Visiting Student Freshers

Induction sessions for Undergraduate Freshers will begin on the evening of Sunday 4 October. You can expect a busy schedule of induction activities, both academic and social. There will be various College briefings which are compulsory for all students. The timetable can be found here: printed copies will be available on Sunday 4 October, as well as a schedule which includes JCR-organised social events.

You will have subject induction meetings that will be arranged between yourself and your tutor(s) in College. You will also have induction activities in your department or faculty, and sessions to introduce you to the Libraries. The schedule of these events will vary according to which subject you are studying.

You are invited to (and are expected to attend) a formal Freshers’ Dinner on the Monday of Freshers’ Week, which many of your tutors will also attend. The dress code for Freshers’ Dinner is smart/suits (as will also be the case if you choose to attend other ‘Formal Halls’ during the year).

You will need to sign and return the Student-College Contract in advance of your arrival. Please return this document using the St Peter’s College Submission Portal (go to ‘Freshers' Forms 2026’ and then 'Graduate and Visiting Students - College Contract 2026) as soon as possible. Please convert the document into a .pdf before uploading. The Portal cannot accept Apple Pages format files. If you have difficulty accessing the portal, please instead attach your documents to an email to college.office@spc.ox.ac.uk.

When your University Card form has been processed, you will receive an email from the central University IT team titled ‘SSO username activation email’ which will tell you your SSO (Single Sign-On) code (usually in the format spetXXXX). This will enable you to set up your IT access and access your ox.ac.uk email.

If you haven’t received your activation email please contact us on college.office@spc.ox.ac.uk.

Once you have set up your University IT access, please do the following:

• complete the University’s online Harassment and Sexual Misconduct training.
• complete the University’s online enrolment forms in Student Self Service.

It helps the College Office team to have some key information about you and when you are arriving. Once your travel plans are confirmed, please complete the short form here. The form simply asks you to confirm your date of arrival in Oxford and to provide information about your dietary requirements (we need to know these for meals in Freshers’ week).

We are holding drop-in registration sessions for students arriving in Oxford ahead of the start of October. You can book a 5-minute slot to complete your registration in person and collect your University card.

Please do not book a registration slot until you have:

a.    completed the online enrolment process in Student Self Service; and

b.    (if you are a non-UK/Irish student) provided us with all the information requested in this document.

You will need to attend in person and to bring some photographic ID (passport or driving licence, for example) with you. You can book a registration session here. Visiting Students are asked to book into a morning session if possible.

If you are arriving between Friday 2 and Sunday 4 October, you do not need to book a registration slot in advance. The College Office will be open on the afternoon of Sunday 4 October and no appointment is required.

Please read the information here and contact accommodation@spc.ox.ac.uk where required.

The JCR Freshers' Guide contains a wealth of information and advice from current students. Click here for an accessible, text-only version of the guide.

It is primarily aimed at students starting undergraduate courses, but much of the content is also relevant to Visiting Students.

Each Visiting Student has been allocated a room in one of the college annexes. Rooms are allocated prior to your arrival and it is not possible to select individual rooms. Rooms are all single and en-suite. You can learn more about our accommodation and view student tours of buildings here.

Visiting Student rooms have 37-week leases running from Sunday 4 October 2026 to Saturday 19 June 2027. The rental for these rooms includes residence during Michaelmas and Hilary vacations. Refunds will not be paid for periods when the room is unoccupied during the period of the lease.

Rent (£8,806 for the year) includes all utilities and internet connection. Also included is regular cleaning of student rooms and the frequent cleaning of communal areas. All rooms have a single bed, wardrobe, desk, chair and lamp. A duvet and bed linen will be provided, but you will need to bring your own towels, or buy them on arrival (there are various shops near the College where you can obtain such items inexpensively).

You will need to sign a Tenancy Agreement before you access your room. You can read a generic copy of the Tenancy Agreement here. Please do not sign and return this version; you will be issued with an electronic personalised agreement for an electronic signature before you access your room.

More information about accommodation arrangements can be found in the Student Administrative Handbook. If you have any queries about accommodation not answered in the Handbook, please contact the Accommodation Office (accommodation@spc.ox.ac.uk).

Student meals begin at dinner on Sunday of Week 0 (e.g. 4 October 2026 in Michaelmas term) and end after breakfast on Saturday of Week 8 in Michaelmas and Hilary terms and Saturday of Week 9 in Trinity term.

New Undergraduate and Visiting Students will be provided with all meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) for the first few days of Freshers' Week (from dinner on Sunday 4 October until breakfast on Wednesday 7 October inclusive) for a single payment of £38 which will be charged to your Michaelmas term ‘battels’ (College invoice).

After this, you will be able to pay for meals via the Dining Hall’s pay-as-you-go system. You will be charged £140 on your battels each term in 2026-27 as pre-payment for meals in Hall during the term. Each student will have their own account, which is accessed via the Upay website and which you top up further as necessary. Further information about the pre-payment model for meals can be found on the Meals page of the website.

If you will be arriving in Oxford prior to Sunday 4 October and you would like to eat in the Dining Hall then you will be able to purchase a meal card from the lodge for £30 + £1 refundable deposit on return of the card.

If you have any queries about financial matters, please contact our Student Finance Officer. You can find advice about managing your finances as a student on the University website.

Opening a bank account

For students coming from outside the UK, the University provides useful information here (scroll down to the sections about bank accounts).

Bringing money into the UK

The regulations on bringing money into the UK are explained on the UK government website.

You can access the relevant reading list for new Undergraduate students in your subject here. Whether the content of these is relevant for you as an incoming Visiting Student may depend on which papers you plan to study.