Ready to make an impact on campus, meet new people and find your niche? Getting involved in clubs at UM is a great way to meet like-minded students and find your home at the U.
With more than 200 student organizations, it’s easy to get overwhelmed at the club fair during orientation. Here’s your go-to guide to the types of clubs, what they offer and how each can shape your next four years.
Greek Life
UM offers three different types of greek life – social, cultural and pre-professional.
Social Greek life includes Panhellenic sororities and fraternities. UM uses a delayed rush system, meaning you cannot rush a sorority or fraternity until the spring semester of your freshman year. This allows you to find your footing as a student before immersing yourself in Greek life.
UM has eight sororities yet no sorority houses, instead offering each organization a suite where members can hang out in between classes. So, while sorority life is an amazing way to make new friends, it is also not overwhelming and doesn’t determine your living situation. With 13 fraternities on campus, many have fraternity houses that members can live in after their freshman year.
Cultural Greek life is a vibrant community on campus. These are fraternities and sororities that focus on specific cultural identities and emphasize cultural awareness, community building and promoting diversity and inclusion.
Pre-professional Greek life includes organizations that focus on specific career paths. UM offers many pre-professional organizations, from pre-med to business to architecture. These organizations provide networking opportunities, professional development and academic support.
It’s important to note that just 25% of the student population is involved in any form of Greek life. You do not need to be in a Greek organization to have a social life, especially in a vibrant city like Miami.
Club Sports and Intermurals
Most UM students are not on track to become professional athletes. However, there are still many ways to get involved in athletics and stay active during the school year.
Club sports teams travel across the U.S., sometimes internationally, to compete against other collegiate teams. You should expect most of the 30 teams to have coaches, host tryouts and practice 2-5 days per week.
Club sports are a great opportunity to stay engaged if you played a sport competitively in high school and want to continue.. Check out if your sport has an existing club team here.
Intramural sports are a more recreational, less competitive option. Teams compete with other teams in the UM community, offering sports such as soccer, football and pickleball. All you need is a group of five friends to create a team.
Student Media
Housed in the School of Communications but open to all students, UM offers six award-winning multimedia outlets that are entirely student-run.
UMTV is UM’s Emmy award-winning television station. UMTV has eight different shows ranging from comedy to news and more. There are opportunities for on and off-camera talent and any student can participate.
The Ibis Yearbook publishes a 400-page, award-winning book every year that captures campus events and student life. Other organizations include WVUM-FM, the student radio station and Distraction magazine, a publication dedicated to the culture of the students at the U.
And, my personal favorite, The Miami Hurricane. TMH is UM’s student-run and award-winning newspaper with sections for News, Arts and Entertainment, Sports and Opinion. Students can write single pieces as a contributing writer or more frequently as a member of the staff, all while getting paid for their work.
Whether you want to promote student media on social media, work in front of the camera or take photographs, student media offers you a chance to improve your skills.
Service Organizations
Service organizations encompass a broad variety of clubs dedicated to helping the community. These range from Habitat for Humanity to Gift of Life, an organization that swabs cheeks on campus so you can be added to the national bone marrow registry.
Student government works to improve campus life through initiatives voted on by bodies of student representatives. Student government also operates four agencies that you can get involved in – Category 5 for school spirit, ECO Agency for sustainability, What Matters to U for events that promote student learning and the Elections Commission.
Service organizations are a great way to make an impact and feel more connected to campus and the greater Miami community. They’re also a fun way to meet students outside your major, volunteer with friends and get involved in causes you care about.
Recreational Clubs
The largest club on campus is the UM Scuba Club, which hosts scuba certification classes and weekly dives off-campus.
From the Pickleball Club to the Video Game club, it’s easy to find organizations that match your specific interests and hobbies. Check out the student organization fair during orientation to find a group that fits your vibe.
Staying Involved Beyond the Classroom
This may sound daunting, but remember that you don’t have to do everything all at once. Throughout the next four years, you’ll get to discover not just what you want to do, but who you want to be.
Diving into extracurricular activities that you’re passionate about -– not just an activity that looks good on a resume — will make your experience at UM much more meaningful. Getting involved on campus will help you adjust to college, help you build friendships, stay active and feel more at home in your new environment.