Welcome to Edinburgh

Before you arrive, you should have completed the online registration form which will be available via the MyEd portal in the Student Personal Details channel around 4 weeks before your programme start date.  Full information is available on the Student Support website.  

If you have not already received your student card, you can collect it from the University card collection event at the Main Library, George Square.

You will have a Student Adviser to provide you with direct support and guidance throughout your time at University. You will also have a Cohort Lead, an academic member of staff who will help you and other students on the same degree programme with academic development and subject-related challenges.  You will be able to find the name of your Student Adviser and Cohort Lead in your student record.

Shortly after you've received the welcome email from the School of Informatics, your Student Adviser will email you to introduce themselves and to invite you to an online meeting about choosing courses.

You will receive your course selection form in August in advance of Welcome Week.  The forms will be linked to the Course Registration and change page when they are available.

Courses fill up quickly, and some courses have quotas, so we encourage you to select courses by Friday 15th August 2025. In order to register your courses in time for the start of semester you need to fill in your selection form by Wednesday 10th September 2025. 

The University deadline to register your courses is 17.00 on Friday 26th September 2025 (end of week 2). You cannot change Semester 1 courses after this date.  You can view your course choices in your MyEd Portal.

You will find details of course requirements and advice on selecting optional courses, by degree programme, at the following link:

The process by which you are formally admitted as a student to the University of Edinburgh is called matriculation. As part of the matriculation process you need to "confirm attendance", i.e. confirm you have started your studies in the School of Informatics. To confirm attendance in the School of Informatics you need to attend a meeting with your Cohort Lead and Student Adviser in Welcome Week (Week 0). Your Student Adviser will send you a separate message about when and where this meeting will be.   Please contact the Student Support Team if you have yet to receive this email.

At the meeting your Student Adviser and Cohort Lead will also lead activities to help you get started in your studies.

Please note: You will not be fully matriculated as a student until you have confirmed your attendance.  You must have arrived and had your attendance confirmed before 17.00 on Friday 26th September 2025 (end of week 2).  After this date you will be referred to the College Office and you may not be permitted to commence your studies.

In addition to confirming attendance, all new students in Informatics are invited to attend welcome events on the 8th, 9th and 10th of September. We strongly encourage you to participate!

The School of Informatics Welcome events are detailed below; please attend the sessions as they contain important information to get you started on your postgraduate (PG) degree programme.

12:00 - 12:30 Postgraduate Welcome Talk from the Head of School, Informatics Forum G.07

Postgraduate students are warmly invited to a welcome session with the Head of School. Hear about what it means to be part of the Informatics community — from the exciting opportunities ahead to the values that shape our School. A great chance to get inspired and feel at home as you begin your postgraduate journey.

Throughout the week: Society activities

The University also has a wider calendar of Welcome events, including campus tours and a series of events intended for International students.  The ‘New Students 2025-2026’ guide is now available to download within the ‘University of Edinburgh Events’ App.  The guide provides information on Welcome Week events, Campus Maps, Social Media and much more.  You can download the free App by following these instructions:

The Information for MSc students 2025-26 web pages including the Information for All Students section constitute the MSc Handbook.  It's important to familiarise yourself with the content of your handbook as these are the pages that you will be coming back to throughout your journey as an Informatics student.