Before you arrive

You will receive several emails to help you prepare for University life. These contain important information. Please check your email account regularly and make sure they do not go into your junk folder. 

Once you have accepted your offer, and have no outstanding conditions, you will receive information regarding the registration process from our Student Information Team, please ensure that you check your email settings to accept all @exeter.ac.uk communications.

Your UniCard is your University ID card and gives you access to the library, NUS discount, printing, electronic resources, buildings on campus and lots more. It is essential that you have it before your course begins, you will not be able to access any of the library's resources (both physical and online) without a Unicard. 

You can apply for your UniCard once your place at Exeter is confirmed, and you have received your official welcome email with the subject line: "Welcome to the University of Exeter. Important Next Steps." It is important to apply before you arrive. 

To apply you will need:

• Your Exeter Student Number is a nine-digit number that is listed at the top of previous email communications from the University of Exeter.
• A recent photo

Exeter campuses: all new students

• Visit the Unicard Application portal

Penryn Campus: all students

• Visit the Unicard Application portal

Continuing students (all campuses)

If you are a current student continuing on to a new course, you do not need to apply for a new UniCard. You will be issued a new UniCard using the photograph we already have on file for you ready for your course start date.

If you would like to update the photograph on your UniCard, please log an enquiry in SID Online under the category "unicard" and upload a photograph with the enquiry title "Updated UniCard Photo For New Course".

Your Welcome to the University of Exeter email will tell you how to activate your IT account (this email will normally be sent to you the middle of month before you are due to start- for example those starting in September should receive it in the middle of August). You need to do this before you can complete online registration. You will be allocated a student username, password and university email address, and will be able to access iExeter, our student portal.

Details on how to activate your IT account can be found here.

You will need to register at the start of every academic year that you study here. University registration is the process by which you agreee to the University's current regulations. Visit the Student Registration web page for further information.

Please visit our online registration page for information on registration dates. You will receive an email with how to register once it is open but you must have activated your IT account in order to do this. Information on how to do this will be in your Welcome email. 

To Register

• Make sure you have activated your IT account (see above)
• Log into the Student Record System using your short username and password
• If you have been cleared to register you will see a red box titled 'Welcome to online registration'. Click on 'Register Now' then follow the instructions on screen.

International Students
If you are from a country outside of the EU and studying with a student visa, you may not be able to complete online registration until you have provided copies of your qualifications (more information on how to do this will be in your Welcome email).

If you are an International Student our dedicated International Student Support webpages give extra advice and guidance on visas, airport collection service, travel, healthcare, banking and more in their International Students Guide.

The next inductions will take place in January 2025. Please see below for venues and dates:

Tuesday 7 January 2025 - Streatham Campus, Exeter - Register to attend here

Wednesday 8 January 2025 - Penryn Campus, Cornwall - Register to attend here

Thursday 9 January 2025 - Online Induction - Register to attend here

Registration for the January 2025 inductions is now open.

Please note registration will close Friday 3 January 2025 for the in-person inductions (Streatham and Penryn Campuses) and at 10am on Thursday 9 January for the online induction.

Your welcome email will detail any tuition fees you need to pay and the associated deadlines. If you have applied to live in University accommodation you will also need to pay a deposit to secure the booking. This will be detailed in an email from the Accommodation Office.

Throughout the year you can check your recent transactions and balance in your online statement. Please visit our Student Finance pages for details on how to pay and when to pay.

Your stipend payment will be paid direct to your bank account on a monthly basis in advance. Please note that once you have registered for the programme you will need to upload your UK account bank details onto the online student portal (iExeter) so that your first stipend payment can be transferred to your bank account.

If you do not have a UK bank account or are unable to set one up in time, we can pay you via the 'foreign payment request form'. Plus there is a admin fee of £2.50 which will be deducted from the amount that you are paid. There can also be a delay of two weeks in receiving the payment due to funds needing to be cleared. Our internal finance team do there best to make this payment as quick as possible. 

If you are a UK or EU National or have settled status, you can now apply for a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan of up to £25,000. More information can be found on our Doctoral Loan funding webpage.

If you are still looking for funding we recommend that you look at our funding pages where you can find possible alternatives. 

All new postgraduate researchers are required to attend induction. Inductions run twice a year in September and January on both the Streatham and Cornwall campuses. Our dedicated Induction webpages provide full details of the dates, time, location and how to book onto induction. 

You should arrange to meet your supervisor as soon as possible after arriving. In this meeting you should discuss your training needs, based on the skills audit you will have completed, and you should also discuss the frequency of supervisory meetings you will have and complete the supervisor agreement form, details of the form will be sent to you before you arrive. In this first meeting you will also be required to complete your training needs analysis form. 

Prior to your arrival you will be sent the training needs analysis form designed to help you plan your personal and professional development as you start your research degree. This form will direct you to the appropriate modules, workshops and sessions for your research training, and you will then discuss the modules you would like to take with your supervisor to confirm that they are appropriate.

Each new student should discuss and agree their training needs at the first supervisory team meeting. It is important to identify with your supervisor any specific research training modules which you should follow, and whether any language training is necessary for your research at an early stage. Training for PGR students is provided both within colleges and through the University’s Researcher Development Programme.

Access the PGR Training and Development Resources here

As a Postgraduate Researcher at the University of Exeter, if you are involved in teaching, demonstrating in a lab, or assessing students’ work, you will need to attend our LTHE course. The LTHE Programme introduces the principles of effective learning, teaching and assessment in higher education (HE). LTHE Stage 1 forms the minimum requirement for Postgraduate Researchers who teach or support students at the University. This one day course is offered in both the autumn and spring terms each year. Please see the LTHE Stage 1 website for information on dates and how to book a place.

Studying in a new city or country is a big decision to make, and we understand how important it is to have somewhere to call 'home' during your time with us.

University managed accommodation:

We know that postgraduate and PhD students have different needs to undergraduates. With this in mind, our accommodation offers you the following benefits:

• Dedicated postgraduate accommodation
• A range of convenient locations
• Contract lengths to suit you
• No guarantor required - arranging accommodation with us is easy
• All-inclusive rents - no extra bills to pay
• WiFi
• Postgraduate facilities and support across our campuses - including common rooms, computer access and desk space.

In addition, our rents include contents insurance, we've signed up to the Student Accommodation Code, we offer both maintenance support and in-house Residence Life Teams, and with Estate Patrol on call 24/7 you can be assured that help is at hand.

We guarantee to offer accommodation to all new unaccompanied postgraduates from outside the EU for the full academic year starting in September as long as you apply by 31 July in your year of entry.

Private Housing:

If you do not fall under our accommodation guarantee or would prefer finding private accommodation in the city centre through a landlord or agent please visit our private housing pages to see what options are available.

If you are new to Exeter and would like to know more about the city and what the different areas are visit this webpage for more information.  

For more information please see our Postgraduate Accommodation page. 

Wellbeing Services consists of different support pathways which include AccessAbility, Psychological Therapies and our Mental Health Team. We offer support to students with a range of disabilities, health conditions, mental health needs, psychological and emotional difficulties to help you to get the most out of your studies and time at University.

Please see the Wellbeing Services webpages for full information. 

You can contact Wellbeing Services at any point during your studies.

For students experiencing a long-term health condition, specific learning difficulty or disability, including mental health difficulties, Wellbeing Services offer a range of support which might include:

• An individual learning plan (ILP)
• Support to apply for Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSA)
• Specific accommodation requirements

In some instances it is essential that we make arrangements for elements of your support before you arrive, for example, accommodation requirements. Please contact Wellbeing Services to declare your disability and complete our Prospective Student online form. You will then be able to book an appointment to discuss your needs.

Please note, any previous adjustments that you have had for your health/disability will not be put in place until you have declared your health/disability to the University and met with an advisor.

If you are a student at Penryn you can access support via the Accessibility and Dyslexia pages.

There are student Health Centres on our Streatham and Penryn campuses.

Exeter-based students

If you are based on the Streatham campus you should register with the Student Health Centre online before you get here. Additional information on the services can be found on the Health Centre homepage.

If you will be studying at St Luke's or living at Rowancroft, we recommend you register with The Heavitree Practice. 

The Student Health Centre recommends Expert Self Care, a free app providing health advice for students, available for Android and Apple devices. For more information visit the website or search for 'Expert Self-Care - Student' in app stores.

Penryn-based students

The Penryn Surgery is available in the Tremough House Annexe, Penryn Campus, five days a week during term time. You can register with Penryn Surgery during ‘Move-in’ weekend in The Compass (Exchange Building), or email compass@fxplus.ac.uk to request a registration form. 

If you will be living in Falmouth, The Compass team will have details about other local doctor surgeries in Falmouth.

Meningitis vaccine

Wherever possible, it is recommended that you receive the Meningitis ACWY vaccine before coming to university. If you have not received this, or are unsure, we suggest discussing this with your doctor.

iExeter is a free app that provides all students with personalised information and services to help you make the most of your life and studies at the University of Exeter. You can download the app for free from iTunes App Store or Google Play. There is also a web version of the app which works on any internet-enabled device.

The Students Guild (St Luke's and Streatham) and the SU (Penryn and Truro) are your students unions and are here to represent your voice. 

The Students’ Guild has a dedicated Postgraduate Network for student representation. Find out more here. 

There will be welcome events organised by the Students’ Guild, as well as by societies, when you arrive in Exeter. You can find out more about these here.

Each year we run an airport collection service from Heathrow for those arriving from outside of the UK. The service runs on certain dates in August, September and October.

Please check the UK Government website for the latest information about self-isolation and testing on arrival.