Postgraduate joining instructions

As you transition into postgraduate study, now is an important time to review and update your budgets.  Your income, living expenses and study costs may be changing and a clear, realistic budget will help to support effective money management.    

If you are being paid a salary by the school you are training at, you are not eligible for Student Finance funding. The school should be paying your tuition fees directly to the University.  

If you are non-salaried, you should have applied for Student Finance funding via the undergraduate route for funding as the government will provide separate tuition fees and maintenance living cost. If you have not applied, then please apply as a new student as soon as possible.   

The PGCE programme includes a significant number of days on placement, and these placements may be closer or further from your home than the University of Winchester. Currently the University expects students to travel up to 90 mins to reach their placement and to cover the costs of travel themselves. 

A Postgraduate Masters Loan is available to eligible UK nationals (and individuals with settled status in the UK) for postgraduate Masters study. The difference is that you are awarded an amount that is to cover your tuition fees and the remainder is a contribution towards living costs.  

The details of the Postgraduate Masters Loan will differ depending upon where you normally reside in the UK. For more information on how and when to apply for your loan, please visit the following websites:  

• England  

• Wales   

• Scotland   

• Northern Ireland    

A Postgraduate Doctoral Loan of up to £31,122 is available through Student Finance to help with the cost of fees and living expenses for eligible students starting in 2026/27. For more information on eligibility and how and when to apply for your loan, please visit the following websites (Doctoral Loans are currently not available for students from Scotland or Northern Ireland):  

• England   

• Wales   

• Check if you are eligible for any of our postgraduate bursaries or scholarships.  

• Students enrolled on MSc Social Work may be eligible for funding from the NHS: Social Work Bursary  

• Please note: MSc Social Work students are only eligible for the PG Masters Loan or the Social Work Bursary – you are not eligible to receive both.  

• In case your funding is delayed, make sure you have enough money to cover your expenses whilst your application is being processed.  

Ensure you have paid your Tuition Fee deposit (if applicable) online at winchester.flywire.com.  

Make sure you have enough money to cover your expenses while waiting to open a UK bank account.  Once you have enrolled you will be provided with more information about how to access a UK bank account. 

Please note: A requirement of your Student Visa is to have enough money to support yourself and pay for your course.  

When you are living in the UK, there is no financial support for international students. You only have the following options available if you find yourself in unexpected financial difficulties:   

• Part-time work, as allowed by the conditions of your Student Visa  

• Seek support from family  

• Private companies from your home country  

• Student funding opportunities from your home country  

• Banks 

• Additional scholarships, grants & bursaries information can be found on https://www.iefa.org/scholarships  

 For more information on International Student Finances visit International financial information - University of Winchester  

For more information on funding and managing your money, please access our links on our LinkTree site: https://linktr.ee/uowstudentsandmoney  or discuss this with our Funding and Financial Wellbeing team on studentsandmoney@winchester.ac.uk.  

If you have disclosed a disability via UCAS or your application, please complete the Additional Requirements Questionnaire (ARQ) which will have been emailed to you by the Admissions team. If you haven’t received this email or need to discuss your requirements further, please email disability@winchester.ac.uk.  

If you are an existing University of Winchester student moving on to a postgraduate degree and have received support through the Disability and Inclusion team during your undergraduate degree, for example via Learning Agreement, please arrange to meet with the team to review and renew your Learning Agreement. The Learning Agreement does not automatically move to PG study with you.  

You may be eligible for support from the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA), but you will need to reapply if you have received support from the DSA during your undergraduate studies and you will need to have a new needs assessment for the new degree. For students on multiple year PG study, you will need to apply for DSA every year.  

If you’re a UK full-time student, please look at the NHS HC1 form to be assessed for free or reduced health costs like NHS prescriptions. More information can be found on the NHS Low Income Scheme webpages.  

We also encourage students with physical disabilities to visit the campus before their course begins to assess how suitable different access routes may be for them. Please email disability@winchester.ac.uk to discuss further.

Our dedicated Student Support and Success team provides information, advice and guidance on many aspects of student life to all students. We are available to support you pre-arrival, on arrival and throughout your time at the University.  Please see our website and get in touch at any stage: Student support - University of Winchester  

For information and guidance on elements including the visa process, please visit our International Student Support pages: or contact international.support@winchester.ac.uk.

All on-campus students are required to have a physical University ID card. Please ensure that you have uploaded a passport-style photo for your student card via the link in My Record from 18 August 2026. 

Please note, if you do not upload a photo by the following dates, you will not be able to collect your University ID card at enrolment. 

• Thursday 27 August for courses beginning in the week commencing 7 September 

• Thursday 10 September for courses beginning in the week commencing  21 September. 

It is important that you complete online enrolment so that you can start your programme. From the week commencing 17 August 2026, we will be emailing all new students with their login details for My Record and further instructions about completing enrolment. Look out for your Welcome and password emails (don’t forget to check your junk folders, just in case).  You’ll be able to complete the online parts of enrolment once you’ve received both. 

Your first step of enrolment is to complete the online orientation course to help you prepare for life and study at the University of Winchester. There are four short, mini units to complete which will provide you with key information about areas such as:    

• our university community and how to get involved    

• how to prepare for studying at this next level    

• how to engage with our online platforms and stay safe online, and     

• how to manage your money.    

 You can access the units via Canvas, which is our virtual learning environment. The online orientation course will be available from 18 August 2026. 

Welcome Week timetable  

Your Welcome Week timetable will be available in My Record once you complete the online part of enrolment. It includes details of your mandatory in-person ID check (check the day/time carefully as there are multiple slots and you only need to attend one), as well as a variety of welcome talks for your first week.* 

University teaching timetable   

Your University timetable will become available once you have completed in-person enrolment.*  

*Students studying on MA Education, Practice Education (all routes), Medical Education (all routes), distance learning Masters programmes, MRes in Health Science and MRes in Sport and Exercise are not required to enrol in person or attend Welcome Week sessions unless advised by your programme team.  Once online enrolment (including ID document upload) is complete, your ID will be checked and verified within 3-5 working days by a member of University staff. You will then be able to view your timetable and course materials. 

The Student Charter sets out the expectations and commitments shared by the University's staff, Students' Union and students. This Charter sets out how we will work in partnership together to create a collaborative, respectful and supportive environment. You can read via the link below. 

Student Charter