Your Postgraduate Offer of a Place - What Next?
If you have received an offer from the University and intend to accept it, you may be wondering how to proceed and what will happen next. This page provides some guidance as to the process and what you need to do between now and the beginning of your course at St Andrews.
Your Offer of a Place
Decisions on each application to postgraduate programmes are made by the academic Schools and returned to Postgraduate Admissions, who then communicate the decision to you in writing. There are two types of offer:
1) An Unconditional offer, which means that you have already satisfied all the academic conditions required for entry and we are offering you a place.
2) A Conditional offer, which means that you have not yet satisfied the academic conditions required for entry. The condition/s of your admission will be given in the offer letter and may include such things as the classification of your forthcoming degree, or evidence of English language ability.
Please remember that the offer of a place on one of our taught or research courses does not carry with it the guarantee of financial support for that course.
How to Respond
If you decide to accept, please let Postgraduate Admissions know as soon as possible and certainly no later than 15th August. Your application cannot proceed until your status is "unconditional firm" - that is, until you have firmly accepted an unconditional offer, including the payment of deposit if applicable (see below), so we recommend that you accept your place as soon as possible.
If you cannot take up your place in autumn 2010, e.g. for financial reasons, you may request deferment until the following session by emailing the appropriate School directly with your request, stating your reasons for deferring. The School will then notify Postgraduate Admissions if deferment has been granted and an updated offer letter will be issued.
Deposit
If your offer requires you to pay a deposit to secure your place, you will need to arrange for this to be paid as advised within your offer letter. Your application will not be able to proceed until your deposit is paid. Deposits only apply to taught programmes within the Schools of Management and Economics & Finance.
Point of Entry
Students generally commence their studies at the start of the Martinmas Semester in September. It is sometimes possible for students entering directly into research without taught courses to commence at other points during the year, by special arrangement.
Preparing for St Andrews
Postgraduate students need to ensure that they have arrangements in place for the following as soon as possible:
- Accommodation
- Money Matters
- Immigration (International students only)
Details of the requirements for each of these is provided below:
Accommodation
For postgraduate entrants there is not a set deadline for applying for accommodation, but you should apply as early as possible to increase your chances of getting a place in your preferred type of accommodation. You can apply as soon as you have formally accepted your offer of a place. Student Accommodation Services will acknowledge your application, however contracts and further details are only sent to students whose status is "unconditional firm" from June onwards. Please also note that accommodation is allocated rather than chosen.
Please see our accommodation pages for information on how to apply and the types of accommodation available.
Money Matters
You must be prepared for the payment of tuition fees and accommodation fees, and also have made preparations for the cost of travel and living expenses.
It may be helpful at this point to calculate your probable cost of study and living for the duration of your course. To assist with this, you can use our Postgraduate Cost of Attendance webpage.
The cost of tuition fees for your particular programme is included in your offer letter, and also available to find on the 2010-2011 Tuition Fees webpage. Details of how your fee status is calculated and information on what to do if you feel you have been wrongly categorised are also available.
Details of how you can pay your tuition and accommodation fees, and also what to do if these are being paid by a sponsor, are available here: Payment of Fee Information for Postgraduates
If at this stage you are seeking scholarships and funding, you may check our Financial Information pages to see if here are any awards still available. If you require information about a scholarship you have been awarded you may contact the Postgraduate Scholarships Administrator: pgscholarships@st-andrews.ac.uk. Details of how scholarships are paid by the University for both maintenance and tuition fees are also available in the Money Matters section of the website.
Immigration Regulations for International Students
The University provides full guidance on the process for applying for a visa to study at St Andrews and you should ensure you read this information very carefully before you commence the process.
Further Advice and Support
Visiting the University
There is still time for you to visit the University St Andrews. By visiting the University you will begin to appreciate the quality of the teaching and research on offer, find out about our vibrant student social scene and also take in our splendid location. If you would like to visit the University you can find further details on our Visiting Days webpage.
Student Services
The University offers an extensive range of support to ensure that on both an academic and personal level, your experience as a postgraduate is successful and fulfilling. You may wish to familiarise yourself with Student Services, which is made up of a team of Advisers, Support Workers and Administrators who will be there to assist you on any issue from financial hardship, employment, local accommodation problems, long term medical conditions and disability, and overseas issues as well as more personal matters.
Although Student Services can assist you during your studies, it is equally acceptable to contact them prior to your arrival at St Andrews should you seek any advice at that stage.
Health
All students at the University of St Andrews are encouraged to register with a local GP whilst studying. Details of how to do this, as well as information on other health and support matters are available on the Current Students Advice and Support pages.
What happens next?
From May, after you have accepted your offer you will receive an email from University of St Andrews Registry providing details on how to register for your IT account, confirmation of your programme and fee details, information on what to do next and links to other information on the University website. This is the start of the process by which you will become a full student of the University of St Andrews.
You should also visit the new webpages for Postgraduate Entry, which include details of how and when to matriculate.
We look forward to welcoming you to the University as a postgraduate student!
