The UCSA elections happen in April every year! If you are interested to apply as a candidate, you will find everything you may need on this page. If you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to current UCSA Board members either privately or at our official e-mail, [email protected]!

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Why should I run for the UCSA Board?

Long story short: the opportunity of spending a year as part of the UCSA Board is an incredibly rewarding experience, both personally and professionally!
Depending on your position, you will: 

• Handle a yearly budget of over a hundred thousand euros for an Association with 700+ members;
• Manage 43 committees and 7 teams;
• Deal with legal matters;
• Become a pro at small- and (very) large-scale event planning;
• Learn to balance approachability and professionality;
• Receive skills in negotiation and conflict resolution;
• Receive certified first-response emergency (BHV) training;
• Absolutely master your Google Calendar and time management skills;
• Work on your leadership and public speaking skills;
• Learn what it means to represent others in an elected student body;
• Grow personally from a year of working in a team of six and valuing different perspectives;
• Enjoy a cool office, financial compensation from UU, an extra semester and unlimited coffee;
• Meet a lot of new people and go on a year-long adventure!

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Bottom line, it's very hard for us to encapsulate everything we feel about our year in UCSA as words on a website, but you can take away from it that no one who has run for an UCSA Board year has regretted it!​

The Elections Process

Elections may seem daunting, but it's often significantly less scary than you imagine! During the two Election Weeks (weeks of the 6th and 13th of April), it is up to you to convince the students why you should be part of the next UCSA Board. To assure that you reach all students, we will be hosting events throughout those weeks to give you a platform to campaign! Here are the different steps: 

• Sending your application online;
• Attending the candidate market to introduce yourself to the students;
• Participating in a radio show event where you discuss your campaign points;
• Going to the elections debate to (peacefully) promote your campaign;
• Attending the elections General Assembly (GA) to present a short speech and respond to student questions!

Once you send in your application, you will be added to a WhatsApp groupchat with all the prospective candidates and be kept up to date on where to be by the current UCSA Board!

There are some important rules to elections: 

• You are always welcome to have a chat with us to discuss your ideas and answer any questions, but we cannot give direct feedback to your election statements.
• You can't be endorsed by staff members or by someone who has been or currently is in a student board. 
• As your election campaign revolves around your ideas and initiatives, rather than about the money, we strongly discourage candidates from spending money on their campaign! The maximum amount of money that you can spend is 20 euros per candidate. 
• You may post only once on the WhatsApp groupchats per day. On your own page, you can post as much as you want. 
• You can't like, post or comment on your own election posts or other election posts from other candidates or the UCSA Board.

Elections Guidelines

Once elections season starts, to apply as an UCSA candidate, please send the following documents by e-mail [email protected]:

• ​Election statement: Maximum of two A4 pages. State which position you will be running for and why! In this statement, you can also share your ideas on how to improve social life on campus, the functioning of the UCSA Board, or any other initiatives you have in mind (a.k.a. your campaign points)! You can find examples from previous years on this website (see: Elections > Former Election Statements).
• Introduction video: 30-second video introducing yourself for us to share with students! Just state the basics: your name, what position you're running for and why, one or two highlights from your campaign points, etc.

If you decide to run later than the Tuesday deadline, send us your election statement as soon as possible, after which we will publish it on the website and include you in further events organised during the Elections Weeks. The final deadline for announcing your candidacy and sending in your election statement is 48 hours prior to the Election General Assembly.

UCSA Transition

Once you are elected to be on the next UCSA Board, you will begin the transition process: you will be taught all the ins- and outs of the Association by the current UCSA Board over the Summer term. Transition is an essential part of your board year!  It is important for you to know that it is a rather intense and busy period and your schedule should be clear: therefore, we would recommend avoiding intense summer courses/labs unless it is necessary for your curriculum! Furthermore, while you will definitely get a summer break, please remember that you will be also need to set aside some time to work on Introweek preparations and meeting with your board online.