Postgraduate offer-holders: yet to meet conditions
If you have received a letter (via email) from the Churchill Postgraduate Office advising that you have been allocated membership to Churchill College, you should carefully read this page.
If you have not already done so, it is very important to fill in the College Membership Confirmation form that was linked in you letter. This allows us to get further information such as your accommodation preferences. Please submit this as soon as possible.
You are welcome to contact Rebecca Sawalmeh and Lily Hunter, the Postgraduate Administrators, if you have any questions or concerns: [email protected].
Next steps
Your College membership will only be fully active once you have met the offer conditions you have been set by the the University. Completing this as early as possible enables us to add you to our communications for new students and begin making arrangements for your accommodation and other support.
If you are unsure at this stage, you can submit the membership form with the information you do have and update it later. If you are ultimately unable to commence your degree in Cambridge, please let us know as soon as possible. While we hope this won’t happen, and we will help and advise if we can, we understand that it is sometimes necessary to withdraw and we will help make arrangements.
You should continue working towards completing all of the academic and non-academic conditions of your offer from the University, including completing any assessments they may require and uploading any required documentation.
At Cambridge, the application process progresses on two parallel tracks: the central University process and the College process. Please contact the University’s Postgraduate Admissions Office (PAO) in the first instance for any queries about your application for study. Please contact the College if you have any questions about joining the College and coming to Cambridge.
The main point of contact with the University will be through the Applicant Portal, but you can also contact the University’s Postgraduate Admissions Office directly and check their other sources of information. You can contact the Churchill College postgraduate admissions team by emailing us at [email protected].
Accommodation
Please let us know as soon as possible whether you will require accommodation and any accommodation needs or preferences. The earlier you can provide this, the easier it will be to offer suitable accommodation.
The College offers accommodation to all first-year students who request it and meet the conditions of their offer by 1st September.
Most postgraduates are allocated accommodation with a room licence that ends on 31st August each year. You can end your room licence at the end of June at the earliest. There is a rooms ballot each Easter Term for the next academic year’s accommodation if your course is more than one year.
Churchill College offers accommodation to meet a range of needs, and is particularly well-known for its family provision.
Finances
One of the conditions which you will have to fulfil before coming to Cambridge is a “financial condition” set by the University. You will need to confirm to the University’s Postgraduate Admissions Office (PAO) that you have financial resources to cover fees, rent for your accommodation, and other maintenance needs (food, heating, clothes etc.) including those of any dependants, while you are at Cambridge.
Aside from some limited support for those in financial hardship, there is normally no further financial assistance available once you have started study. If you have funding for three years, you will be expected to complete within this timeframe, and you should plan to do so, as there is no automatic additional funding beyond the funded period.
Please note that you may be required to make advance payments for the College or the University before arrival. These payments will be outlined in the Bursar’s Letter that you will receive once your place is confirmed.
The estimated costs of undertaking a postgraduate degree at Cambridge University published on the University website. Please note that fees may increase from year to year and that you should take into account possible exchange rate movements. You must also make provision for any dependants.
If you have any further questions about arrangements for fees and charges, please contact the College’s Finance Office at [email protected]
Financial considerations
Tuition fees
Self-funded students’ payment for the academic year is required at least 14 days before arriving in Cambridge.
Part-funded students’ payment of the student’s fee contribution is required at least 14 days before arrival in Cambridge.
For fully-funded students, evidence of funding by the external organisation should be provided to the College’s Finance Office as soon as it is confirmed. If confirmation of full fee funding is received before arriving in Cambridge, no advance tuition fee payment will be required.
College charges
A College account is set up for each student to record tuition fee and accommodation charges and payments. Each student receives a University Card which entitles them to a number of access arrangements and benefits, including the facility to charge meals bought in College, to their account. Students in single rooms are billed quarterly in arrears for rent, catering and other accommodation charges.
An advanced payment may be required on arrival. This will be outlined in the Bursar’s Letter that you will receive once your place is confirmed.
Childcare and dependents
If you are bringing children or dependents, you must make financial provision for them. Childcare in the UK can be very expensive and waiting-lists can be long, so please plan this aspect of your arrangements with care.
The central University’s Childcare Services oversees the facilities and assistance offered to University staff and students with children, provides an information service helping support families in the University community, and has a wealth of further guidance and information.
Healthcare and disability support
When you complete the College Membership Confirmation form, you are encouraged to share medical and disability support needs, especially if these relate to accommodation provision. You can email our College Nurse and our Wellbeing Coordinator at [email protected] and [email protected] if you are more comfortable with this.
The College can provide support via the College Nurse, Wellbeing Coordinator and College counsellors. It is, however, a University requirement that all students register with a local GP (General Practitioner) in Cambridge when they arrive. Use NHS Find a GP to find a local GP.
If you have travelled to the UK from overseas, you will need to pay a UK government immigration health surcharge as part of your visa arrangements giving you access to NHS (National Health Service) care in the UK. You may also need to arrange vaccinations.
Some students from outside the UK may have access to NHS provision under the terms of their visa. Please see the University’s information on Healthcare in the UK, and the guide to the NHS on the College website. If you are travelling from the EU, please make sure you also bring your EHIC card.
Students are not permitted to bring animals into the College, so please make arrangements for your pets to be looked after at home while you are studying.
International students
Arriving in Cambridge and the UK to study for the first time can be overwhelming. However, Cambridge is one of the most international universities in the world, especially at postgraduate level, and University and College support systems are well-geared for helping students from outside the UK with settling in and getting on in Cambridge.
You can seek guidance and advice from the College’s Postgraduate Office before arrival and once you are here, your individual College Tutor (who will be assigned when you arrive at Churchill), the student representative body (MCR) and their welfare officers. Other College provision, including the Nurse and the Wellbeing Coordinator, are also available to you.
The University’s International Students office (ISO) provides a central information and guidance point for international students covering all aspects of their time in Cambridge from applying, visas, and finances, to careers development and immigration matters after graduation. The University makes arrangements to sponsor non-UK students who need a student visa. Please contact the ISO if this may apply to you.
See, in particular, the ISO’s pre-arrival information and International Student Guide. The UK government website also provides guidance on student visa arrangements.
The terms of your visa will require you to formally register with the University and the College when you arrive to study. At Churchill, this registration takes place in the Postgraduate Office. This requires you to bring your passport and visa information for recording and you are also required to keep your student record updated with a Cambridge term time address and mobile number.
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