Welcome!
Whether you are joining us for the first time or continuing your membership of Balliol, thank you for doing so. A very warm welcome to Balliol.
The College’s graduate community (or Middle Common Room — ‘MCR’) has a physical centre at Holywell Manor, and in the buildings and facilities on the adjacent Master’s Field development – collectively known as the Graduate Centre. Whether you ‘live in’ or ‘live out’, you will have the support of the Praefectus or Head of the Graduate Centre, Professor Elena Lombardi, and the Junior Deans, who are postgraduate students (contact details here).
As a graduate student, you are a member of the MCR, and your committee and its President, Alina Nicheperovich, are also available to help. Read the MCR President’s welcome here and find out more about the MCR here.
As a home to students who are admitted to a large range of courses, the College is naturally multidisciplinary, and we hope that you will find this aspect of our life one of the most rewarding. Beyond that, there are any number of ways to be involved in the graduate and the wider College community. We look forward to seeing how you will choose to participate.
In this e‑Guide
This e‑Guide is for Balliol offer-holders whose offers are fully unconditional and who have received confirmation letters from the Graduate Administrator. Please go through everything in it carefully (and bookmark this page), as it contains very important information about preparing for your arrival at Balliol. You may also have received further information separately from your department or the University, but this guide mainly focuses on arrangements in the College.
Pre-arrival to-dos — please complete these 5 tasks as soon as possible
- College contract (sign and return before 31 December)
- Balliol College Freshers’ Form (complete and submit before 31 December)
- University contract and University card form (complete and return to University asap)
- Oxford IT account and University Registration (activate and start registration before arrival)
- Medical arrangements (register online with the College Doctors before arrival)
Pre-arrival orientation
- Must-reads — including the College Handbook, a great source of information for all aspects of Balliol life
- Financial information and support
- Who’s Who for Fresher Graduates — College staff
- Wellbeing and welfare
- Accommodation, food, IT, domestic information and student deals
- International and EU students
Arrival and induction
- Travel to/arrival in Oxford — including maps and directions
- Completing University registration and collection of University Card — in person only (available from 7 January 2026 )
- Enrolment certificate/proof of student status
- Read Libraries information and complete online induction before arrival
- Early arrivals (Michaelmas Term starters only)
- Freshers’ events (Michaelmas Term starters only)
- Matriculation and Freshers’ Photograph (Michaelmas Term starters only)
This Freshers’ e‑Guide will be available until the end of the 4th week of Hilary Term (Saturday 14 February 2026).
See also
- The Current Members section of the Balliol website
- The University’s general information for new students
- MCR website
- Mature students: details of support and guidance available
- University of Oxford Newcomers’ Club for partners of graduate students