For parents

Queen Mary University fully appreciates and understands the important role that parents play in ensuring the time students spend studying with us is as enjoyable, fulfilling and successful as possible. To that extent, we endeavour to involve parents, as well as families and friends, in various activities throughout the academic year and to provide them with all necessary information.

This page contains information regarding the following subjects:

• Communication with the College
• What the student needs to bring
• Family Welcome Receptions
• Term dates
• Registering with a doctor
• TV licence
• Security

Communication with the College

Please be aware that the College is strictly limited in what it can discuss with third parties, including family and friends, regarding students of the College. If your son or daughter is over the age of 18 then, unless the College has their consent to do so or unless there are exceptional circumstances, information relating to him or her cannot be disclosed to parents or other third parties.

The Student Administration team is happy to discuss, in general terms, issues such as student procedures without referring to individual cases, and will endeavour to pass on any messages in the event that you wish to contact your son or daughter, without confirming that he or she is a student.

What the student needs to bring

For guidance on preparation students should make prior to arrival at the College, as well as advice on what to bring, please refer to the Arrival page on the Residential Services and Support website.

For information regarding the essential paperwork that students need to bring to their enrolment session, please refer to the What to bring with you section of the Enrolment page.

Family Welcome Receptions 

The families and friends of new first-year students are invited to attend our Principal's Welcome Receptions during Moving-in Weekend on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 September 2011. The receptions take place in The Hive, near to Ground Café, on Queen Mary's Mile End campus, beginning at 11.30am and 2.30pm on Saturday and 11.30am on Sunday. This is an occasion where you can meet other families and friends of new students and senior members of the Principal's Office, as well as representatives from the Students' Union.

Choose to attend ONE of three receptions:

• Saturday 17 September 2011 - 11.30am (speeches at 12 noon) or 2.30pm (speeches at 3pm)
• Sunday 18 September 2011 - 11.30am (speeches at 12 noon)

Booking information

Book online at the Principal's Welcome Reception page

Alternatively, you can email alumni@qmul.ac.uk or telephone +44(0)20 7882 7790. Please indicate which day you would like to attend, the time of the sitting and the total number of places you require.

Booking deadline: Wednesday 14 September 2011

The Principal's Welcome Receptions are part of the Queen Mary Family and Friends' Programme which is coordinated by the Alumni Relations Office. The Family and Friends' Programme provides a direct link between the College and you, the families and friends of new and current students, both in the UK and around the world.

We hope to engage you in the life of Queen Mary during the coming years by inviting you to join the Family and Friends' Programme which includes invitations to events, the opportunity to be kept informed about developments at the College and for you to support the Family and Friends' Book Fund. For more information, including how to join, please visit www.qmul.ac.uk/alumni/familyfriends.

Term dates

This year's Welcome Week is Monday 19 - Friday 23 September.  Teaching for many of our programmes start from Monday 26 September, however some programmes start earlier or later than this date.  

The term dates for academic year 2011/12 are as follows (NB - term dates for Medicine and Dentistry students are listed below):

Semester 1

• 19 September - 16 December 2011
• Teaching starts 26 September 2011

Semester 2

• 9 January - 30 March 2012
• Bank holidays: 6 and 9 April 2012

Semester 3 - Revision week

• 23 April 2012 - 27 April 2012

Semester 3 - Examination period

• 30 April - 8 June 2012
• Bank holidays: 7 May and 4 June 2012

2011-2012 (MB BS students)

2011-2012 (BDS students)

Registering with a doctor

It is recommended that students register with the College doctor or a local doctor prior to arrival at the College, or if not as soon as possible once they have arrived, so that they have access to health treatment should they require it. Students who live in areas with a postcode beginning with E1, E2, E3 or E14 can register with the Student Health Service located on the ground floor of the Geography building, Mile End campus. The service is available during term time 9am to 1pm and 2 - 4.30pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and 9am to 1pm only on Thursday. For more information and to arrange an appointment, please call +44 (0)20 7882 3744. Please note that the service is closed during the Christmas, Easter and Summer vacations, during which time enquiries can be made in person at the Globe Town Surgery, 82-86 Roman Road, London E2 0PG, or by calling +44 (0)20 8980 3023.

Students who live in Dawson Hall can register with Dr. David Vasserman at 66 Long Lane, Barbican, London EC1; enquiries can be made by calling +44 (0)20 7600 9740.

All students should ensure they register with a doctor close to where they live. A list of local doctors is available from the NHS Services website.

For information regarding International and EEA student medical entitlement, please refer to the relevant section of the Health page.

TV licence

Students need to be covered by a valid TV Licence if they are watching or recording TV as it is being broadcast. This includes the use of devices such as a computer, laptop,  mobile phone or DVD/video recorder. Students living in College residences and using a TV in their room need to own an individual licence, whilst students living in a shared house with a joint tenancy agreement only need one licence, regardless of how many TVs are in use. For students who live with other people but have an individual tenancy, different rules apply.

A colour TV licence currently costs £145.50 a year. Direct debit payments can be made in monthly or quarterly instalments, though paying quarterly is slightly more expensive. Refunds can be claimed on complete unused quarters, which can be useful if the TV is not in use during the summer vacation. Full details on applying for the TV licence are available from the TV licensing website.

Security

The safety and security of our students and their possessions is of utmost importance, and the Queen Mary Security Service is there to create a welcome and safe environment whilst ensuring the security of all College buildings - including halls - and the contents therein. Information about campus security and personal security, as well as other aspects of security at Queen Mary, can be found on the Security Service's web pages, along with a helpful Personal Safety Guide which is available to download.