Postgraduate arrival information

Collecting your BRP

If you selected to collect your BRP from the University during your visa application, you will be able to collect it from the Tutorial Office. You will receive an email from the Tutorial Office once it has arrived in college and is ready to collect.

If you chose to collect your BRP from the Post Office, please collect it as soon as possible after you arrive in the UK.

Presenting Immigration Documents

If you are on a student visa, then you will need to visit the Tutorial Office with evidence of your student immigration documentation for your student record, in accordance with UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI) requirements. This needs to happen before the official start date of your course, and you will need to attend in person to have your documents checked and scanned. You will receive an email about the arrangements in mid-September.

Your University card will have many functions during your time in Cambridge, including access to department buildings, the College gates and accommodation. The card is also used to pay for meals in the cafeteria and for purchases in the Aula Bar. Catering charges are added to your College bill payable at the start of each term.

If you are moving into College accommodation, please go directly to the Porters’ Lodge at Wychfield to collect your card from 2pm on the 25 September (unless you have arranged an earlier arrival). If your card is not ready to collect, you will be issued with a temporary card to provide access to your room in the interim.

If you are living in private accommodation, you can collect your University Card from the Porters’ Lodge on Central Site in October.

Matriculation marks the formal admission of a student to membership of the University. Every candidate for matriculation must subscribe to a declaration by completing an online matriculation form which will be sent to you via email in early October.

Please note that if you have matriculated at Cambridge previously for a different degree, you will not be required to complete this online process a second time.

If you don’t already have a UK bank account, you will need to open one. Most banks will ask for proof of your address. If you need a letter from the College to confirm your address and student status, please email the Postgraduate Administrator and include the name of the bank you wish to use. They will issue you with a letter once you have arrived in Cambridge.

Your College pigeonhole is the place where your physical mail is delivered. This can be found at the Porters’ Lodge on Central Site. If you are living in College accommodation, you will also have a pigeonhole at Wychfield.

Bicycles must be registered at the Central Site Porters’ Lodge within two weeks of arrival. You can store bikes in the College cycle racks but this is on a first come, first served basis.

Take some time to explore the city of Cambridge, to discover the location of your favourite supermarkets, shops and cafés, etc. You will also want to find your Department and plan your route to lectures.

The College produces an annual Student Handbook, which contains a wealth of useful and important information. The Handbook is updated in September each year, and you will be emailed with a link to the Handbook when it is finalised.

The College Intranet is the central repository for information (the daily Cafeteria menus are very popular!) and is also the place to book facilities or seek assistance from various departments. You will be given access via your Cambridge IT account shortly before you arrive.

Make sure you provide the College with your UK bank account details – this can be done via the meal booking system on the College intranet.

If you requested accommodation and you have received notification that you have been successful, you can expect to receive details of your room in mid-August.

In mid-September, you will be sent an accommodation licence, which you will need to accept by clicking on the link.

College accommodation will be available for occupation from 2pm on Wednesday 25 September. If your Department has asked you to arrive earlier, please email the Admissions Officer by 30 August 2024, with documentary evidence to support the request.

Access to your accommodation is via your University Card which can be collected from the Porters’ Lodge at Wychfield when you arrive.

Unfortunately it is not possible to arrange viewings of individual rooms in person. However, you can view an example of a room via the College’s Virtual Tour.

All postgraduate accommodation licences run from 25 September 2024 until 30 June 2025. Postgraduates may extend their tenancy beyond 30 June up to 31 August, provided they are still a registered postgraduate student. This extension is subject to accommodation being available and it may be necessary for students staying beyond 30 June to move to a different College room. All licence extensions beyond 30 June remain subject to the conditions of the original accommodation licence.

Postgraduates living in college accommodation are covered by a mandatory room insurance policy. This gives a basic level of cover for personal possessions in rooms and bicycle cover. The exact cost is to be confirmed but is likely to be in the region of £16 per annum and is added to Michaelmas Term college bills.

Your room does not include a TV licence, so you will need to get your own if necessary. You can find further information about licencing requirements on the TV licencing website.

All rooms will be furnished with a bed, desk, desk chair, clothes cupboard, desk lamp and rubbish bin.

All students are provided with a mattress protector, a duvet, and pillow(s) as standard, and this is included in the room rent.

If you choose to opt in to the College linen service, you will receive a clean pillowcase and sheet every week (on Fridays), and a clean duvet cover every second week. The cost of the linen service will be outlined in your accommodation licence. If you choose to opt out of the linen service, you will not pay any additional laundry charges but will need to provide and launder your own bed linen.

Fridges and cooking appliances are not allowed in bedrooms except where permission has been granted for medical or religious reasons. Please email the Postgraduate Administrator if you wish to apply for permission.

All kitchens at Wychfield are fully equipped with a fridge, oven, microwave, toaster and kettle. You can see some kitchens on the Wychfield Site Virtual Tour.

You are encouraged to bring the following items with you:

• Warm clothes, walking shoes or trainers, formal clothes (smart dress, jacket, shirt and tie)
• Your own linen if you are not opting into the college linen service
• Towels, personal items e.g. hairdryer, shaver, etc.
• Crockery, cutlery and mugs
• Extension leads
• Clothes hangers

The following items are not permitted in College accommodation, so please do not bring any of these:

• Candles, incense burners/oil burners
• Fairy lights
• Electric scooters
• Deep fat fryers, chip pans, rice cookers, slow cookers, portable hobs, hot plates and grills, sandwich toasters
• Portable heaters
• Electric blankets
• Untested electrical items
• Travel adaptor plugs which do not comply with British Standards BS1363
• Pets

Coin-operated washing machines and dryers are available at our Wychfield accommodation site.

Overnight guests are permitted in accommodation for a maximum of three nights in any seven consecutive nights up to a maximum of ten nights in a calendar month. All guests must be registered with the Porters’ Lodge at Wychfield.

The Aula Bar Coffee shop serves sandwiches, snacks and cakes and the Cafeteria offers a selection of hot meals at reasonable prices. On Sundays during term time, the Cafeteria also opens for brunch from 9.30am to 12 noon and is child friendly.

You can find the opening times and daily menus of the College’s catering outlets on the College’s intranet.

The College hosts several types of formal dinners during term time – Postgrad Hall on Wednesday evenings, Formal Hall on Thursday and Sunday evenings, Super Halls usually once or twice per term. Places are booked via the College meal booking system on the intranet. The price for Formal Hall in 2023-24 for a member was £16.85 and guests £25.50.

One of the advantages of studying in Cambridge is the diversity of its libraries. All members of Trinity Hall have 24/7 access to the College’s Jerwood Library.

The Library Essentials Guide is for new students and provides an overview of the information you may need in your first term.

CamGuides is a set of resources for students beginning their degrees at Cambridge.

You can set up your Cambridge IT account before you arrive in Cambridge by completing your student registration.

There are two guides prepared by the University Information Service (UIS) to get you started.

Getting Started with IT @ Cambridge

IT services for students

If you have any problems or questions once you arrive, please contact the College IT team by submitting a service request via the College Intranet. You can also use the College intranet to view information about WiFi, wired network and computing facilities.

Music plays a very important role in the life of Trinity Hall and is overseen by the College’s Director of Music. All genres of music are encouraged and there are countless opportunities to get involved, whether by simply making use of the College’s musical facilities, by singing in the chapel choir, or by attending or performing in one of the many eclectic solo or ensemble concerts presented by the Trinity Hall Music Society.

Students enjoy a wide variety of sports at Trinity Hall. Whether you are an established athlete or interested in trying something new, there is sure to be something here for you.

The University gym is on the West Cambridge university site and has a range of membership packages.

Our inviting Chapel welcomes anyone from Trinity Hall and their guests to our services, regardless of your beliefs.

For those who prefer another option to practice their faith, the interfaith room at Trinity Hall is a different space that can be used by all. A room for private prayer, meditation or quiet contemplation, this is a place where you can go any time to make the most of your own personal peace.

Postgraduate students are members of the Middle Combination Room (MCR), which is the College’s postgraduate community. The MCR organises programmes of social events and provides a framework for postgraduate student representation on college committees. The MCR common room is in Front Court on Central Site and it is used to socialise with other students, work, or simply relax in a comfy chair with a coffee.

When you arrive, you will automatically be added to the MCR email list which is where events are advertised. The MCR committee will also contact you directly about the Freshers’ Events they organise at the start of the year.

The focus of most of your academic study will be your faculty or department, and there is no formal teaching or supervisions provided by the College. However, Trinity Hall aims to provide a place to belong within a broader academic community through various initiatives.

For example, you can expect to be invited to attend a subject-based dining night either during Michaelmas or Lent term where you can dine for free at a Postgrad Hall with other college members researching in similar or allied fields.

The Universal bus service links Eddington with West Cambridge, the city centre (Queens College/Silver Street), the railway station and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus (including Addenbrookes), running up to every 15 mins. The route map can be seen on the University Map or on Whippet’s website. The fare is £1 per single journey for University card holders or £2.50 for unlimited travel for 24 hours.

Cambridge is relatively flat and has an extensive cycle route network. CamCycle is a local charity which has been working for safer cycling and they have produced this useful guide to cycling in Cambridge. To buy either a new or second-hand bike, you can search online but be wary of buying bikes directly from individuals or online adverts as they may be stolen. If you wish, you can check the frame number against an online database of stolen bikes.