, talks, socials and exhibitions throughout their time with us. 

St Leonard’s Postgraduate College

St Leonard’s College is at the heart of the postgraduate community of St Andrews. All postgraduate students are automatically members of the College and can take part in all its activities and use its facilities in Old Burgh School.

St Leonard’s College was originally founded in 1512 as a college for the education of novices of the Augustinian Order. It was reconstituted in 1974 as a home for the University’s postgraduate community.

The College organises regular events, such as the weekly Postgraduate Café, for all postgraduates to come together, socially and intellectually, and make new connections.

You can find out more about St Leonard's Postgraduate College, including the history of the College, upcoming events, and a range of resources on the St Leonard's Postgraduate College webpages.

Academic community

Postgraduates are encouraged to participate in the wider academic life of the University and to make the most of the intellectual opportunities that St Andrews provides.

The University hosts regular talks and lectures on a range of subjects presented by members of the University’s academic staff and distinguished visiting speakers. Schools and research institutes run their own seminar series and host academic conferences, and there are talks and other events hosted by the University Library and the University’s three museums. There are also talks, concerts, exhibitions, and other events hosted by the Music Centre and the Byre Theatre.

Carers, Commuters, Mature and Flexible Learners Forum

The Carers, Commuters, Mature and Flexible Learners Forum (formerly known as 'Lifers') is a subcommittee of the Students’ Association with responsibility for representing students who are commuters, parents or carers, postgraduates, mature, and evening and part-time students. The group is a Union subcommittee, not a society, so everyone’s automatically a member!

The main goals of the subcommittee are:

• Representation - ensuring the views of lifelong and flexible students are heard, and working with the University to address issues.
• Wellbeing - doing anything possible to improve engagement with University life, and to ensure that Lifers do not feel isolated from the wider student body
• Events - the group organises a busy calendar of amazing events each year which take place in and around the Union.