Armenia The
Armenian National Students Association and the
National Youth Council of Armenia are the two most prominent student societies in
Armenia.
Australia In Australia, student societies play an important role in university life by bringing together like-minded students to engage in activities the society seeks to promote.
Belgium Flanders In
Flanders, student societies play a unique role in student life. Student societies there have traditionally been
politically active, and they played a significant part in the 1960s division of the
Catholic University of Leuven into separate
Flemish and
Walloon universities. A student society in Flanders is led by a
praesidium. The head of the praesidium (and the society) is the
praeses. Alternative spellings are
presidium and
preses. For most positions, Dutch names are used nowadays. Other positions include: •
vice-praeses: assists the praeses where needed. •
Quaestor: takes care of the money. • '''': the secretary of the student organisation. •
Cantor: Leads the
cantus. •
Vertor: Organises cultural activities. •
Scriptor: Is responsible for creating a
Magazine. •
Bacchus: Is responsible for
alcoholic beverages. (Title taken from the Roman name for
Dionysus) •
Dominus morum: Is responsible for keeping order at a
cantus. Positions are flexible, and change to meet the needs of the student organisation. Student societies used to be politically engaged, but are now more focused on organizing
parties,
cantus, and
cultural activities. Student societies also exist at
polytechnics. New members go through an initiation ritual before becoming full members of a Flemish student society. A new member is called
schacht and has to undergo a
baptism. The baptism is the first step to integration in the student society. The next (and last) step to becoming a full-fledged member is the
ontgroening. After the
ontgroening, one becomes a normal member or
commilito of the organization, and can join the praesidium if one so chooses. Normal members are also referred to as
anciens.
Francophone Belgians In
Wallonia and
Brussels, several types of
francophone student societies exist: • A
cercle regroup students from the same faculty • A
regionale regroup students coming from the same location • An
ordre regroup students around some aspects of the student
folklore or
traditions. The most famous is arguably
ANLO. • A
kot-à-projet (KAP) regroups students sharing the same passion for diversified projects : sports, arts, culture, sustainability or social issues... These societies sometimes have traditions dating back a hundred years, such as wearing one of the two traditional student hats: the
Penne or the
Calotte. Their main activity is organising and attending
parties or
festivals (for example, the
24 hours bike ride of Louvain-la-Neuve or the
St V).
Canada The
Alma Mater Society at
Queen's University is the oldest such organization in
Canada, and currently the most extensive in regard to student involvement. It is currently a multi-million corporation employing over 500 students. The day-to-day operations of the AMS are overseen by the AMS Council which includes an annually elected three-person executive (the President, vice-president (Operations) and vice-president (University Affairs), selected as a slate), five commissioners who are each responsible for a specific aspect of student life, and three directors who are responsible for overseeing the AMS’ 14 corporate services.
Denmark Student organizations in
Denmark are often interchangeable with the
students' unions, as the local organizations at the universities are concerned about matters related to political interest and social activities. The political interests of the students are nationally represented by
The National Union of Students in Denmark, which mandate is democratically given by the local organizations.
Estonia procession in
Tartu (Estonia) led by
Estonian Students' Society Estonian Students' Society (Estonian: Eesti Üliõpilaste Selts commonly used acronym: EÜS) is the largest and oldest all-male academical student society in
Estonia, which is similar to
Baltic German student corporations (should not be confused with American college fraternities). It was founded in 1870 at the
University of Tartu. It has over 900 members in Estonia and abroad. In Estonia are 10 academical male student corporations. They are joined in
League of Estonian Corporations, which was founded on March 28, 1915, by
Vironia,
Fraternitas Estica,
Sakala,
Ugala and
Rotalia. Estonian student corporations have hundreds of members and alumni worldwide, because after the
Soviet annexation of Estonia many members fled to Western countries. Added to them there are one female student society:
Estonian Women Students' Society, five female student corporations:
Filiae Patriae, Indla, Lembela, Amicitia, Sororitas Estoniae.
European-wide In Europe, there are several continent-wide student organisations fostering exchange among students of different
nationalities and
Culture, such as •
AEGEE – European Students Forum •
BEST – Board of European Students of Technology) •
EESTEC – Electrical Engineering Students' European Association •
EFPSA – European Federation of Psychology Students' Associations •
ELSA – European Law Students' Association •
EMSA – European Medical Students' Association • ESN –
Erasmus Student Network •
ESTIEM – European Students of Industrial Engineering & Management •
ESU – European Students' Union, the umbrella organisation of 44 national unions of students from 38 countries, representing over 15 million students •
EUGEN – European Geology Students Network •
JEF – Young European Federalists, a pan-European network promoting the idea of European integration •
OBESSU – Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions There is also the
National Unions of Students in Europe, a representative student organisation at European level, notably within the
Bologna process.
Finland , in 1890 In
Finland, there are many various student societies, ranging in variety based on education and ethnicity. By law all Finnish universities must have a statutory students' union and membership in these unions are often required for undergraduate students. The most well-known of these is the
National Union of University Students in Finland, who aims at improving student conditions, with them representing around 135,000 students. All
Universities of Applied Sciences must have a statutory
student council and union, however membership in these are not mandatory. All student unions in the University of Applied Sciences are under the Umbrella Organization; . Among these, the traditional
osakunta or student nations exist as well. In secondary schools, high school students can join the and both high school and vocational students can join the , which is made for
Finland Swedes.
France •
AMGE-Caravane, (French:
Association des Marocains aux Grandes Ecoles et aux Universités), dedicated to Moroccan students and alumni
Germany In
Germany, student societies are widespread and various, though by lack of support from the universities (and by force of variety), generally do not boast many members. The most popular are the
Studentenverbindungen; most of them are moderate and tolerant, although many are restricted to male or Christian members. On many universities - although in many states not officially recognised - there are student representations, called
AStA (Allgemeiner Studenten-Ausschuss),
StuVe (Studentische Vertretung) or
StuRa (Studentenrat). Other organisations include
European Student Associations and the student organisations of the
German political parties. Yet, there are also politically and confessionally independent, interdisciplinary and not-for-profit student organisations. One of, if not the leading one in Germany is the
Studentenforum im Tönissteiner Kreis e. V. (Student Forum within the Tönissteiner Kreis e. V.) that is part of a European and worldwide network of student organizations, the Politeia Community.
Indonesia Student societies in Indonesia, such as
Budi Utomo, have existed since before the
Indonesian National Revolution of 1945. Afterwards, other associations, such as the Islamic Students of Indonesia (PII) and
Muhammadiyah Student Association (IPM) were founded.
Iran The
Student Organization of Iran is a public and non-governmental organization affiliated to the
Ministry of Education of Iran, which is a supplement to public education in the form of social education and started its activities on May 10, 1999. This organization is under the control of the Board of Trustees of the Student Organization, which consists of the officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the students of this country.
Ireland Student societies are widespread in Ireland's universities, with a wide range of activities catered for, including debating, performing arts, role-play, faculty-based activities, gaming, political activity etc. The range of support for societies varies from university to university, though all universities provide funding and facilities to some extent for societies. Student societies are usually governed by Officers and a Committee with an "Auditor" at its head. The
Biological Society,
RCSI's main student society, is purportedly the oldest student medical society in the world. However, it is
Trinity College, Dublin which is the location of
College Historical Society (1770), the oldest student society in the world. The
Literary and Debating Society (NUI Galway) also has the distinction for being the first known student society in the world to elect a female leader, with the election of Clare F. Fitzgerald as "Auditor" in 1942.
Netherlands In the
Netherlands, there are different forms of student societies. Originally there was just the
Corps (for corpus studiosorum), student bodies, starting with the Groninger Studenten Corps
Vindicat atque Polit in the city of Groningen on 4 February 1815, as a part of the governing of the
education on the
universities and to give students the opportunity to develop themselves in all fields of life. On the wave of
catholic emancipation starting in the 1890s, small groups of students, gathered around local
priests, split off from the
liberal,
secular (in name anyway) corps fraternities to form their own societies focused on the
catholic religion. This started the formation of many other religious societies in the different university cities. In the second half of the 20th century the Catholic split-offs formed an intercity-connection; the and the focus on the religion was lost or abandoned. These societies are now known as
student associations in the Netherlands, aimed mostly at social relations and
gezelligheid. Most of the corpora now reside in older buildings in the city center, retaining mostly a rather traditional and conservative image. These organizations offer students a wide range of sports, cultural activities ranging from all levels of sports like
field hockey,
rowing and
rugby to extremes like
kitesurfing,
glider-flying, all for student-friendly prices and development aid organisations and encouragement to start a new club of some sort at all times. The 20th century also saw, especially in the 1960s, the formation of more independent societies at the universities itself, partly as a reaction against the elite status of the corps, abolishing
hazing and religious links and some even opening up to non-students. These non-Corps student societies are known as
study associations (aimed at extracurricular activities for students, such as study trips, lectures, parties or drinks) or are general associations, for sports, literature, arts, etc., founded at the university itself.
Norway The tradition with student societies in Norway reaches back to 1813, when
Norwegian Students' Society in Oslo was founded. The major student societies in Norway are those in
Oslo,
Trondheim and
Bergen. The societies in Oslo and Trondheim operates the student houses, and do also have subgroups who are engaged in theatre, political debates, radio, TV and newspaper.
Bergen Student Society are not in charge of the city's student house, but are arranging political debates, lectures and cultural discussions at
Det Akademiske Kvarter. A Norwegian tradition is to appoint an animal as the high protector or majesty of the student societies, such as
His Majesty the Golden Pig (Oslo),
The Black Sheep (Trondheim) and
His Majesty the Hedgehog (Bergen). The zoological Majesties have their own order of honours, awarded to members of the student societies and member of the academic staff at the institutions, as well as visiting members of the Norwegian royal family.
Sweden Student leisure activities in Sweden are usually organised by the
students' unions (
studentkårer,
studentkår in singular). Swedish student unions cover the whole area from arranging most of the big parties, cultural activities and sports event, to acting as an equivalent of
trade union for the students so their voices can be heard regarding the content and forms of education. The union is usually divided in smaller parts called sections,
sektioner, according to what subjects of programs the students study. Generally all kinds of smaller societies, political, religious or just dealing with different kinds of hobbies, are organised within the students' union rather than as separate units. An exception to this are the two ancient universities in
Uppsala and
Lund. There, most activities except "trade union" issues are organised by the
student nations, the oldest student societies in Sweden, now thirteen at each university. The Uppsala nations have a history stretching back to ca 1630–1640, and were likely formed under the influence of the
Landsmannschaften in existence at the northern German universities frequented by Swedish students. The nations in Lund were formed at the time of the foundation of the university (1666) or shortly thereafter. The nations take the names from the
Swedish provinces from which they traditionally recruited their members, but do not always adhere to the strict practice of limiting membership according to those principles.
Taiwan Student societies exist not only in universities but are even required in high school. The curriculum guidelines of 12-year basic education mandates that Taiwanese high school students must receive at least 24 credits of group activities（社團活動） in one academic year. Most General senior high school students participate in two hours of group activities (社課) each week. This has encouraged the formation of well-supported rock societies (熱音社) and street dance societies (熱舞社). These student societies run themselves with minimal funds, traditionally hosting activities that require large amounts of labor and dedication; in return, committee members (幹部) are rewarded with academic commendations (嘉獎) or even minor merits (小功) from the school.
Uzbekistan The first universities in
Uzbekistan were established in the 1920s in the Turkestan Socialist Republic. Today many of these universities have their own student societies. These societies provide information and support for students who want to study in
Tashkent.
United Kingdom The UK universities boast many notable societies, most of them organised through the universities' Student Unions. These societies encompass a wide range of topics, from course-specific societies, sport societies, film or TV show societies and business societies.
United States Many student societies in the US are focused on the interests of the student members, whether it involves
community service (such as the Feed The Families Club), the ethnicity of the members (such as a Black Student Union or
Hillel), their religion (such as
Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship) or
lack of religion (such as the
Secular Student Alliance), or their political interests (such as
College Republicans or
College Democrats). Others focus on a specific social cause (such as the Real Estate Club), whether by topic or specific to an area (even international). For example,
Refresh Bolivia is a student-run nonprofit community which originated at
Harvard University; it is dedicated to constructing a "maternal & child care oriented community health center" in
Cochabamba,
Bolivia.
Africa Student societies in Africa focus on assisting students from junior high through senior high and universities. High Schools Society in
Ghana focuses on establishing a student community for students through careers, networking and community service. ==International organizations==