Hello and welcome to The Stag! We are the official student magazine for the University of Surrey, and can trace our history back to 1967, with the student newspaper ‘Bare Facts’. Since then, we’ve been a key part of the university’s student media, along with StagTV and StagRadio. In our nearly sixty year history, we have reported on subjects that affect the student community, as well as publishing award-winning pieces in our creative writing section.
What we do
As a student magazine, we do exactly what you might expect! We publish articles on our website on a regular basis, and publish two print editions of our magazine per year. These are distributed around campus in the newspaper racks, labelled ‘The Stag’. But once they’re gone, they’re gone! Luckily for us all, print issues can also be viewed online, in the ‘Past Issues’ section of our website.
We are open to contributions from all students from all degree programmes. Regardless of whether you’re a first year Business undergraduate, an English Literature PhD student or a study exchange student here for a semester, you have a place here at The Stag.
Our magazine is based around the following sections:
- Features – this is where we put time-sensitive, investigative, ground-breaking or editorial articles.
- Culture – by far our largest section, Culture spans from film, literature, music and stage reviews, all the way through to travel, cultural and culinary articles. We are lucky to have the opportunity to attend press events around the country.
- Science and Technology – this one is self-explanatory, really. Any technological developments, from artificial intelligence to space travel, get published here.
- News and Politics – this is where our writers come to contribute their opinions about current affairs around the world, in the UK, and at the university.
- Sustainability – our newest section, we’ve expanded our output in the face of the climate crisis. Our writers encourage us to stay hopeful about the future, by lobbying for individual and collective change.
- Sport – we publish articles from international and national sports all the way down to BUCS level.
- Creative Writing – we have developed an enthusiastic community of creatives who regularly publish short stories and poems with us.
Each section has its own Editor, who is responsible for supporting writers with their pitches and developing their writing style.
We hold regular newsroom meetings in the Stag Media office (next to UniTemps) during semester. Make sure to keep an eye on our socials for details of the next one!
Benefits of writing for The Stag
The first benefit of writing is that it’s fun! Whether you have a burning idea for a short story, film review, or an investigation, we provide a platform for you to publish your work and have it seen by the university community and beyond. It can also be a brilliant way to apply your learning from your degree into something you can be proud of. Sometimes essay questions can be too restrictive, but you want to dive deeper into a subject. We give you the chance to develop your ideas in a flexible and supportive environment.
On a professional level, it’s something that you can put on your CV! Being involved with a society at university shows engagement and an interest in your subject area. By honing your skills, interviewers will be impressed by your written portfolio and dedication to extra-curricular activities. The Student Publication Association National Awards also happen once per year, and you could be the talented recipient of one of their awards. Not only should you be proud of yourself, but a national commendation can’t go down too badly on your LinkedIn!
Best of all, it means you can join a community of like-minded and helpful individuals who want to see the magazine succeed. In our time at university, we have the privilege of looking after the society for a short time before passing it down to the next committee. I’ve made friends for life at The Stag, and maybe you could too!
How to join
We are always looking for new writers! Whether you have one idea, or want to write a regular series, we are excited to encourage new members to our society.
You can join The Stag on our Students’ Union website.
To keep informed about what we’re up to, make sure to follow us on our socials:
You can find our website here, and you can get in touch with us on our email: ussu.thestag@surrey.ac.uk.
We’re looking forward to hearing from you!
