Eligibility for Student Support Services
Student Support offers:
- support for taught and research postgraduate students through the Postgraduate Wellbeing Service (PWS)
- individual counselling through the University Counselling Service (UCS)
- support for students who have experienced harassment or violence through the Harassment and Violence Support Service (HVSS)
- support for disabled students through the Accessibility and Disability Resource Centre (ADRC)
- specialist support for students with mental health issues through the Mental Health Advice Service (MHAS)
Your access to the services provided by Student Support depends on:
- whether your course requires College membership
- your current location (UK or abroad)
These measures are in place to help us safely assess and manage risk, deliver the appropriate support and ensure our practitioners delivering each service operate within legal and professional boundaries.
If you’re unsure whether you meet the criteria below, please get in touch via reception@studentsupport.cam.ac.uk.
Who can use our services
| Services provided by: | Course requires College membership (UK) | Course requires College membership (abroad) | Course does not require College membership (UK) | Course does not require College membership (abroad) |
| PWS | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| HVSS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| UCS | Yes | No | No | No |
| MHAS | Yes | No | Yes, if referred by an ADRC adviser | No |
| ADRC | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
This above access also applies if you are:
- waiting for your final results to be officially confirmed by Student Registry, the Postgraduate Committee or Degree Committee
- a visiting student with College membership
- temporarily suspended while awaiting the outcome of a disciplinary case
Who can't use our services
Unfortunately, we’re unable to offer access to any services - no matter your course type or location - if you are:
- no longer registered as a student / your registration has lapsed and not been extended
- between two separate courses that require separate applications
- formally suspended following a disciplinary outcome
- on intermission - except for Postgraduate Research (PGR) students
- If you’re a PGR student planning to take an intermission, you can access up to four support sessions with the PWS:
- two sessions before your intermission begins to help you plan, reflect and feel reassured before you step away
- two sessions to plan support for your return to study to ease your transition back
- If you’re a PGR student planning to take an intermission, you can access up to four support sessions with the PWS:
If your circumstances change
Sometimes, your circumstances might change—like finishing a course, changing location or a change to your study status—and this can affect your eligibility for certain support services. If that happens, your practitioner is here to help guide you through the transition.
To help ease the shift from accessing a service to a period without it, they can work with you in the sessions leading up to the break to help you prepare and think about other ways you can access support.
If you’d like, they can also use your first session back to reflect on how things have been during your time away.