Attend a subject taster session either virtually or in person on campus and discover what it would be like to study your chosen subject at undergraduate degree level.
We offer them in a wide range of subjects throughout the year. If there is not an session in your subject area, please do register your interest and we will let you know when any new ones have been added related to your areas of interest.
We are thrilled to be hosting a schools and colleges Taster Day at the University of Reading! This is a fantastic opportunity to experience what it’s like to study at degree level. With a variety of subject tasters on offer, Students will choose one engaging session in the morning and another in the afternoon, giving you a real taste of university life. As part of the day, students will take part in interactive academic sessions led by our expert staff, meet current students, and ask them all your questions about university life, and discover the benefits of studying subjects like Law, Sociology, History, Digital Media and Communications, and Psychology. Get ready for a day of discovery!
This is an invite only event and the regional officer will be contacting schools and colleges directly.
May 2024 gave us the most extensive aurora seen in modern times - but how does it compare with other events in recorded history? This webinar explores who has reported aurora across the centuries, from chroniclers and clergymen to lighthouse keepers, scientists, and today’s public observers.
We’ll look at how reporting has shifted from ancient manuscripts and newspapers to academic journals and social media. With digital cameras now in almost every pocket, accurate recording is easier than ever - yet light pollution and AI-generated fakes present new challenges.
If you sign up, we’ll send you a recording of the webinar.
Join Dr Neil Cocks for a brief and student-centred introduction to ‘The Gaze’ in critical and literary theory.
This webinar will offer a down-to-earth reading of familiar and simple-seeming texts.
Drawing on his experience of teaching children’s literature as an academic subject, Dr Cocks will lead discussions of the song Let it Go from Frozen, the cover art to The Gruffalo, and the ending of Edith Nesbit’s The Railway Children.
Following the webinar there will be a Q&A session where you can ask questions.
If you sign up, we'll send you a recording of the webinar.
This webinar will provide insights into how key aspects of sustainability are embraced and delivered through the design, construction, operation and maintenance of built infrastructure.
Addressing the complexities of climate change locally, nationally, and internationally necessitates a crucial role for the built environment in the transition to a more sustainable, low-carbon future.
Understanding the design, construction, operation and maintenance of built infrastructure is essential to this endeavour. Recognizing the important interface between engineering, technology and human dimensions is also critical.
If you sign up, we’ll send you a recording of the webinar.
This webinar is ideal for curious learners who want to understand the science behind vision.
Discover how the human eye turns light into sight.
This lecture explores the main parts of the eye, what they do, and how they work together to create vision. The anatomy of the eye is also discussed in relation to medicines.
Following the webinar there will be a Q&A session where you can ask questions.
If you sign up, we'll send you a recording of the webinar.
Sometimes design is so intuitive that we barely notice it.
Other times it can feel like objects or systems are infuriating obstacles that get in the way of our daily objectives.
UX design (short for ‘User Experience’) is about planning and making things that are useful to people, and perform the way humans expect them to.
This lecture offers insights that can help you with your current studies, but also give you a gateway to the more advanced design thinking that underpins university-level study.
If you sign up, we’ll send you a recording of the webinar.
(All links open in Youtube)
Thursday 30 October 2025,16:00 – 17:00
This event is closed for applications.
Want to be the first to know about events and activities in your subject area of interest?
Please email us at outreach@reading.ac.uk
Please visit our Activities for Schools page for more information about our upcoming sessions and resources for schools.
The University of Reading is committed to ensuring that its outreach programmes are accessible for all. We offer a Travel Bursary that prospective students may apply for to attend campus taster events, and if successful would cover the entire cost of their travel. Certain eligibility criteria apply.
