Why I love studying at a campus university

By Anna Foster, February 2025

Choosing what style of university is best for you can be a difficult decision, and the answer is different for each of us. I came to Lancaster to study Ecology and Conservation from a relatively rural place and wanted a university that wouldn’t feel too overwhelming for my first time living alone and that would set me up well to succeed in my degree. Here’s why the campus university set-up at Lancaster has really worked for me and maybe would work well for you.

Easy access to green spaces

I spent a lot of time on runs or walks on the woodland walk around campus and it’s great having green spaces so close to where you live and study. Whenever I needed a break from the stress of university life, it was only a few steps away. In summer, you’ll find people sitting on Bonnington steps or using the barbeques dotted in a few places around campus.

We also have a lot of wildlife on campus, lots of garden birds, hedgehogs, and molehills are a common sight. Perhaps the most exciting - otters which have been spotted a few years in a row in Lake Carter!

As part of my degree, we’ve also made the most of the greenspaces on campus from collecting soil samples to learning about tree ID.

Community

Living on campus with most society events taking place on campus allowed me to try lots of new things and in turn, meet lots of new people. From DnD to student radio and many more, living at a campus university meant I was less daunted about pushing myself out of my comfort zone to meet new people. If I went to a society or college event and decided it wasn’t for me, or that I wasn’t in the mood to socialise, I could quickly escape back to my flat.

There’s always lots going on at campus between colleges organising events and enough societies to get involved in to completely fill your week. It’s easy to build your community and the college bars are close by whenever you want somewhere to meet up with friends after a long day of lectures.

Plus there are plenty of events that take place on campus such as college events and LUSU events like the summer ball.

Now that I live in town it’s great to come to a campus with so many communal spaces to hang out or study with course mates between lectures when you can’t return home.

There's everything you need on campus

Depending on which college you end up in on campus, your commute to your lectures could be as little as 5 minutes but no more than 15 minutes. Everything on campus is walking distance making getting to your lectures a lot easier.

In my first year, I’d often find myself still in bed until 30 minutes before my lecture started and I miss the extra sleep I got because of it.

But even if you are living in town, there are regular buses to campus, approximately every 10-15 minutes, and once you get to university there’s all the facilities you need there.

From a hair salon to a pharmacy, to a second-hand clothes store, multiple food outlets, and a bar in each college. There’s everything you need on campus.

Safety

Something I think I took for granted when I was a fresher living on campus was walking around alone in the middle of the night in the pitch black and feeling completely safe.

Lancaster’s location out of town and due to the porters and security maintaining safety, means that you’re very safe on campus. Now that I live in town I really miss this security!

It really gives you the freedom to make the most of your days, for example, I was never worried about being at an on-campus society event that ran until after dark because I knew I was not only a short walk back to my flat but also that I could walk back safely alone.

Study space

Being on a campus means that you’ll always find a good place to lock in and get some work done without too much difficulty. I’ve heard from social media and friends who go to other universities that it can be difficult to get a seat to study as there’s hardly any space, but at Lancaster, I’ve never had an issue finding somewhere to get my work done. Though it does get busier during exam season, the library has lots of space. There are other places you can study as well, including colleges individual study rooms, info lab, LEC atrium and many more.

What’s more, because you’re on a campus it’s never far to the nearest study spot making it a lot easier to avoid the dreaded procrastination!