UCL American Society

• Do I have to be a citizen/national and/or resident of the US (in other words, be "American") to be in UCL American Society?

No, just like other affiliated cultural societies at UCL, we welcome all who are interested in the US to join UCL American Society. Although there are eligibility requirements to register for absentee voting in US elections, we commit to making everyone fully included in every way we can under all circumstances that are under our control.

• Was there an American Society at UCL before?

As far as we can tell, there was previously one as recently as 2023. We were told that it was closed for inactivity.
We are not currently in contact with the previous UCL American Society's leadership, and while we are not opposed to renewed contact with such past figures, our focus from 2026 onwards is building a new UCL American Society that we can all be proud of, including among our members who are not US citizens/nationals.

• When was the (current) UCL American Society (re)started?

We applied for affiliation in Term 1 of 2025, and received permission from Students' Union UCL to operate as an affiliated society in Term 2 of 2026.

• Are you acting on behalf of the US government and/or the administration that started in 2025?

No, the UCL American Society is an entirely student-initiated effort that is not part of the US government, does not represent the US government, and is not operated by the US government. We hope to create the necessary conditions for individuals with various backgrounds and opinions to understand and work with each other in a civil, informed, and empathetic manner.

• How do I join the members' WhatsApp community (to learn about events, chat with our officers and other members, et cetera)?

Please become a member first by clicking on the membership sign-up button that appears after scrolling down on any page (including this one), and then come to one of our events and ask to join the WhatsApp community.

If you do not see any events advertised on our Students' Union UCL "Events" page or otherwise want to join the WhatsApp community sooner, please email our general email address (su-american.society@ucl.ac.uk) and ask to be added. (We ask that you try to send your emailed request from your UCL email address if you have one, or if not, with an explanation of why you do not have a UCL email address (for example, because you are a "visiting member" of Students' Union UCL).)

We recognize this process is somewhat inconvenient; however, it has helped us so far (as of AY 2025-2026) prevent any outside spammers/scammers from joining the WhatsApp community.

• I'm a non-UCL individual and/or representative of another society (can be a cultural society, but does not have to!) that might want to contribute (potential guest speaker, faculty with interests/work relevant to the US, affiliate of UCL's partnered (including Columbia/Penn/Yale, among others) and/or peer institutions in the US/UK, member of the US diaspora in London or elsewhere). How do I get started, and what are you looking for?

Please email us at su-american.society@ucl.ac.uk to discuss your plans.
In particular, we are delighted to welcome sponsorship proposals, efforts to encourage student-to-student contacts between UCL students/our members and students at peer/partnered institutions in the US (such as poetry competitions), input on assisting with bureaucratic issues affecting our members (such as US/UK immigration and financial matters), and other mutually beneficial efforts.