Postgraduate accommodation

Information for prospective postgraduate students

Each year, the University allocates some accommodation specifically for postgraduate students.

Prospective postgraduate students are able to apply for University accommodation once they have accepted their offer to study be it a conditional or unconditional offer.  University accommodation is a popular choice, the online accommodation application form is open from 1 March onwards and you are encouraged to apply as early as possible.

Some students will be eligible for the Overseas Postgraduate Taught Student Guarantee and should check below to see if you are eligible for the guarantee and the conditions you need to meet.

If you are not eligible for the guarantee, you can still apply for University accommodation, however, accommodation will be limited and you may not hear about the status of your application until mid-August.  Students who are not eligible for the guarantee are strongly encouraged to continue to explore private sector options to ensure you have accommodation ahead of the start of the semester.

You should also look at private accommodation options.  As well as letting agent lists, we would encourage students to use Get A Room St Andrews or StudentPad where private landlords are encouraged to share property and rooms for rent.  due to the changes in private residential tenancies, it is likely that properties will continue to come back on the market over the next few months and over the summer.  Landlords cannot offer a property to rent until the current tenant has confirmed their end date by giving at least 28 days' notice.

You are encouraged to apply for accommodation as soon as possible, and to confirm your offer of a place early in order to be considered for accommodation.

Online applications for postgraduate students starting at St Andrews will be available from 12 noon on 1 March.

You may wish to review the guidance on how to complete the online application process for accommodation.

Postgraduate students are also invited to apply for an accommodation award which is paid as a discount towards University accommodation.

Postgraduates applying for accommodation should be aware that once you accept your offer to study at the University, it can take up to 48 hours for this information to appear on our system.  If the system has not updated you may encounter an error message; please try to access the system again after 48 hours.

Overseas Postgraduate taught students Guarantee

• Your fee status in Overseas for fee purposes.
• You are coming to the University alone.
• You are studying full time.
• Your accommodation application is received by 30 June* in the year of entry.  Applications can be submitted once you have accepted an offer to study whether this is conditional, unconditional or an insurance place.
• You have met all the offer conditions and accepted your unconditional offer of a place from the University by 17 August in the year of entry.  This includes any pre-payments.
• You have accepted your offer of accommodation within ten days of the offer being sent to your email address.

If there is exceptionally high demand, students who live within a reasonable commuting distance will not be offered accommodation until a room becomes available.  This may be after the start of the semester.

The overseas postgraduate taught students guaranteed offer of accommodation may include accommodation in St Andrews, Leuchars or Dundee.  If you are allocated accommodation outside of St Andrews, there is lots of support available from the Halls Life team.

*you can continue to apply after the 30th June, but you will not be covered by the guarantee even if eligible and your application may not be processed until after the 17th August deadline date.

St Andrews sits between award winning beaches and internationally renowned golf courses ensuring the town centre remains vibrant and compact. The residences are located throughout the town so that everything is within walking distance and students feel very much at the heart of the community.