Clubs & Activities

Clubs & Activities

We Work Hard, Compete Hard and Play Hard, Too

There's more to Clarkson than the classroom. Getting involved in campus activities is serious fun: not only can you make friends and discover passions you'll have for life, but you can also develop leadership skills, become a better collaborator, make professional connections and give back to the community.

You won't have to look far for things to do. There are more than 200 student-led clubs and activities to choose from, from club sports to cultural and identity-based groups to community and professional organizations.

View Clubs & Organizations

SPEED Teams

Athletes aren't the only ones competing at Clarkson. Build race cars, robots and even concrete canoes while part of our Student Projects for Engineering Experience and Design, or SPEED Teams. Join one of a dozen teams that participate in national competitions. You don't have to be an engineer to participate, either. Teams rely on students with expertise in business, accounting, public relations and more.

Find Your SPEED

Athletics

You know what they say about "all work and no play." Our students take that to heart: more than two-thirds of Clarkson's student body compete in a varsity sport or participate in intramurals. Others test their strength in the campus's recreation facilities or hit the nearby trails and waterways.

NCAA Div. I and III Teams

We're home to 18 NCAA Div. III men's and women's teams, in addition to our NCAA Div. I men's and women's hockey teams. Spend one night in Cheel Arena, packed with 3,000 people as the Pep Band blares at top volume, and you'll be hooked. Of course, there's more to the game than the game itself: athletes know the bonds forged through teamwork build skills that last a lifetime.

Club and Intramural Sports

Lace up your skates, pull on your cleats or inflate your mountain bike tires: grow social bonds and engage your strategic side in our 50-plus club and intramural sports teams, including several that compete against other colleges and universities. If you're looking for something a little less intense, a dozen intermural leagues and tournaments keep the competition in-house.

Be a Campus Leader

Leadership is a muscle you build over time. And, student government is one of the best ways to get started. The Clarkson University Student Association (CUSA) is involved in almost all aspects of student life, playing a vital role in influencing campus policy. The Clarkson Union Board (CUB), meanwhile, sponsors concerts, comedians, films and other events.

Activities and involvement aren't just for undergraduates. As a master's or PhD candidate, get your voice heard or start up a club through the Clarkson University Graduate Student Association (CUGSA).

Fraternity and Sorority Life

For decades, fraternities and sororities at Clarkson have contributed to the leadership, scholarship, philanthropy, friendship and personal growth of our students. You'll make friends (and memories) that will last forever, but you'll also join organizations that have raised $80,000 and performed over 20,000 hours of community service since 2001. Today, Clarkson recognizes eight fraternities and four sororities.

Explore Fraternities and Sororities

Student Activities By the Numbers

1st

Our SAE Clean Snowmobile Team placed 1st overall in 2022.

200+

Clubs and organizations on campus.

1903

Year Clarkson's first fraternity was founded. Sororities followed in 1977.

On-Campus Recreation

That burn you feel? It's a good thing. Find it at either of two fitness centers, including an 8,000-square-foot space that opened in 2020. Or, our three-story climbing wall, swimming pool, indoor training facility and rec center, where you can run on an indoor track through the winter. In the spring, head to our four tennis courts or a two-mile-long outdoor rec trail that runs alongside the Raquette River.

Recreation Facilities

Off-Campus Activities

Potsdam is in the foothills of the Adirondacks — a 6-million-acre region bigger than Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon combined, and a year-round destination for hiking, camping, rock and ice climbing, paddling, skiing and more. Love the outdoors? You'll never run out of places to explore. (Need some city time? Montreal and Ottawa, Canada's capital, are an easy drive from campus.)

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