For a full-time taught master's at Cambridge, a plausible commute is not the only housing test. The university applies course-specific residence boundaries. Check the rule for your exact degree before treating a property as suitable or depending on permission to live farther away.
The current postgraduate accommodation page, reviewed on 23 October 2026, lists a three-mile boundary for LLM, MCL and MASt students and a ten-mile boundary for most other postgraduate courses. The university's more detailed guidance explains the reference point and the separate permission process. This article concerns that housing decision; it does not approve an address, tenancy or exception.
Use the exact course, not just postgraduate status
Cambridge's residing-outside-the-precincts guidance lists LLM, MCL and MASt among courses normally subject to a three-mile radius from Great St Mary's Church. For other full-time taught postgraduates, subject to the listed exceptions, it describes a ten-mile radius from that reference point.
The practical difference is that two master's students should not automatically use the same property boundary. Do not borrow another applicant's interpretation simply because both courses are postgraduate or their departments are nearby. Confirm your exact degree and study mode with the university before shortlisting on the basis of distance.
A postal description, an estate agent's claim that a property is convenient, or a route time to your department does not itself establish compliance. Record the actual property location and the university reference point, then resolve any uncertainty with your College or the responsible university team. No property or map measurement is verified in this article.
Permission outside the boundary does not mean remote study
The university says full-time matriculated taught study is designed for in-person teaching and assessment. Its outside-precincts guidance expressly says residing outside the boundary is not a way to undertake a degree remotely. Students still attend Cambridge, use its facilities and participate in departmental and College life.
Where there are good reasons for living beyond the normal limit, the guidance describes an application process. It says permission will normally depend on a location in England from which a comfortable daily commute is possible, with study and attendance protected. Approval may be withdrawn if concerns cannot be addressed.
Those are conditions for considering permission, not assurance that your proposed location will be accepted. A hoped-for exception should stay unresolved in your housing record until the appropriate approval is established. Do not treat a future application, a manageable train journey or a landlord's reassurance as university permission.
Separate full-time residence from part-time attendance
The university says part-time postgraduates have attendance requirements rather than the same residence requirement. They must still be able to attend regularly and meet their course's arrangements. The absence of a residence boundary does not make a part-time course an online course.
Check attendance with the department for the actual programme. Do not select a study mode solely because you believe it removes the cost of being in Cambridge; the visits, timetable and practical commitments need their own evidence. This article makes no immigration or work-rights determination for either study mode.
The accommodation page also says students are usually expected to be in Cambridge throughout the year, while taught students can take short breaks between terms. Do not translate that into permission to spend the dissertation period elsewhere or a fixed holiday allowance. Clarify any planned absence through the relevant university process.
A compliant location is not a room offer
Cambridge explains that postgraduate students live in College accommodation or private housing, and that College availability varies by College and year. College membership does not establish that a particular room, family flat or contract period has been secured. Nor does living within the boundary establish that a property meets your budget, accessibility or household needs.
Keep location compliance and accommodation availability as separate checks. For a specific option, establish who offers it, the actual address, the people it can accommodate, the contract dates and what remains unconfirmed. A service that helps people find housing is not a guaranteed allocation.
Use the existing housing-period guide for dates and payment periods. That background does not replace Cambridge's course-specific residence rule. Similarly, a cheaper advertised rent outside the boundary is not yet a valid saving for your course if the required permission is unresolved.
Make the shortlist decision explicit
For each housing option, record the exact degree and study mode, normal boundary, actual address, distance question, approval status where relevant, realistic attendance journey, confirmed availability and contract period. Mark published guidance, university-confirmed facts and unanswered questions separately. Keep personal addresses, tenancy records and travel plans private.
Use the master's full-budget guide to compare total study-period costs only after those conditions are clear. No rent, commuting price, safety score or travel time is assumed here. University permission, a housing contract and immigration conditions are separate matters.
Your next action is to confirm the residence rule for your exact Cambridge course before committing to a location. If your shortlist depends on an exception, resolve that dependency rather than entering it as approved. Current university guidance was independently reviewed on 23 October 2026; this is original AI-assisted decision support, not a personal permission decision. The image is a fictional residential scene and does not depict Cambridge, a real student or an actual housing offer.
