Whether you’re a new or returning student, we can’t wait to welcome you to Sussex.

Key datesWelcome to Sussex logo surrounded by border of pink and orange patterns


International Student Arrivals:
Thurs 17 September 2026

Campus Arrivals: Fri 18 to Sun 20 September 2026

Welcome Week: Mon 21 to Fri 25 September 2026


What to expect

Across an exciting week of events, you can explore our beautiful campus, discover the wide range of student services available to you, meet fellow students and start settling into your new community.

Last year’s Welcome Week was packed with much more than academic introductions. Students took part in free creative workshops, games, film screenings, campus tours and drop-in activities, and connected with staff at the Life at Uni Fair to ask questions and get support. Throughout the week, we handed out hundreds of free breakfasts and meal vouchers, and the campus came alive with giant bubbles, a stilt walker, animals and live music.

Check back here over the next few months to see what we’ve got planned for Welcome Week 2026 – we can’t wait to share more with you.

Last year in pictures

Get a feel for Welcome Week – browse the images below.

Students smile as one student makes a large bubble from a bubble wand. A woman stands on stilts in a colourful outfit with huge, multicoloured butterfly wings and a green wig smiling as students walk past her. A white goat looks at the camera in an outdoor enclosure as a students hand pets its head. A group of students walk past the Welcome marquee in library square, following a welcome week student ambassador.  Three musicians with guitars and a harmonica perform to a crowd of students near the business school.
 A group of students pose in a group smiling with different sunglasses on.