Having trouble viewing this email? View the online version

Read our guide for new students 🐣

New to the uni? We’ve got you! Check out our new students guide to help you get settled in. There's a guide for domestic and international students, covering a range of topics – from how to use Canvas to getting to know our campus facilities.

Attend your faculty orientation event 🧑‍🏫

New students: this week is your opportunity to meet your lecturers, peers, and learn more about your faculty and school. Explore and register for faculty orientation events via the Welcome Planner.

Ensure your personal details are up to date 🏠

It's important we have the correct contact information for you in case of an emergency. You can update your personal and contact information, including your mobile number, residential address, personal email address, and emergency contact details in Sydney Student.

Complete the Respect@Sydney module ✅

All students have the right to participate in university life in an environment that’s safe, respectful, and free from harm. For this reason, we want to ensure you understand what sexual consent, boundaries, and respectful relationships look like, as well as how you can contribute to a safe and inclusive environment. 

If you’ve started your studies in 2026, you’re required to complete our Respect@Sydney module on Canvas by census date, Monday 31 August.

The module has been designed in consultation and collaboration with students and should take about 45 minutes to complete, so it’s the perfect activity ahead of the start of semester next week. 

It’s important you complete the module by the deadline, otherwise you will not be able to view your results or receive your academic transcript at the end of semester, unless you’ve received an exemption from the Safer Communities Office.

There's no better start to semester than enjoying fun events on campus with friends! No matter if you're new to the University or returning for another semester, Welcome is for everyone! 

There's plenty happening this week and the first two days of semester (check out our Welcome Planner for the full list of events), but we've highlighted our personal favourites: 

🏃 Campus Race (28 July): Team up and race around campus for the chance to win prizes and be crowned champions!

🥳 Welcome to Sydney Party (29 July): What do Snapchat filters, Pokémon Go and the Mannequin Challenge all have in common? 2016! Step back in time for a night of new friends, free food, great music, and nostalgic throwback vibes.

💼 Finding casual and part-time work (29 July): Searching for flexible work while studying? Join this Careers Centre workshop to identify and effectively apply for the right job opportunities. 

🛒 Consent Check-In (3–4 August): An immersive experience set up like a convenience store, our Consent Check In invites you to reflect on boundaries and improving your understanding of healthy relationships and communication around consent (snacks included).

🧑‍🎨 Craft with the Collections at the Library (4 August): Explore the Library's Rare Books and Special Collections and create your own collection-inspired zine or badge.  

🎥 Movie Night (4 August): Enjoy a cosy indoor movie night in the Refectory (Holme Building), plus free popcorn, snacks and dinner. 

Our friendly Student Life Ambassadors (they're easy to spot in bright orange t-shirts) will be at info booths and roaming around campus to help you find your way and answer questions.

Need some quiet time or a break during Welcome Fest? Quiet Hour runs from 9–10 am each day, and our Quiet Room (the Chancellor's Room in the Holme Building) is available from 9 am–4 pm. 

Drop in or book an appointment to visit one of our Student Services Hubs from today, Monday 27 July, through to Monday 31 August. Our Hubs offer a range of expert and peer support, from helping you navigate enrolment, timetables and your degree to information about popular programs like study abroad and exchange.

Watch our guide to reporting issues of concern, including how to make a complaint and lodge an appeal.

Paid prac expanded to more health students

The Australian Government has announced that the Commonwealth Prac Payment will be expanded to eligible students in 10 additional health disciplines, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology, pharmacy, paramedicine, radiography, podiatry, audiology, rehabilitation therapies and clinical psychology.

Eligible students receive financial support while completing mandatory placements, helping with living, travel and accommodation costs.

Learn more about the Commonwealth Prac Payment and eligibility requirements via our CPP page.

Someone may come up to you at Welcome Fest claiming to offer ‘tutoring assistance’, 'assignment help', or similar. These services are not affiliated with the University, and if you engage with them, you risk taking part in ‘contract cheating’. Contract cheating exposes you to blackmail and may result in academic penalties. If you see anything suspicious on campus, particularly during Welcome Fest, please report it to the Office of Educational Integrity at their stall on campus during 3 and 4 August or via email: educational.integrity@sydney.edu.au.

Applications are now open for the United States (US) Midterms Study Tour, a two-week academic program in Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia from 1–14 November 2026. Open to all coursework students, the tour explores US politics, democracy and public life on the ground during the midterm elections. Applications close Monday 10 August, so get in quick!

To welcome you to semester, we're offering current students 50 percent off selected University of Sydney hoodies, crew necks and tees – while stocks last!

Visit any USYD store on campus or use discount code WELCOME50 in the online store.

Join the School of Economics on Thursday 6 August at the Sybil Centre in the Women's College for this year's RC Mills Memorial Lecture, featuring keynote speaker Joseph Mullins, a specialist in labour market inequality and the economics of child development. 

Start Welcome Fest right on Monday 3 August at Toby's Estate at the Charles Perkins Centre. From 9–11 am, Toby's will have a live DJ and a 2-for-1 coffee promotion. Plus, the first 20 people to spend $20 get a Toby's Estate merch pack – is there a better reason to shout your friends coffee and sweet treats?! 

Doctor of Medicine graduate Dr Chloe Beydoun. Photo credit: University of Sydney/Stefanie Zingsheim

Research led by Doctor of Medicine graduate and clinical intern at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital, Dr Chloe Beydoun, could enable earlier and more accurate diagnosis of behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia – one of the most commonly misdiagnosed forms of early-onset dementia. Learn more about the study to improve dementia diagnoses, which Chloe began during the 2nd year of her degree.

Over 700,000 people in Australia are living with some form of acquired brain injury; yet the tools to support them in daily life remain limited. Find out how our Motus Lab team, led by Dr Mike Seymour, is developing AI-powered digital humans to help young people with acquired brain injury (ABI) navigate complex information and connect more fully with the world around them.

For more information on important study dates, check out our key dates page.

Keep in touch

Copyright © 2026 The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 Australia
Phone +61 2 9351 222 ABN 15 211 513 464 CRICOS Number: 00026A

We recognise and pay respect to the Elders and communities – past, present, and emerging – of the lands that the University of Sydney’s campuses stand on. For thousands of years they have shared and exchanged knowledges across innumerable generations for the benefit of all.

Please add university.communications@sydney.edu.au to your address book or senders safe list to make sure you continue to see our emails in the future.

Have news? Share it with us