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Reflecting on the 2025 Undergraduate Summer School
By: Meg Sweeney
Last updated: Friday, 12 December 2025
Dr Will Lock teaching in the South Downs as part of the Climate Justice module
2026 will mark the Undergraduate Summer School’s 30th anniversary. Before we enter this milestone year, Global Programmes has been reflecting on 2025, our most successful Summer School programme since 2022, delivering 15 programmes to over 200 students from 24 countries.
Joining us from universities around the world to earn transferable credits or explore a new academic interest, students studied modules offered across all four Faculties. From Climate Justice and British History to Intensive Introductory Physics and Business modules focused on sustainability, the programme showcased Sussex’s breadth of research-led teaching.
Our first cohort arrived on Saturday 28 June and we waved goodbye to the final group on Saturday 23 August. Students made East Slope their home for the summer and settled quickly into life on campus. For many of the students, the Summer School is their first international overseas experience, and they leave Sussex with valuable and lasting memories.
The experience is driven foremost by academic study, while social and cultural immersion continues to enrich Summer School life. Weekly Friday excursions took students to local landmarks including the Seven Sisters and Arundel Castle. Our brilliant team of Sussex student Summer Coordinators delivered an on-campus programme ranging from traditional afternoon tea and pub quizzes to karaoke and dodgeball in the Sports Centre. You can read about student’s experiences on the Summer School Stories blog.
This year also saw the launch of a bespoke two-week English Language & British Culture module welcoming students from the China Scholarship Council’s ISEC Programme. We were delighted to host our institutional partner Zhejiang Gongshang University for the third consecutive year of the Engineering & Informatics four-week programme, blending English language learning, cultural studies and disciplinary teaching.
We were especially proud to welcome three Ukrainian students from our partner institution, Oles Honchar Dnipro National University, for the second year running. Supported by the Emergency Ukrainian Students Sussex Fund Appeal, they joined the British Cinema module and shared powerful reflections on their time studying in the UK. Read more on this here.
Summer School students leave campus as alumni and are eligible for the Sussex Alumni Scholarship to support future postgraduate study. We’re thrilled that one of our 2024 Clinical Psychology & Mental Health students has already returned to pursue an MSc Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience this year.
As we look ahead to 2026, we’re excited to return for our 30th anniversary year with an expanded range of modules that continue to reflect Sussex’s strengths in interdisciplinary teaching.