Frequently Asked Questions

All undergraduate students are eligible for The Stellify Award for Undergraduates. This includes Direct Entry students, but does not include Study Abroad or Exchange students. 

All postgraduate taught students are eligible for The Stellify Award for Masters Students.

No. The Manchester Leadership Programme is a 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.

Any volunteering 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 award. 

If you feel you have specific extenuating circumstances that have prevented you from completing the Stellify Award, please contact the Stellify team, who will provide you with an Extenuating Circumstances application form, via stellify@manchester.ac.uk.

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 31 May deadline for undergraduate students and 30 September for master's students.  We will be unable to consider any applications after this time. 

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

If you achieve the award prior to your graduating year you will be notified by email. Award certificates will be awarded to students at graduation. 

Absolutely! The Stellify Award for master’s students is designed for all postgraduate taught (PGT) students - whether you are new to Manchester, previously studied here without completing the award, or have already achieved the award during your undergraduate degree.

If you have completed The Stellify Award before, you are still welcome to take part. However, you will need to complete new activities for the master’s version.

To achieve the award, you will need to complete the following:

• Understand the Issues that Matter - complete two Stellify eligible UCIL Short Courses. 
• Make a Difference - complete 25 hours of volunteering which benefits the wider community. 
• Step Up and Lead - complete two approved leadership roles (or one role for two years).

You are responsible for ensuring the activities you undertake are recorded - information on how to do so can be found on the component pages.

Each component achieved will then be recorded on your Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) which formally recognises your extra-curricular achievements.

Students who complete the three components - Understand the Issues that Matter, Make a Difference and Step Up and Lead - will achieve the Stellify Award and will receive a certificate at graduation. 

From becoming a Student Representative or Sustainability Champion, through to involvement with societies, sports teams, volunteering and more, there are lots of activities to choose from that will help you progress towards earning the award - all designed to fit around your postgraduate studies and personal interests.

To achieve the award students complete the following:

• Complete both UCIL Short Courses. 
• Complete 10 hours of volunteering which benefits the wider community. 
• Complete one approved Champions for Change role.

Take a look at what's involved on the relevant pages.

The award also requires you to submit a final reflection piece at the end of your journey in order to consider the activities you have completed, helping you to think about the skills you have gained and your perception of your place in the world. 

This information is not related to the new Stellify Award delivered on Canvas but to the previous Award.

While undertaking your Stellify journey, it is important to actively monitor your progress. At present, there is no single system that allows students due to graduate in July 2027 or those on the previous Stellify Award to view their progress in one place.

Therefore, all students working towards this Stellify Award are advised to follow the guidance below to ensure they remain on track.

Understand the Issues that Matter

• Please see the UCIL Short Courses  guidance under 'How do I show I’ve done it?'. To track your progress for this component of the Stellify Award, you should refer to your Canvas account. Once you have completed a UCIL Short Course, it will be marked as complete in Canvas. This is the primary way to monitor your progress for this component of the Stellify Award. If you have any further queries please contact egc@manchester.ac.uk 

Make a Difference

• Please see the Make a Difference guidance under 'How do I show I’ve done it?' Logging your hours on Volunteer Hub or the Sports Volunteering platform and ensuring they are approved is the primary way to monitor your progress for this component of the Stellify Award. If you have any further queries please contact volunteers@manchester.ac.uk 

Step Up and Lead / Champions for Change

• Please see the Step Up and Lead / Champions for Change guidance under 'How do I show I’ve done it?'.  You should check with your role owner that your completion of the role will be recorded at the end of the academic year. This is the primary way to monitor your progress for this component of the Stellify Award. If you have any further queries, please contact your role owner directly.

The internal process for awarding Stellify

The Stellify Award is administered by recording each completed component on a student’s Higher Education Achievement Record (HEAR). This is how the Stellify team tracks and monitors progress towards the Award. Please note that students do not have access to their HEAR record during their degree (please see the HEAR website for more information), hence we advise that you monitor your progress as outlined above.  

Completed components are added to the HEAR annually in June. For Master’s students, there is an additional update following the 30 September deadline.

Therefore, if you contact us to enquire about your progress towards the Stellify Award, we can only confirm activities that have been recorded on your HEAR at the most recent HEAR update prior to your enquiry.

Please see here for details of what happens once the Stellify Award is achieved.

If you are unable to access the Challenges on Canvas, please email egc@manchester.ac.uk.

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 award.