Your first few weeks
Before you arrive
Your College, Faculty or Department will send you all the information you need to prepare yourself for your time in Cambridge, including College information, for example accommodation, course information, and similar work-related documentation.
You will be sent an email asking you to complete the University's annual Student Registration exercise. It will only take a few minutes.
Additional information is available from College, Faculty or Department websites.
Undergraduates might find it helpful to revisit the information published on the Admissions website about student life at Cambridge before coming up.
Arrival and registration
Most courses start in October. The term between October and December is known as Michaelmas Term in Cambridge. Officially, the first day of the Michaelmas Term is 1 October and this date will be shown on your offer letter. Your College and/or your Department will advise you about when to arrive. Induction activities begin around 1 October for most students.
When you arrive in Cambridge, you should go first to your College. They will be glad to know that you have arrived safely and will advise you on what to do next. Your course and College will arrange for appropriate Induction events.
The Cambridge Student Union offers a Fresher's Guide carrying a lot of useful information collated by students themselves. Further information can be obtained from your College undergraduate or postgraduate organisation, or from Cambridge SU. There is arrival and orientation information for students coming to study from outside the UK on the ‘International Students’ webpages.
You may also find the University map helpful.
You need to formally apply to the University if you would like your wife, husband, partner and/or children to join you here in Cambridge. Information about how to make this application can be found here. If you are on a student visa and are seeking to bring family members, you should check the eligibility requirements for a dependant visa and note that not all students can bring family members to the UK on dependant visas.
In your first few weeks
Health care and wellbeing support
We have a very effective support system for students across the Colleges and the University to ensure that you are well looked after; you will be advised to register with a local GP surgery when you arrive, and you are able to use the University's Dental Service while you are a student.
The University does advise that you check that your vaccinations are up to date before you arrive. Check the advice for new students for further information.
More information about health, welfare, and general support can be found on the Student support website. There is also specific information about how the University handles harassment and sexual misconduct.
University Card
One of the most important items you will receive during your first few days in Cambridge is your University Card.
Your card will have many functions during your time at the University, including Library borrowing, door access, purchases in buttery, photocopying etc.
If you provided a photo with your application you will receive your University Card from your Card Representative upon arrival at your College. If you did not supply a photo with your application, you will need to contact your College's University Card representative. More information is given on the University Card web pages.
Email address and passwords
You should receive your University email address, Raven (authentication) password, and Desktop services (public computing) password when you arrive in Cambridge.
- Getting Started with IT in Cambridge
- Use and Misuse of Computing Facilities
- Rules for using Computing Services
Course handbooks
You should be provided with a handbook from your Faculty, Department or institution providing information on the facilities and services offered locally, in addition to information on the courses offered, the teaching approach, the assessment methods, marking criteria, and advice on good academic practice (plagiarism). These may be available in hard copy, but more usually they are available as online resources.
Postgraduate students should receive a handbook specific to postgraduate students in the Faculty, Department or institute.
Glossary: learn the lingo
Like any large organisation, the University has many customs, words and acronyms that can seem overwhelming until you learn 'the code'. A useful glossary has been compiled to help you decipher some of these:
Bank and building society directory
The Finance Division have developed a bank and building society directory to empower students, staff and the wider academic community to make informed choices about their banking provider.
The directory provides useful practical details about overdraft facilities, ID requirements and information for overseas students.