New Postgraduate Students 2021 | Christs College Cambridge

What happens next?

At the beginning of September 2021, pre-arrival information for postgraduate students whose place for October 2021 entry has been confirmed will be emailed out in early September 2021.
This will give you essential information that you need to know before arriving in Cambridge, including our 2021 Information Handbook for Postgraduate Students, compulsory events that will take place during the first week of Michaelmas Term, and the MCR Freshers' timetable.
We would ask you please to wait until you receive your email before contacting the College with enquiries or requests.
The pre-arrival email and Information Handbook should answer most, if not all, of your questions.
You will also receive a Welcome Pack with further information at our Welcome Hub on Saturday 2 October.
Students whose places are confirmed later than that will receive the pre-arrival information email within three working days of the confirmation on CamSIS that they have met all the conditions of their postgraduate offer.

Pre-arrival email contents

Date and time of arrival

All Postgraduates must arrive by the morning of Saturday 2 October for the College's Welcome Hub (see below).
Those in College Accommodation can arrive from Saturday 25 September, as arranged with the Accommodation Manager, to have a few days to settle in to Cambridge.
International students may arrive from Monday 20 September where ten days of self-isolation is required, as arranged by the Accommodation Manager. You should keep yourself up to date with current requirements for travelling to the UK.

Saturday 2 October 2021

When you arrive at College please go to the Welcome Hub, which will be based in the marquee in Second Court to collect your University card and Welcome Pack.
You must bring your passport, as the Tutorial team is required to complete a compulsory ID check.
The Welcome Hub will be open from 9am to 1pm (GMT).

Vaccinations

Students are strongly encouraged to be vaccinated against Covid-19 prior to arrival. Vaccination advice for incoming students can be found here
All young people starting University are being urged by the Public Health bodies to be vaccinated against meningitis.
You are also encouraged to have two doses of the MMR (mumps, measles and rubella) vaccine.

Non-UK students

The International Student Office of the University has a prepared useful Pre Arrival information, including an International Students Guide, current requirements for travelling to the UK, and finding your way to Cambridge from the UK's major airports.
Students should read the Immigration and Healthcare information from the International Student Office.
Students studying on a Student visa must read the guidance and the Student visa responsibilities guide. Please also look out for any emails from the University and the College with instructions on passports, entry vignettes and BRP collection.
Students who are collecting BRPs should be able to do so from the Welcome Hub on Saturday 2 October.
Certain students (depending on nationality) may have to register with the police soon after arrival: you can check here.

IT and computing access

Your Cambridge email account and computing access will be made available to you before you arrive in Cambridge.
You will be given a unique Cambridge user name, known as a CRSid, which is always a combination of letters and numbers, e.g. abc12. You need this to log on to Raven, the University's authentification service, which gives access to many online resources.
Your CRSid is then combined with '@cam.ac.uk' to make up your email address, e.g. abc12@cam.ac.uk.
You will receive an email from the University outlining the steps you will need to take to access your Cambridge email account and Raven password. This email should be received in early September.
Please note that the 'User Name' you will be asked to input in order to register for email and computing services is your CRSid, not your USN or UCAS reference number.
You will find it helpful to read the IT leaflet Getting Started with IT @ Cambridge from the University for new students. A copy will be sent to you in your information pack.

CamGuides is a free online resource for all Master’s students with a taught element, designed as an introduction to some of the academic, digital and research practices that they will engage in at the University of Cambridge. It encourages students to think about ways they can prepare for their Master’s degree before it starts, and students will have access to the resource throughout their time in Cambridge. The content has been created by Cambridge University Libraries as part of the Cambridge Information Literacy Network. Valuable input from current taught Master’s students and academic staff has been used throughout the resource. The guides have been created for taught Master's students but they may also be useful for students on other programmes, they can choose the parts that seem most important or relevant to them.

Childcare support

The University has a Childcare Office to support students with children, which has two bursary schemes to help with the cost of childcare.

Your first College bill

Many students contact us as soon as their place is confirmed to enquire about what they need to pay and when. You will not need to pay until after you arrive.
You will receive your College bill just before the start of each term as an email sent to your @cam email address.
The subject line of the email with be 'Latest Statement'.
The deadline for the payment of your termly College bill is two weeks after the first day of each term.
If you have any difficulties paying your bill on time, please speak to your Tutor.
Annual tuition fees are paid in the proportion of 1/3 each term.
College charges such as accommodation are charged termly.
College bursaries or other awards are also credited termly to offset that term's charges.

External pre-arrival events

Completely optional events run by the University's Alumni and Development Office: