Thinking of commuting to University? Already commuting? You’re not alone – almost a fifth of our students travel from home to campus. We’ve produced this guide to help you make the most of your time at Manchester whilst embracing the commuter lifestyle.
Keep reading for infomration on key events to meet fellow commuters, locations and facilities that you can use on campus to recharge after your journey, and key contacts for any questions you may have related to commuting and university life as a whole.
You can also use our interactive campus map to view the locations mentioned in this guide.
While You’re On Campus
Cosy Campus spaces
If you want to unwind after a busy commute, a Cosy Campus space might just be ideal for you. Apart from providing warm and quiet locations to study and relax, you can also brew up a hot drink, heat a meal in the microwave and wash up afterwards.
Our Cosy Campus locations are:
- University Place Drum
- Alan Gilbert Learning Commons
- Dover Street G45
- Engineering Building A, ground floor
- Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS), room 2.094
- Main Library
- Arthur Lewis Building ground floor
Commuter Students Space
Alongside the Cosy Campus spaces, there’s a space set aside for commuter students in Booth Street East. This area has lockers, monitors, study spaces, a place to microwave food and prepare a hot drink. There will also be events in this space throughout the year to make sure you can get connected to support services and others at the University.
Bring and Ping
You can also microwave your food or prepare a hot drink at the Bring and Ping spaces across campus. Spaces include the ground floor of Engineering Building A, room 2.094 in AMBS, and the Main Library.
Study spaces
If you need to escape the hustle and bustle of campus life to catch up on some coursework in-between commutes, then we have plenty of study spaces for you to use. Some of these are:
- Main Library
- Alan Gilbert Learning Commons
- Computer Cluster in the Arthur Lewis Building, ground floor
- Computer Cluster in the Jean McFarlane Building, second floor
- Booths in the Jean McFarlane Building, ground floor
Lockers
If you need to store your belongings in between journeys, you can use lockers in the Commuter Student Space in Booth Street East, as well as lockers located next to the Advice Centre in the Students’ Union, ground floor.
Commuter Cafe
The Students’ Union supports students that live off campus, including living-at-home students and students living in privately rented houses with non-University students. They’ll be a launching a Cafe in September.
To find out more about what support is available to commuter students, you can email the Students Union’s team at info.su@manchester.ac.uk.
Student Support Hubs
Every School has a dedicated Student Support Hub. The Hub is a one-stop shop for all your general School enquiries and for any information and guidance you may need. Our Hub teams can also refer you to specialist services available elsewhere, such as wellbeing support and immigration advice.
Hubs are open 9am to 5pm during term time, 10am to 4pm during University holidays, and are closed on bank holidays and University closure days, with a few exceptions.
Find your Faculties’ Student Support hub and learn more about their opening times.