Disabled Applicants
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The University welcomes applications from students with disabilities, specific learning difficulty or chronic illness and considers them on the same academic grounds as other candidates. See 'Students with Disabilities' for further information.
If you have any disability, specific learning difficulty or chronic illness, you are encouraged to disclose this via the Personal Data Sheet which accompanies your application. You may require adjustments to be made to enable you to undertake a particular course of study at Cambridge; for this reason it is helpful for us to know about your specific needs as early as possible to give sufficient time for these adjustments to be made.
The Personal Data Sheet is circulated to departments along with the rest of your application, but information on this sheet will not be considered when making the academic decision on whether to make an offer of admission. The sheet is circulated with the application because if you do declare a disability it may be helpful for your department to know this in the event that they wish to organise an interview, so that any relevant adjustments can be made. If you are made a conditional offer, this sheet will also be sent to colleges that consider your application.
If you have disclosed a disability, specific learning difficulty or chronic illness, and if you are made a conditional offer, your details will then be forwarded to the Disability Resource Centre (DRC) who will contact you to discuss your particular needs and offer advice on, for example, access to departments, transport options, or colleges which may have accommodation suitable to your needs. It is important that you respond to the DRC as early as possible.Other things you may need to consider before applying include:
- funding arrangements for equipment and assistance
- personal assistance/non-medical helper requirements
- examination allowances
- accommodation needs
If you have a specific disability which might need to be taken into account during your studies or examination, you are strongly encouraged to disclose this on the Personal Data Sheet and to inform the supervisor and college tutor. The staff of the DRC can advise on helping students to access a range of support provisions including study skills support, specific examination/assessment arrangements and support for non medical personal assistants such as proof readers, library help, etc.
Financial Support
If you are awarded funding from one of the seven main Research Councils, you will be eligible to apply for a Disabled Student's Allowance (DSA) from your funding body. If you are a home student funded by a body that does not have a Disabled Students Allowance or if you are applying as a self funded home graduate student with a disability you might be eligible for a DSA from The Students Loan Company to help support you in your graduate studies whilst at Cambridge.
Under UK legislation, the University is required to make reasonable adjustments to make the University accessible to students with disabilities. In addition, funding is available from the UK government to meet the additional costs of making adjustments for most home students with disabilities.
Since each case is assessed on an individual basis, it is very important that you make your needs known to the University at the earliest possible opportunity in order that we can assist in working out what provision you might require and how it might be funded.
Applications for assistance with disability related expenses can be made to the Snowdon Award Scheme, the Disabled Students Bursary Fund, and the International Disabled Students' Fund.
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Choosing a College
If you have disclosed a disability, when considering your college choices you will need to think carefully about your accommodation requirements, particularly if you have significant mobility impairment. Please note that most colleges have a mixture of accommodation, much of which is not on-site. Even where a college appears to be fairly central, the accommodation it is able to provide may not be. Colleges are often able to give priority to accommodating graduates with a disability, but you should be aware that many colleges are unable to provide accommodation for every graduate college member. Further details on the availability of accommodation can be found in 'Key Facts and Figures'.
Access information, including advice on distance from departments and access to public transport, for departments and colleges is available from the Disability Resource Centre's Disability Access Guide.
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