Guardian Student, which will be launched in a colour, tabloid format on 7 May, will provide a round-up of the week's news alongside student- focused articles sourced from The Guardian.
The initiative is designed to to target future readers at a young age. It will also allow The Guardian to publicise events such as its Student Media Awards and Hodge Photographic Awards.
If the six-week trial at universities including Kings College London and Birmingham University proves successful, Guardian Student will be launched nationally and published every week during term time.
Guardian Student will be advertised on poster sites at the five universities involved in the trial and student unions will also be heavily targeted with posters and ads on plasma screens.
The ads were created in-house and the specialist student marketing agency BAM planned and bought the campaign.