School of Social & Political Sciences

Author: Bruna Queiroz Carvalho, MSc Political Communication student

To be 26-going 27 in a new place is not what I planned to do as a young(er) adult, but it is what life led me to. I’m Bruna, Brazilian by birth and heart, and a wee Scottish by choice since September 2025, when I started my MSc in Political Communication at the University of Glasgow. 

I definitely know that it is not easy to start in a new environment – in our case, a master's programme. Simply put, you are somewhere you have never been, with no one you know, and with new responsibilities. The good news is that there is an easy way to subdue the nerves: making friends! 

Please, don’t roll your eyes yet and think less of me because you know it is not that easy to make friends in your 20’s. The good thing about UofG is that you have many opportunities to meet new people and make friends. 

A great way to start is, of course, interacting and reaching out to your programme’s and accommodation’s peers. As this will happen more naturally, here I focus on special opportunities: university events. 

Every day, something is happening at UofG. That is not up for discussion. You truly will need to choose which events to attend, because there are so many options. From all university students to only SPS students; from free to paying tickets; from doing activities together to just eating and talking; you’ll find an event that was basically designed for you and people with similar interests as you (also known as your new friends). 

Below are some of the events I have attended since September, and my experience in meeting new people there. 

Welcome week and clubs

The moment you start to understand how many events can happen in UofG! Every Sport Team and Club Society presents what they are doing, and some even do a taster in the following weeks. It’s impossible to go to all, but I recommend going to two or three, so you can see which one is more interesting to you – that is how I decided to participate in the Cheese Society (one of the best decisions in my master's life). I liked it because the meetings during the years are just eating cheese and talking with fellow cheese-lovers. I went to the first one alone, to the second hoping I would see someone again, but from the third onwards, I already had a usual company (cheese-bonding is real).

More tips on how to enjoy the welcome week are available here!

SPS Welcome

So much fun! As it was an event only for SPS students, it was way easier to find people with similar interests! Also, most of the attendees were international students, which also facilitated starting a conversation. I went alone, but there I saw Vivi – someone who until then was just another colleague in one of my classes, but became a friend and introduced me to others in that class. We didn’t even spend too much time together, as the organisers randomly separated us into groups to compete in a series of games, but just living it together was enough to create a connection that could be developed.

Winter hostings

UofG promotes small hang-outs between students and staff during the winter break. To participate, it is necessary to fill out the form, in which you inform what you would like to do, besides some basic information, so UofG can organise groups that make sense to everyone. Each group decides what they’ll do, and the activities can vary a lot, but either way, it’ll be good to have something to do with companionship during the break.

Personally, I was matched with other SPS master’s students from (one of them became my colleague in one of my courses in the second term), while the staff member was from Brazil (I’m convinced that UofG paired us as a treat, and I’m thankful for that). Together we visited the Cathedral and the Provand’s Lordship (I went alone before, and can guarantee that going with others is better), drank hot chocolates at Bare Bones (love a specialised chocolate store), and went to Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre (so cool).

Pottery Painting and #Brunch for Dinner

Both events were part of the welcome (back) events by the Students’ Representative Council (SRC). I chose them because I thought it would be fun to (try to) do a craft activity, and it would be good to have free food. I was right. Both events were great for socialising, especially the pottery painting, as none of us at the table knew what we were doing, but still wanted to do something aesthetically pleasant (also, the fact that we were not busy eating helped a lot). The strength of these events is that it is easier to meet students from other courses, but in a less chaotic way than the welcome week events.

Trip to St. Andrew

A good choice to visit another city and make friends at the same time! Again, it was organised by SRC, and it had limited tickets for £15,00 each. You could see that some went with friends, but most of the group went alone and befriended each other during the day, especially after the guided tour, to explore the city together. I just went to a coffee shop alone to get a hot drink and met another student there, and if it wasn't a sign from the universe to spend the rest of the day together, I don’t know what it was. We didn’t really plan anything, and we would just spontaneously decide what to do next, which means we got a little lost and we didn’t do everything we could/wanted, but still laughed a lot – the best kind of trip and a good way to start a friendship!

Burns Night

This was the last event I went to for the moment, which celebrated the Scottish poet Robert Burns. Unlike the others, this time I went with a friend and randomly found someone we met at another event, so we all hung out together. The night was filled with haggis and Irn-Bru, Burns’ poems, and ceilidh; as there were a lot of activities during the night, it was easy to start a conversation and meet new people.

Either in these events or in other ways, you won’t be alone. Don’t be too nervous about making friends; it’ll happen eventually. Just remember that everyone is starting something new too, and wants to have someone to share and understand the life of a PGT student.

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First published: 10 February 2026