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CAMsocs

How to find and join societies in Cambridge

Where Cambridge students find their societies and clubs, how to sign up, and what to do if you missed the fairs. Written for new and returning students, undergraduate and postgraduate.

Facts checked 8 Nov 2026 · every fact links its source

In short

  • The easiest way in is the fairs in the first days of Michaelmas: one for sport, one for University-wide societies and one in each college.
  • Signing up at a stall usually puts you on a mailing list. You are not committing to anything; go to a few first meetings and keep what you enjoy.
  • Missed the fairs? Search the directories, write to the society directly, and look out for taster sessions. Many clubs take new members all year.
  • Costs vary by society. Some are free; others sell a membership.

What a society is here

In Cambridge, a “society” simply means a club. [Cambridge SU (opens in a new tab)] There are three main layers:

CAMsocs brings these lists together: 812 societies and clubs at the last count, in sixteen categories. Each category has its own page.

The fairs at the start of the year

There are usually three, close together at the start of Michaelmas Term. [Pembroke College (opens in a new tab)]

The Sports Fair

The Sports Service holds a fair at the start of Michaelmas where you can meet the University's clubs, ask questions and sign up on the spot. [Sports Service (opens in a new tab)] Its club guide adds a tour of the Sports Centre and a chance to meet the Sports Service's staff. Check its clubs page for this year's date. [Sports Service (opens in a new tab)]

The SU Freshers' Fair

Cambridge SU's fair is the big one. In 2026 it ran on Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 October, 10am to 4pm, on Parker's Piece, with 300+ clubs and societies and some local and national organisations. [Cambridge SU (opens in a new tab)] Those were the first two days of Full Term. [The University (opens in a new tab)]

The SU publishes each year's dates on its Freshers' Fair page. [Cambridge SU (opens in a new tab)]

Your college's fair

Colleges hold their own fairs for college societies and teams. [Pembroke College (opens in a new tab)] At Christ's, for example, the college's student union runs it, normally in your first few days. [Christ's College (opens in a new tab)]

How to use a fair

Joining later in the year

If you missed the fairs, there are other ways in.

  • Search the SU's directory. Find a Society lists the societies registered with the SU, with a search box and a category filter. A profile shows the society's contacts and links, and a Join button once you log in. [Cambridge SU (opens in a new tab)]
  • Search CAMsocs. The directory puts the SU's list together with sports clubs, college societies and others, and Events shows what they have on this week. There is a Society Finder that suggests 15 in five questions, and there are lists of societies for beginners, for postgraduates and for international students.
  • Write to the society. The Sports Service advises contacting its clubs directly, by email or social media; many of them take new members all year. [Sports Service (opens in a new tab)]
  • Go to the Refreshers' Fair. The SU has held a smaller fair in January; in 2024, for example, it filled three floors of the University Centre on Mill Lane with about 70 societies. Check the SU's site for this year's. [Cambridge SU (opens in a new tab)]

Sport

  • University clubs. Over half welcome complete beginners. Contact a club directly, ideally before you arrive, as many train before term starts. Most hold taster sessions at the start of term; competitive clubs also hold trials. [Sports Service (opens in a new tab)] Over 4,500 students belong to one, and many clubs play weekly BUCS fixtures on Wednesday afternoons. [Sports Service (opens in a new tab)]
  • Blues. A club's first team is known as the Blues. Representing Cambridge in a Varsity match, in more than 60 sports and mostly in February and March, can earn a Blue or Half Blue, by each sport's criteria. [Sports Service (opens in a new tab)]
  • Who can play. You need to be a fully registered member of a college and the University on a recognised course. The University says it does not support limiting anyone's place by matriculation date or course. [Sports Service (opens in a new tab)]
  • Just for fun. Give It a Go runs free, beginner-friendly weekly sessions with no commitment to come every week. You book through the CamUniSport app or website with its free Pay As You Train membership, up to 7 days ahead. [Sports Service (opens in a new tab)]
  • College sport. Over 4,000 students play each year. College leagues are open to every level, with fixtures usually at weekends, and Cuppers is the inter-college knockout cup. Ask your college captain or JCR/MCR sports officer, or write to collegesport@sport.cam.ac.uk. [Sports Service (opens in a new tab)]
  • Accessible sport. The Sports Service links to an adult disability multi-sport club and a page on accessible sport and facilities. [Sports Service (opens in a new tab)]
  • Questions go to support@sport.cam.ac.uk. [Sports Service (opens in a new tab)]

On CAMsocs: 141 sports listings and 28 outdoors listings; 133 listings say beginners are welcome.

Mailing lists and social media

What it costs

There is no standard fee: each society sets its own, and some charge nothing. Some sell membership through an outside ticketing or payment site linked from their SU profile; others ask you only to join a free group or mailing list. [Cambridge SU (opens in a new tab)] [Cambridge SU (opens in a new tab)] [Cambridge SU (opens in a new tab)] A society's own page, or its stall, is the place to ask.

What a registered society owes you

A society registered with Cambridge SU agrees, among other things, to the SU's terms [Cambridge SU (opens in a new tab)]:

  • to let any student member of the University join, unless that would directly conflict with its legitimate aims;
  • to act with due regard for its members' safety and wellbeing;
  • to keep its finances open to its members' scrutiny;
  • not to discriminate, unless that is both lawful and directly necessary for its legitimate aims, and not to engage in abusive, offensive, violent or criminal behaviour.

Complaints about a registered society go through the SU's complaints procedure. [Cambridge SU (opens in a new tab)]

If something goes wrong

  • If anyone is in immediate danger, call 999 first. [Cambridge SU (opens in a new tab)]
  • The SU's Student Advice Service gives free, confidential and impartial advice on any problem you might have as a student. The SU is on the 3rd floor of the University Centre, Mill Lane; its reception is open weekdays 9:30am to 5pm, and its phone number is 0808 1641 222. [Cambridge SU (opens in a new tab)]
  • Safeguarding concerns about SU activities go to safeguarding@cambridgesu.co.uk or the SU's incident form. [Cambridge SU (opens in a new tab)]
  • Harassment, bullying, discrimination or sexual misconduct can be reported anonymously, but the University cannot act on an anonymous report. For action, report formally to your college, the University or the police. [Student complaints office (opens in a new tab)]

Postgraduates

The SU's fair is open to postgraduates as well as undergraduates. [Cambridge SU (opens in a new tab)]

Every college also has an MCR, the common room for its graduate students, with its own events and formal swaps. The colleges page links each college's MCR, and the formal hall guide explains swaps.

Sources

Each fact above links the page it comes from. These are the pages, and when they were read. Their publishers are the authority: check them for anything that matters, as dates and rules change from year to year.

  1. Cambridge SU, Freshers: what is a society? (9 September 2025) (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.
  2. Cambridge SU, Freshers' Fair (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.
  3. Cambridge SU, Freshers' Fair stallholder page (archived 22 August 2026) (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.
  4. The University, Term dates and calendars (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.
  5. Pembroke College, Freshers' guide: Freshers' Fair (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.
  6. Christ's College, Freshers' Fair (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.
  7. Lucy Cavendish College, Clubs and societies (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.
  8. Cambridge SU, Find a Society (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.
  9. The Proctors, Societies registered with the Junior Proctor (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.
  10. Cambridge SU, Refreshers' Fair: what to expect (January 2024) (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.
  11. Sports Service, University sports clubs (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.
  12. Sports Service, Sports Club Guide 2026–27 (PDF, as linked from its clubs page) (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.
  13. Sports Service, Student eligibility criteria (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.
  14. Sports Service, Varsity matches (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.
  15. Sports Service, Recreational sport: Give It a Go (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.
  16. Sports Service, College sport (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.
  17. University Information Services, Mailing lists (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.
  18. University Information Services, Subscribing to a mailing list (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.
  19. Cambridge SU, Freshers (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.
  20. Cambridge SU, A society's directory profile selling membership through an outside ticketing site (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.
  21. Cambridge SU, A society's directory profile selling membership through an outside payment site (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.
  22. Cambridge SU, A society's directory profile with a free members' group (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.
  23. Cambridge SU, Registration terms and conditions for clubs and societies (updated August 2024) (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.
  24. Cambridge SU, Student Advice Service (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.
  25. Cambridge SU, Safeguarding (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.
  26. Student complaints office, Anonymous reporting for students and staff (opens in a new tab). Read 4 Nov 2026.

CAMsocs is an independent, unofficial project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or run by the University of Cambridge, any of its colleges or Cambridge SU. This guide sums up what those bodies publish; it is not their advice. Spotted something wrong or out of date? Use the request form or the address in the footer.