What is a Campus Buddy?

Campus Buddies are current students who have volunteered and undertaken relevant training. They have a good insight into what can help a new student settle into university life.

A Campus Buddy is paired with a new student studying the same or a similar course. They provide them with up to five hours support during Welcome Week and then up to one hour per week for the rest of Semester 1. Students may have the option to continue receiving occasional support during Semester 2 if needed.

Here are examples of the sorts of things buddies and students may do together:

• one-to-one meetings to cover a range of topics e.g. library, accommodation & socialising
  
• find lecture rooms
  
• explore the centre of Bath
  
• social activities e.g. attending a society together
  
• try out a café on campus
• navigate public transport
• plan out time e.g. during Fresher’s Week

Whilst the scheme officially ends at the end of Semester 1, buddies and students may continue to meet as friends outside the scheme. Students might also be signposted to Student Support run services and activities such as:

• Social Networking Group
• Autism Social Group
• Explore Bath
  
• Yoga for Relaxation
• Art for Wellbeing
• Wellbeing activities such as garden club, dog walking, cooking classes

• when you apply to Bath, please make sure you disclose if you are a student who is autistic or have social anxiety on your UCAS application
• if you select Bath as your firm choice, we will e-mail you over the summer to make you aware of the scheme
• alternatively, we may make you aware of the scheme through a Disability Advice appointment as part of our pre-entry process if you have not disclosed formally through UCAS
• if your place is confirmed in August, we will e-mail you again to invite you to take part in the scheme
• if you would like to take part, we will e-mail you in early September before Welcome Week to let you know who your buddy will be so that you can both arrange your first meeting
• on occasion, we aren’t able to give all interested incoming students a Campus Buddy due to high demand

Students who have had a Campus Buddy have said:

'He [the disability adviser] told me about the campus buddy programme…and that was probably the most helpful thing...[as] the main thing I was worried about was not being able to find where I was going, so…when we got the timetable through, and I was like: “Oh my God! What does any of this mean? Where am I going? Help!!” So, the girl that was assigned to me…the first thing we did was we went through my timetable, took out all the room numbers, and we went to every single room that I had on my [timetable]. And I was like: “Oh my God, if I didn't have that… I'd probably not leave my room.'

'I felt like I always had someone who could answer questions that I would otherwise be too scared to ask, like understanding how the laundry system worked and using the library. She also helped me feel really supported, and not at all isolated.'

'I found that talking to my campus buddy was very effective in relieving my anxiety. It enabled me to feel more confident about university life.'

'... knowing that the support is there if I want to go to an event, but I don’t want to go alone.'_

'I found having a campus buddy very helpful because I felt much more prepared for what was to come in the first year. My buddy was very friendly and I think the scheme will be particularly helpful for students with anxiety and intolerance for change.'

‘It helped me feel a lot more confident and reassured. It gave me a friendly face to recognise.’

‘Overall, it was really helpful, it has been really reassuring to know I have someone to ask all the small questions about how to manage university life and have someone lovely to chat to every couple of weeks. It was also an amazing thing to find out about on the open days when I first visited Bath as it helped to make the idea of coming to university less unknown and overwhelming.’

Becoming a Campus Buddy

Campus Buddies are current University of Bath undergraduate and postgraduate students and are paired with an incoming undergraduate student who is autistic or has social anxiety to support them during Semester 1. Support can also run during Semester 2. This is an optional addition for Campus Buddy applicants.

You will receive full training from the Disability Service, Student Support Advice Team and Bristol Autism Spectrum Service (BASS).

You must be able to commit to completing the training (two 2-hour sessions on 22 April 2026 and 29 April 2026 from 1pm-3pm) and be available for up to five hours during Welcome Week and for one hour per week after that during the rest of Semester 1 2026/27.

Although we cannot guarantee that there will be a student available to pair you with, we hope that you will find the training interesting and helpful to you in your future career. In recent years, we have been able to pair all trained buddies with an incoming student.

The Disability Service will provide supervision throughout the scheme.

Previous Campus Buddies have said:

'Rewarding, satisfying, challenging, fun' (referring to the scheme)

'I feel like I’ve been able to make a difference in someone else’s university experience.'

'It’s been good helping someone feel less worried about beginning university life.'

'I could see the difference my support made.'

The job description and application form are available here. If you have any problems accessing this or have any questions, please email us at dsc@bath.ac.uk.