It was nice to have so many of you on the Offerholder webinar on the 11th. The recording is available below. Below is information on Dependency Visas - for any Visa advice, please email the address below.
This page will be updated between now and 1 October. We ask you not to share this link as it is hidden from the main College page and is just for you as an offerholder. Please bookmark it and check back regularly and don't hesitate to contact the Postgraduate Office with any queries. Much more information is available on our main Information for New Postgraduates page. The first tile is for those who have confirmed but the others contain helpful orientation information.
We've noted that a few of you have uploaded photographs to your self-service that may be rejected. Please take note of the instructions here and check what you have uploaded and make a decision about whether to re-upload. If rejected, it will hold up you meeting your conditions or you having a University card available to you on arrival.
Dependency Visas: If you are planning/thinking about bringing a partner with you to Cambridge, please be aware that the regulations have changed since 1 January this year - it's important that you check the guidance here and you are also welcome to email the International Office directly at international.students@admin.cam.ac.uk for clarification.
Term dates and Vacations: Please read the section on Vacations at this link which outlines what is expected of you as a Postgraduate with respect to time spent in Cambridge. While there are three terms at Cambridge, they are followed by undergraduates and generally not by postgraduates (some one-year degrees have more vacation time than others - MAST and LLM, for example). But most of you are not granted the vacation time that undergraduates have. We mention these terms (Michaelmas, Lent and Easter) as you will hear them referred to alot, for instance, your College bills are sent termly. During vacations, Cambridge becomes very quiet as many undergraduates leave the city. If you have any questions (and it's not surprising if you do!), please ask before you make any assumptions about when you can be away.
The College Accommodation application form is here. College accommodation is allocated once you have officially met all of your University offer conditions, so completing the form is not a guarantee of accommodation. Once all of your conditions have been met and verified by the University AND you have returned the signed Declaration form to us, our office will notify the College Accommodation office - allocation is then done in confirmation order and not in the order that you applied. We ask you not to email the Accommodation office directly until you’ve been asked to contact them. For your information, last year we were able to offer single accommodation to all those who applied for accommodation and met their conditions by 15 August as confirmed by the University. Information about accommodation options is here. In 2024-25 we have little to no partner/family accommodation available.
College or private accommodation: Girton has single-occupancy ensuite rooms at Swirles Court in Eddington, as well as a couple of other shared house options on the Main Girton site. We don’t own properties that are closer into town. Also, as most of our students aim to live in our accommodation, we don’t typically recommend private accommodation – there is a lot in Cambridge if you google – newer student flats called The Castle (those are the closest to Girton's main site, as well as others, some near the train station) – but primarily, being a collegiate university, most students live in their College. Here’s a map of Cambridge that might help you identify areas where you'd like to live. Property locations are identified by their postcode
Postgraduate Admissions Office Document Processing Times: PAO are taking about seven working days to process documents.
Page updated: 24 June 2024
It's important to upload as many of the documents to your self-service portal as soon as you can and then, with those that are harder to obtain right now, try your best to have them uploaded by mid-July if possible to give the University Postgraduate Admissions Office time to check and verify them. Once July and August comes, PAO's wait time becomes quite long.
Remember that it is not until you show as "Admitted" meaning you've met all of your offer conditions, that we will inform the Accommodation Office of your status and then they will consider your application for a room in the order in which you were admitted.
To view the offerholder webinar from 11 June, see below.
If you missed the first webinar on 4 March, view the recording below.
Accommodation
The Accommodation application form is live. For clarity, College accommodation is allocated once you have officially met all of your University conditions, so completing the form is not a guarantee of accommodation. You must also have returned the signed Declaration form to us - once both of these tasks are done, our office will notify the Accommodation office - allocation is then done in confirmation order and not in the order that you applied. We also ask you not to email the Accommodation office directly until you’ve been asked to contact them. For your information, last year we were able to offer single accommodation to all those who met their conditions by 15 August as confirmed by the University.
Map showing the U Bus route through Cambridge.
Arrival and Cambridge Terms
The University Michaelmas term begins 1 October so you should plan to be in Cambridge by that date (5 January for Lent Term start and 17 or 22 April for an Easter Term start). If you are on a student visa, you will need to have your documents scanned before you start study. For those in College-owned accommodation, the College leases for Michaelmas term begin on Tuesday 24 September, therefore, the best window in which to arrive in Cambridge is between the 24th and the 1st if at all possible, and ideally not earlier unless you are undertaking an in-person pre-sessional course.
Do read the pre-arrival information courtesy of the International Student Office.
The University has a very useful service whereby you can chat to current Cambridge postgraduates - this is University-wide not just College-wide.
Here's the University's Useful map where you can look up Girton College/ Swirles Court and see where it is in relation to your Department/Faculty.
For musicians: The University has an Instrumental Award Scheme.
The standard College offer letter for Postgraduates is here. You will all have been sent one of these on offer.
The documents linked below and linked in the above letter are subject to change prior to your arrival in Cambridge and you are advised to re-read the documents nearer the point of arrival.
Now that you have received offers from both your department and the College, we would like to give you a further opportunity to let us know if you have accessibility concerns or a Specific Learning Difficulty, and whether you will require any support or advice when you come to Cambridge. You can disclose your disability, get further information and provide additional information on the ADRC’s Student Information Form. Particularly for those who are on taught courses, if you wish to apply for exam access arrangements, you will need to make contact with the ADRC and obtain what's called a Student Support Document which will outline special conditions for any exams you might have.
Some prospective students are reluctant to disclose a disability as they fear that it may be viewed negatively. We would like to assure you that the disclosure of a disability will in no way adversely affect your studies.
The earlier that we are aware of any disability, the better we are able to ensure that all the arrangements you require are in place before you start here (eg study skills support, suitable accommodation and exam access arrangements). You may also find that you are eligible for Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) or other available funding to support your requirements.
Like all the Colleges at Cambridge, we work in close cooperation with the Accessibility and Disability Resource Centre (ADRC). Their dedicated team of experts provide support, advice and guidance for students. With your permission, our College staff can liaise with them to create a support plan that meets your requirements. If you would like to discuss any of this further with a member of the ADRC Team, then either phone +44 (0)1223 332301 to speak to one of their Disability Advisers, or email disability@admin.cam.ac.uk.
Please also tick the consent box to give the ADRC permission to send a copy of the form to the College. Upon receipt of this form online, the ADRC will send you an email with further important information for disabled students. Information is also available on the ADRC website.
Check out Girton's accessibility at this link.
*If you have already disclosed your disability as part of your application you do not need to return the form.
Funding
Remember to send us evidence of any funding - full, partial or loans, particularly if you initially have declared that you are self-funding. We do need proof of any awards to pass on to our Finance Office.
Here's a copy of the University Financial Undertaking Form for information. The online version must be completed by all applicants and uploaded to your self-service portal ONLY when you are sure about your funding source(s). At that time, you can also sign and return the College's Declaration form to postgraduate.office@girton.cam.ac.uk.
The University has a Postgraduate Funding Search.
College Postgraduate Research funding round
The College’s Postgraduate funding round is now complete so if you have not heard from us, you have not been shortlisted.
Before arrival, you may also contact the College if you would like to share specific information with us directly – i.e. about major allergies, accessibility / mobility issues. College offers comprehensive pastoral/welfare support - in addition to your Postgraduate Tutor (allocated in late September), we have a College Head of Welfare and a Health Centre staffed by two College nurses.