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The UCL East Taster Day is your opportunity to visit our UCL East campus, and explore some of the subjects offered by UCL through a wide range of engaging taster sessions.
Whether you want to try out a variety of degree subjects, speak to current staff and students at UCL, tour our UCL East campus, or find out more about student finance and applying to UCL.
Session Descriptions:
- Archaeology: Public Engagement and Community-led Practice in Archaeology
The future of our past is in your hands! Archaeology is the study of humans through history and prehistory, and all the way up to the present day. How do we, as archaeologists, engage and communicate this with the public?
Explore our recent and not so recent past with Sara Perry, Associate Professor in Digital Public Archaeology at UCL's Institute of Archaeology.
Sara specialises in public engagement, digital theory and practice, archives and data infrastructures, leadership in professional archaeology, and the relationship between these subjects and the operations of wider museums and cultural institutions.
- Computer Science: Computer Vision, training AI to see
By the end of this one-hour session, students will understand the basics of machine learning by training and testing an AI model to recognise road signs using Google Teachable Machine.
- Earth Sciences: What is Earth Sciences?
Discover the diverse and exciting careers that can lead from a degree in Earth Sciences. Students use 3D glasses to identify 3D rocks, construct a 3D fossil and 3D model of Mars.
- Geography: Geography and the Global Supply Chain (How Did my Shoes Get Here?)
We can take a lot of things for granted: our place in the world, the roof over our head, the shoes on our feet. But... how did we get here? And where did our shoes come from? Maybe they were delivered by a courier who dropped them at our front door. But behind that delivery lies a long history and a vast web of links between ships, trucks and factories, workers, companies, and governments - a global supply chain. In this talk, Dr Jonny Jones explains how a geographical lens can help us make sense of a complex world of political, economic, social and cultural histories and connections.
- History Beyond the Classroom: What does it mean to do public history?
Whether it’s watching the latest series of Bridgerton, playing Assassin’s Creed, going to a museum or just walking down the street, history is all around us, not just in our classrooms or textbooks. So why should we pay attention to the history that happens in and with the public? And what can it tell us about why history remains important in the present? In this talk, Anna Maguire will explore the different ways of doing public history and get you thinking about why this is an exciting new area for historians to get involved with.
- Library Tour
Take a guided tour of the UCL East library facilities, tailored to your interests and needs. These tours can include an overview of the library resources, study spaces, and how to access support services.
- Natural Sciences: Making Designer Materials
Physicists and chemists nowadays often start with an application in mind and a wish list for properties when they design new sorts of materials—this talk will focus on different ways scientists manipulate material properties for different applications and how this may be required for new revolutions in energy, computing and space exploration.
- Engineering Foundation Year
Are you a creative, thoughtful and hard-working person who wants to engineer a better world? We are looking for students capable of succeeding in engineering but who may have faced obstacles or disruption to their education and learning.
The Engineering Foundation Year at UCL is for people from groups underrepresented at UCL who aspire to become engineers but do not meet the standard entry requirements for UCL’s undergraduate engineering degrees. Join us to hear more about the programme and find out if you may be eligible.
- Engineering Careers
Maximise your chances of landing the job, internship, placement or academic position you want with the help of our careers guidance team.
Join our careers professional to see where a degree in Engineering could take you.
- Statistics
When you play a game with other people, you need to think not only about what is likely to be a successful strategy under the rules, but also how other people will decide to act. How do we imagine that others will respond to a guessing game, and how accurate are those mental models? We will play some games ourselves, talk about the mathematical questions that underlie this situation, and dive into a statistical investigation of the area.
- Science and Technology Studies: Why Study History and Philosophy of Science/Sociology and Politics of Science at UCL?
Are you passionate about science but a career as a scientist is not what you aspire to? Then the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) is your home. We study the place of science in society and culture, and think about how the humanities and social sciences can help scientists tackle big problems in our world. How should societies tackle climate change? Will AI steal our jobs? How did science come to acquire the authority it has in society, and at what cost? How should we change science, to build a more equitable and inclusive society?
- Science and Engineering: How to solve the complex challenges puzzle: Science and Engineering for Social Change
We often hear that modern societies are currently facing complex global challenges, which trespass borders and are not easy to solve or even tackle. But what are the most pressing problems? How do we identify them and whose job is it to try to solve them? Join us for a session where we will explore how science and engineering can help address these challenges when combined with the social sciences and public policy. We will bring in the Sustainable Development Goals framework of the United Nations and explore the topic from an interactive and multidisciplinary perspective.
- Student Finance
Finances are a big part of choosing whether university is right for you. This session is designed for students who would be studying their first degree and eligible for a loan from student finance England.
The session will cover- University repayments
- The average cost of being a university student
- Budgeting skills
- The financial benefits of going to university
- The cost of a university
- Student Q&A
Join our Student Ambassador Q&A session for a chance to hear first hand experiences and insights about university life. Whether you’re curious about campus facilities, student support services, or balancing academics with social activities, our friendly ambassadors will answer all your questions. Get the inside scoop on what it's really like to study here and how to make the most of your university journey
- Physics
In this lecture we will start from ideas familiar from A-level Physics (conservation of momentum, and the reflection and refraction of light) and show how they can be used to explain the science behind some of the cutting-edge research going on in UCL today. We will learn how to hold and manipulate tiny objects using only the power of light in an "optical tweezers" and about some of the uses they have in the research laboratory. Then, if this has inspired you to want to know more, we will look at the Physics-related degrees offered by UCL, how to apply to them, what you will learn, and where they might take you.
- Chemistry: Microplastics in the Environment
What are microplastics? How do they get into our environment, and how do they affect the environment around us? In this lecture I will give an introduction to the chemistry of microplastics, and we will dive into the academic research behind the news and social media headlines.
- Global Humanitarian Studies
This session will introduce and provide an overview of the BSc in Global Humanitarian Studies at UCL. The talk will provide background in terms of the aim and uniqueness of the degree programme, its development, why studying global humanitarian studies as a subject is important and the types of areas covered within the degree. It will also cover the skills you will develop through taking this degree and the degree module requirements, career and postgraduate opportunities and support, examples of student work and entry requirements and access initiatives.
Following this, there will be a short taster lecture related to the optional module that I teach in the first year of this degree (Global Health Introduction) - Lecture title: A Tale of Two Cities and Two Crises: The Intersections of Global Health and Humanitarian Studies. This lecture aims to introduce you to the importance of global health as a field and how it relates to humanitarian crises worldwide. I will also draw on my own experience of conducting research in two areas related to topics covered in our degree – natural hazards and disease outbreaks. I will draw on research I was involved in after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, in 2012 and research on Ebola surveillance in 2015 in Sierra Leone during the worst Ebola outbreak in history. You will learn about the importance and contribution of academic research in improving our understanding of responding to and managing humanitarian events and why evidence matters.
Getting here
We encourage you to plan your journey to UCL and allow plenty of time to travel. We strongly recommend that you use public transport to get to us. The UCL East campus is within walking distance from several underground stations. You can find more details to help you plan your journey on the Travelling to UCL and the UCL East Find us page.
There are no parking facilities on either of our campuses. Parking in the wider area is not free and it's limited. Please check your route for London’s Congestion and Ultra Low Emission Zone Charges.
Arrival
Upon arrival at our UCL East campus, you’ll be asked to check-in at our reception desk. If you haven’t pre-booked, don’t worry! We’ll also be able to advise on what taster sessions are taking place, and how to best start your visit.
Note: If you wish to avoid being photographed at an event, please let us know upon check in, and we’ll provide you with a sticker or lanyard indicating your request.
On the day
There is so much to see and do as part of the UCL East Taster Day. Read our guidance and session descriptions above to make sure you make the most of your day!
Event guidlines
- Please be aware that sessions are on a first come, first served basis and room capacities cannot be exceeded, to increase the likelihood of being able to attend your desired session, please arrive early.
- Priority in sessions will be given to prospective students, so we may ask additional guests to leave a session if it reaches capacity. We have a Faculty Fair and refectory available for guest to visit in the meantime.
- Please be respectful at all times to all staff, students, speakers and other attendees. Anyone behaving inappropriately will be asked to leave.
- Please follow guidance from staff at all times, especially in the case of an emergency.
- If you have any issues or have any concerns, please highlight them with a member of staff.
- Please leave classrooms promptly after the session ends to ensure the next session is able to start on time.
You can attend a Taster Session
Our Taster sessions can help you decide if a programme is right for you. We recommend approaching sessions with an open mind. You can also attend sessions about subjects which you haven't considered before. You might discover a whole new path opens up to you when you keep your options open by exploring all that’s on offer.
You can speak to staff and students at the Faculty Fair
The Faculty Fair will be open all day and is a great opportunity for you to speak to staff and students. You can ask questions about a programme, entry requirements or what it is like to study that subject at UCL. You can learn about our services and support to our students during their studies and beyond.
Staff or students from the following teams will be available to answer your questions: Admissions, Student Support and Wellbeing Services, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Architecture, Engineering, Social and Historical Sciences and Creative and Cultural Industries.
You can get a feel for the UCL East campus with a tour
During the Campus tours, our Student Ambassadors will show you some of the key landmarks of the UCL East campus.
Make sure you grab a bite to eat!
We are sure you will have a packed schedule but make sure you make some time to grab a bite to eat. There is a wealth of places to eat in the wider area, as well as a cafe located on site
Quiet Contemplation Room
There is a Quiet Contemplation Room on the first floor of Marshgate behind Lift A. The room is available during core building opening hours for Muslim Prayer and has ablutions facilities outside.
