Note that the information here is mostly directed at full-time students arriving in September/October. Much of the content will also be relevant to part-time students and/or those who arrive later in the academic year but please note that some details will vary in those cases.
1. Accommodation
Apply for your accommodation in College when invited, or make your own arrangements.
For full information about this, refer back to the Preparing page.
2. Cambridge IT
Some other steps will require you to have access to your University e-mail and other accounts. Hence you should get your login and password details as soon as you are given the opportunity. You will receive an e-mail from cambridge.registration@admin.cam.ac.uk prompting you to do this, at which point you should follow all the steps outlined at
The pages at this link will also prompt you to complete cyber-security training and allow you to get free software for your personal devices.
3. Health & Register with Doctor/GP
College strongly recommends all students to register with a local Doctor/GP for the duration of their time in Cambridge. You can find further information on our Health Services page. You cannot receive any medical attention until you are registered with a local surgery.
We ask that you full read the Health Services page as the information includes useful regarding medication, health travel advice and dental care. Read the page in full.
4. Training, Tutorials and Other Information
Academic Misconduct
A. Go to and read through the seven sections under the heading "What is academic misconduct?"
B. Some forms of plagiarism, such as directly copying work, are clear. However other forms of plagiarism that would constitute misconduct are more subtle and might occur not because a student has intentionally set out to copy the work of others, but because they have reused previously submitted essays, made mistakes in the way they took notes and how they cited the work of others, or because they misunderstood paraphrasing
aims to clarify what constitutes the different forms of plagiarism and what you can to do avoid it. We strongly recommend that you read this and take the quizzes before starting your course. Hopefully, the content will be familiar. But if you feel unsure about any aspect, then you can arrange to speak to your supervisor, get clarification from your department, or meet with a librarian to get more advice before you start submitting work.
IT security
Once you have your Cambridge login and password details (see section 2 above) go to .
Familiarise yourself with the university's IT policies and also complete the cyber security training by following the instructions at
How the College Works
You should familiarise yourself with all aspects of the College by reading through the pages in the "Current students" section of the website. There is useful information on Support and Services, Health and Wellbeing, Accommodation, the Library, College Facilities, and College life (events, sports clubs and societies).
5. Academic
Preparation
This will vary by course. For PhD students your supervisor may advise of any useful preparation, for Masters students it may come from your Department, while for Undergraduates you will be contacted by your Director of Studies in September with pointers to any necessary preparation. Note that for two undergraduate courses there are bespoke pre-sessional courses ahead of term (details about these will come directly from your course organisers)
- The Foundation year in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
- The Cambridge Graduate Medicine Course
Language Study Bursary
The college offers a limited number of Language Study Bursaries that will cover the full cost of course fees for language courses other than English offered through the .
6. Finance
Bank Account
If you do not already hold a UK Bank Account you should open one shortly after you arrive. Please consult the University Guide () in advance of your arrival.
You may need a letter from the College confirming your student status to set up a bank account. If this is the case, please complete the following request for . Whilst you may request your banking letter before the start of term, please note that the letter will not be provided until after you have completed registration in the first week of term.
(Note that many banks will require you to have been in resident in the UK for at least 3 years in order to open their regular student account. In such cases however there will still be a standard account or one designed specifically for international students - check your eligibility carefully when researching banks and accounts).
Payments and fees
Your first payments will be due during October 2025. Please check the following page for all information on payments and fees.
7. What to bring? What to buy? What not to bring/buy?
Gowns / smart clothing
It is not necessary to have your own gown. Gowns are optional for "formal" dinners at Wolfson, and for matriculation, but you will need some relatively smart clothing for these occasions (think general business attire rather than anything very formal). The only time that you will be absolutely required to wear one is at graduation, so if you are going to buy one be sure to get the .
Bedding
Please note that bedding is not provided in 性视界传媒student accommodation. If you will not be bringing your own bedding, you can buy a bedding pack from the College to be in your room on arrival. Further information, including prices, can be found in the Accommodation Guide.
A car
Almost certainly NO. The narrow exceptions where having a car might be useful/advisable are for medical students who need to visit hospitals and placements, or for those with a disability that means that other transport options are not feasible. Students wishing to have a car in Cambridge would need permission from the University and this is unlikely to be granted without good reason. In any case, driving a car and parking in Cambridge is usually very impractical.
Further information can be found on our Transport & Parking page.
A bike
Yes, if you have one and it's easy to get it here you should strongly consider bringing it. If not, you might consider buying one once you get here. Cycling is usually the fastest and most efficient way of getting around the city. Having said that Cambridge is small so if you don't cycle or you don't want to then it's also perfectly feasible to walk to the places you'll need to get to and there is also a reasonable bus service. Two important things if you choose to cycle - get a strong lock and make sure that you have suitable safety equipment including a helmet and lights.
Further information including guidance with how to register your bike with the Porters' Lodge can be found on our Transport & Parking page.
8. Scheduling for the Start of Term
Once you arrive in Cambridge you will be very busy, with academic and social events as well as with induction activities. The 性视界传媒/WCSA Induction and Freshers programme will be available on this page during September.
When the programmes become available please make sure that you organise your calendar/diary with dates and times of important things.