Frequently Asked Questions

All undergraduate students who started in September 2016 or later are eligible for the Stellify Award. This includes Direct Entry students, but does not include Study Abroad or Exchange students. Find out what you need to do to complete the Stellify Award. 

New for September 2023, we have launched the Stellify Award for Masters students, which can be completed by all postgraduate taught students. You can find out more here.

Instructions on how to record your activities can be found on the activity pages. All volunteering hours must be logged on Volunteer Hub, except for volunteering through the University Sports Volunteer Scheme, which will be logged separately. 

All undergraduate Stellify Award activities will be recorded on your Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR). You cannot currently check your own HEAR record, so you will need to contact the activity owner directly to check your progress. You can also send queries to stellify@manchester.ac.uk or attend a Stellify Award drop-in to ask questions - details of these will be on the Stellify homepage. 

Most HEAR uploads take place at the end of the academic year, so if an activity that you recently completed or are still completing is not showing on your HEAR report, that is normal. 

Closing dates for EGCs are as follows:

• Sustainability Challenge – 23:59 Tuesday, 3 June 2025
• Social Justice Challenge - 23:59 Tuesday, 3 June 2025
• Workplace Ethics Challenge – 23:59 Tuesday, 3 June 2025
  
  

All volunteering activity should be recorded in the Volunteering Hub by 31 May 2025.

No. The Manchester Leadership Programme is a completely separate award. This involves completing a Leadership in Action course unit which is part of the University College for Interdisciplinary Learning (UCIL) and either 15, 25 or 40 hours of volunteering to gain a bronze, silver or gold award. 

If you feel you have specific extenuating circumstances that have prevented you from completing Stellify,  contact the stellifyteam via stellify@manchester.ac.uk who will provide you with an Extenutaing Circumstances application form. Once your form is received your case will be considered by the Stellify Award operations group on a case-by-case basis. Please note, queries may not be resolved in time to include the Stellify Award in the graduation ceremony. 
ALL extenuating circumstances applications must be submitted prior to the 31st May deadline.  We will be unable to consider any applications after this time.

Stellify Award confirmation emails will be sent out. If you think you have completed the Stellify Award but do not receive an email, please contact stellify@manchester.ac.uk. 

Stellify Award certificates will be awarded to both undergraduate and postgraduate students at graduation. 

You can still achieve the Stellify Award even if you don't successfully pass your degree. Your Stellify Award certificate would be posted to your home address.

If you are on a 4 or 5 year undergraduate course, your Stellify Award will be recorded on your HEAR but you won't receive your Stellify Award certificate until you graduate. 

If you missed the Sustainability Challenge, you can still catch up by completing the challenge on Blackboard. Final year students need to self enrol. Year 1 students are automatically enrolled - you can find the challenge through the 'Organisations' section on Blackboard.

The Sustainability Challenge is an interactive online activity on Blackboard. It challenges you to think critically about sustainability in a real-world context and empowers you to take action on issues that matter most to you. The activity takes around an hour to complete. 

The Sustainability Challenge is currently available to Year 1, Year 2, final year undergraduate students and postgraduate on Blackboard.

Final year students need to self enrol to access the challenge. If you are in your first year of undergraduate study and can't see the Sustainability Challenge on the 'Organisations' section of Blackboard, please email egc@manchester.ac.uk. 

If you feel that you have extenuating circumstances, contact us at: egc@manchester.ac.uk.  

Students must self enrol and complete it by 23:59 on Tuesday 3 June 2025.

Foundation year students should complete the Sustainability Challenge in year one of their undergraduate degree.

Direct entry students must complete the Sustainability Challenge in the first year that they are in Manchester, which could be year two or three of their undergraduate degree. 

The Social Justice Challenge is an interactive online activity on Blackboard. It gives you an introduction to what social justice is and allows you to learn about a variety of themes including race, gender, higher education, homelessness, mental health and energy. It take around an hour to complete.

The Social Justice Challenge is currently available to Year 2 and final year undergraduate and postgraduate taught students. Year 2 UG students are automatically enrolled – you can find the Challenge through the ‘Organisations’ section on Blackboard. Final year students need to self-enrol. 

Students must complete it by 23:59 on Tuesday 3 June 2025. 

Yes, if you are a final year undergraduate student, you can still self enrol to complete the Social Justice Challenge.

If you are a Year 2 undergraduate student and can’t see the Social Justice Challenge in the ‘Organisations’ section of Blackboard, please email egc@manchester.ac.uk.

Most Workplace Ethics Challenges are completed online through Blackboard (approx. one hour), the only execption are the healthcare workshops which will are delivered face to face.

The face to face healthcare Workplace Ethics Challenge workshops will take place in February 2025. Dates can be found on the EGC Website.

The online Workplace Ethics Challenge is available to access on Blackboard until 23:59 on Tuesday 3 June 2025. This online activity includes interactive scenarios which will challenge you to reflect on your own, and others’, ethical responsibilities and decision making in relation to issues such as harassment, bullying and discrimination, privacy and confidentiality.

You must complete the Workplace Ethics Challenge in either Year 3, 4 or 5 of your undergraduate degree.

You must undertake 25 hours of community-facing voluntering to complete the 'Making a Difference' component of the undergraduate Stellify Award, and 10 hours if you are completing the Stellify Award for Masters students. 

You must undertake volunteering that benefits the wider community, not just the student population, for it to count towards the Stellify Award. Volunteering roles must benefit the wider community, outside the student population. Roles which benefit other students and have a university focus may count towards 'Step Up and Lead' activities e.g. Nightline. If you are in doubt contact: volunteers@manchester.ac.uk.

You can search for volunteering opportunities through Volunteer Hub. Alternatively, you can find your own opportunities and log your hours under the 'My additional volunteering' section on Volunteer Hub.

The 25 hours of volunteering can take place throughout the course of your undergraduate degree. You need to register all your volunteering on Volunteer Hub by 31 May in your graduating year.

Yes. All hours will be logged onto the Volunteer Hub and your Higher Education Achievement Report. However, they will not count for more with your Stellify Award.

All volunteering hours must be logged on Volunteer Hub, except for volunteering through the University Sports Volunteer Scheme, which will be logged separately. 

Hours logged on Volunteer Hub must be verified by a member of the charity or community organisation that you volunteer with. 

Yes, any hours you have logged on Volunteer Hub that you are using towards the Manchester Leadership Programme can also count towards the 'Make a Difference' section of the Stellify Award. 

To complete the leadership component of the Stellify Award, you must complete two of the approved leadership roles or one role for two years. 

You can find a full list of the roles that count here

To make sure your activity is recorded, you should email activities.su@manchester.ac.uk and copy in the Chair of the society.

Yes. All active committee roles will count towards the Step Up and Lead element of Stellify.The roles are not limited to Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.