Your Student ID Bucket List

If you were issued your student ID at New Student Registration Day, don’t put it away just yet (and if you haven’t received a Student ID, get one here). Your ID will be your ticket to campus events, meals, and your residence hall, so it’s a good idea to get used to having it handy.

Make the most of what your student ID has to offer on campus, online, and around town. Not sure where to start? We have some ideas:

Make yourself at home

Your ID is your official badge as a Chatham student. Welcome! That means you can hit the gym (or the pool), check out books from the JKM library and through interlibrary loan, visit Eden Hall, attend campus events, or just lounge by the quad.

Explore Eden Hall Campus

Leaving the buzzy city behind and connecting with nature is as easy as showing your student ID and riding the university shuttle to Eden Hall. Not a sustainability major? No problem. Search for events on MyChatham Happenings or contact Eden Hall residence life for questions. Check out the dining hall or the café while you’re there.

Bus around Pittsburgh & discover new spots around town

Pittsburgh extends beyond campus. If you’re new to the city, go on a neighborhood tour, and use your student ID as a bus pass. You can plan different stops around town or hop on for a spontaneous bus ride. From unique thrift stores, parks, bike trails, and cultural-historic districts like the Mexican War Streets and Alphabet City, a literary and artistic hub of local and international artists and writers, there’s much to explore.

For a lively burst of color, visit Randyland, folk artist Randy Wilson’s dream house-turned-art-installation, or the bustling markets of the Strip District. If you’re a native Yinzer, take a route you’ve never taken before, revisit a familiar place by geocaching, or pretend you’re a tourist.

Pro Tip: Download the Transit app on your phone to view bus routes and times.

Visit a museum

Step out of your comfort zone, and check out an exhibit you might not normally visit. Your student ID gets you free admission to the Andy Warhol Museum, Heinz History Center, and the Carnegie Museums. Student discounts are also offered at the Phipps Conservatory and the Mattress Factory, an experimental museum where the art installations (many of them immersive) can take up entire rooms.

Look for student discounts

In Pittsburgh and elsewhere, student IDs can get you discounts in a number of stores, movie theatres, venues, and cafés. Panda Supermarket, one of the groceries within walking distance of campus, offers a 5% off discount when you present your student ID.

Online services like Spotify, Apple Music, or MUBI - a film streaming site focusing on independent and international films - also offer lower rates to students. Be on the lookout for different online opportunities to use your ID, and pay less for subscriptions you might already have.

In town, you can sign up for the student rush service to get discounted tickets to Pittsburgh Penguins and Pittsburgh Pirates games. You can also snag theater tickets at a lower price from The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

Learn something new

Interested in joining a seminar or hearing a noteworthy speaker? Film screenings, book lectures, and other in-person or online events offer discounted rates, while university-affiliated events usually waive admission fees to students. Check out the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s event calendar for a list of talks, workshops, and virtual events, and don’t shy away from googling speaker series, online events, and student panels held by other universities, like Pitt or CMU. More often than not, they’re open to the public, and welcome all university students with IDs.

Whether you embark on a Pittsburgh bus adventure, or use your student ID online, there are plenty of perks to score as a Chatham student, and plenty more to discover around the city. When the fall semester gets rolling, have your student ID ready to go!