In general, you cannot defer your place to another academic year. You will need to submit a new application and pay the application fee again. A new application does not guarantee an offer of a place.
If you wish to start your course in a different term of the same academic year, see Changing your start date.
Exceptional circumstances
You may be able to defer entry to the next academic year if one of the following has prevented you from being able to take up your place.
We will only consider delays in these circumstances:
- Disability, where the need for delay is because of your disability
- Pregnancy or maternity leave
- Serious health issues or treatment (evidence from a health practitioner is required)
- Short-term crisis involving a dependent child or family member, where you are the sole carer
- Paternity
- 1-year military posting
- Actions or inactions by the University
- Sudden and unexpected loss of financial support (you will need to show that you had finance in place when you met your finance condition, that this has subsequently been lost, and that you will have access to finance in the next academic year)
- Travel restrictions or other arbitrary actions by a third party preventing entry to the UK
Requests will not be considered if:
- You have not met your academic, financial, or English language conditions
- You are unwell but still able to start your course by the final start date
- You did not receive College accommodation
Important considerations
Before requesting a delay, please be aware:
- Approval is not guaranteed and is at the sole discretion of the University
- Your supervisor, course content, or College allocation may change or not be available in future years
- Only one delay is permitted
- You may need to meet new or reopened offer conditions (e.g. English language or financial requirements)
- You will be charged the course fee for the new academic year, which may be higher
If your request to defer is declined, your existing offer will be withdrawn. Therefore, only make a request if you are unable to take up your existing offer.
How to request deferred entry
- Contact your Department to explain your situation. You must have their agreement before submitting a formal request. You will also need to provide an email address for your contact in the Department.
- Complete our online form and send supporting evidence to pg.appeals@admin.cam.ac.uk. The form will ask you to:
- Confirm which of the exceptional circumstances applies and demonstrate why this prevents you from taking up your place
- Provide evidence that the issue arose after your application
- Show that the issue will not affect your ability to start in your proposed academic year
What happens next
- The Postgraduate Admissions Office will review your request and consult your Department
- Your College will be asked to make a matching delay
- If you have Cambridge funding, the funder will be asked to make a matching delay
If any of these parties do not agree, your request to defer may be refused.