If you are 21 or over at the commencement of your undergraduate studies at Lancaster University, then you are classed as a mature student, and these pages are for you.
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Whether you want to explore a subject of interest, progress your career or change direction, returning to study as a mature student has many benefits.
At Lancaster, we value mature students’ wide range of life experiences and the skills each student brings to their degree. Maybe you are confident to speak in seminars due to your experience in work meetings, or you can consider different cultural perspectives in your projects after travelling, or you can manage competing deadlines efficiently with your parenting experience.
The LSP runs pre-arrival information events both online and on campus, where you can meet other mature students from your own and different departments. Some of our students are still good friends with the mature students they met before they even arrived at Lancaster.
We run regular LSP mature social/networking events, which start right at the beginning of term. Feedback from our mature students tells us that connecting with other mature students from the start helped them to settle in quickly and feel they belong.
You’ll meet your personal LSP Success Coach right at the start of the academic year and will have regular one-to-one coaching meetings (an average of 2 per term) throughout your undergraduate years. The meetings are led by what you want to focus on and are an opportunity for you to reflect on your progress and come up with some actions to work towards your goals.
All mature LSP students are invited to join these small groups of students (around 4-7), who commit to meet with a staff facilitator a set number of times in a term - usually 3 or 4. A student will have the opportunity to present an issue to their peers, who will then ask coaching style questions to empower the student to delve deeper and make positive steps. Issues come from the students themselves on the day and often include areas such as imposter syndrome, perfectionism and procrastination. We find that students form really supportive bonds with each other from building up a level of trust through active listening and sensitive questioning. These sessions will be for you if you're comfortable with opening up to others or want to develop in that area.
New for 2023-2024, these are more flexible, casual opportunities than ALSs for students to get together 2 or 3 times a term in a larger group to discuss a particular theme, such as careers, exam preparation and time managment, which will usually be advertised in advance so you can decide if it's relevant to you. They are a perfect way to find out how other students are getting on (you'll usually discover you're not alone in how you're feeling!) and support each other by swapping tips and tricks. With Student Advocate involvement this will be a real opportunity for peer support.
So, you have the advantages which maturity brings, but returning to study after a gap can be daunting.
Whether juggling caring responsibilities, living some distance from campus, or having concerns about fitting in, you can feel confident that you are supported at Lancaster at every stage, from pre-arrival to graduation and beyond.
These services below may particularly help mature students get the most out of their university experience.
These services are available to all students at Lancaster, though they can be especially useful for mature students.
If you have any questions or queries that have not been answered on this page, please contact us.
Student Success, University House, Lancaster University, LA14YW
