We are proud and pleased to welcome graduates, former students, former members of staff and international and exchange students as our friends and alumni.

Read on to find out how to connect with each other and with Keele – and to remain forever: keele. A good place to start to explore is the Keele Society page - you can use the quick find buttons on the left margin of this page.

Q: Alumni, alumna, alumnus - who, what and why?

Alumni is a Latin word derived from the verb alere, which means ‘to bring up or to nourish'. The term was used to indicate "one who is nourished by a person who is not a natural parent." The word also referred to abandoned children, who were sheltered and raised by foster parents. Therefore, alumni are students who have been intellectually nourished at an educational institution outside their usual family circle. In the 17th century the term began to be applied to graduates of a school, college etc. . A male is correctly an alumnus, a female is an alumna and in the plural they can be alumni (males or mixed genders) or alumnae (females).

At Keele, we use the term 'alumni" to include a wider group including graduates, honorary graduates, staff and students who completed at least one semester of study at Keele – including international and exchange students. We include alumni of the University College of North Staffordshire and the University of Keele. We prefer to use the term alumni instead of graduates, "old boys" or "old girls", or former students because not all who have been nourished by Keele are graduates and some alumni are former members of staff.... so alumni is the most inclusive term we could find!

But being Alumni is more than a definition. Alumni are a key part of Keele’s continuing story and Keele is a key part of your life story and of who you are today. Your relationship with Keele didn’t end on your graduation or leaving day: that was just a transition to a lifelong relationship with the University.
Keele values your continued interest and involvement in the life of your University.

   How do I join?

You don't have to! There are no membership fees and no subscription charges – you automatically become a member on leaving Keele. The only condition for membership of the Keele Society is that you completed at least one semester of study at Keele.

If you cannot find what you need or you have difficulty using the website please contact the Alumni Office or telephone 01782-733370.

Keep up to date - and keep us up to date

Please update your contact details by using the blue "Contact the Alumni Office" button to the left - or you can attach this Update Form to an email, or post or fax it back to us.

And for our alumni of the future - current Final Year Undergraduates can find out here about the
The Neil and Gina Smith Student of the Year Award