Vaccines for students

Posted on June 25th, 2025

Vaccines for students

Make sure your vaccines are up to date

Infectious diseases such as meningitis and measles can spread easily in university and college communities. Vaccination offers the best protection against these diseases, which is why it’s important to check your vaccines are up to date before returning after the summer break.

International students

If you’ve moved to Scotland from overseas, make sure you’re up to date with the vaccinations offered for free by the NHS in Scotland. You may be able to get additional vaccines that were not available where you lived before.

MenACWY

The MenACWY vaccine offers protection against some of the common causes of meningitis. Students are at higher risk of meningitis, which can be severe and life-threatening.

For more information visit meningitis.org.

MMR

The MMR vaccine protects against measles, mumps and rubella. Parts of the UK and other countries across the world have seen an increase in the number of people getting measles in the last year. Evidence suggests students are at higher risk than the general population and that is why it’s important to check you’ve had two doses of the MMR vaccine.

HPV

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine helps protect against HPV-related cancers including head, neck and cervical cancer. It also protects against over 90% of genital wart infections. Most students will have had the HPV vaccine at secondary school but if not, you may still be able to get it up until the age of 25.

Find out more

Visit nhsinform.scot/vaccinesforstudents