Skip to main content
Your Durham Offer
Students working on laptop in Bill Bryson Library café

Checklist for New Students

Young students work in a row at laptops

Purple Line Separator

Becoming a Durham Student

To become a fully registered Durham student, you'll need to complete our Enrolment and Registration process. There are three elements to Enrolment and Registration:

  1. Enrol with the University: as soon as you receive the username and password for your IT account, log into Banner Self Service and complete Enrolment. Read more about Enrolment in our Enrolling with the University section. 
  2. Register for your optional modules: after the 1st of September, and once you've heard from your Department, you can select your optional modules. You can read more about Module Registration in our Registering for Optional Modules section. 
  3. Verify your identity: once you've arrived in Durham, you'll need to take your ID to your College. You can read more about Verification in our Confirming your Identity section.

International students may need their VISA and passport checked by our University Immigration Service to complete their Right to Study check. This is a separate process to Identity Verification and must be completed to become a registered student with Durham University. Once you've enrolled with the University, you'll be able to access information about the Right to Study check here. 

Purple Line Separator

Guidance for New Students

Once you have completed the Offer Acceptance Form and we have confirmed your college allocation, you will be invited to enrol with the University. During busy periods it may take a couple of weeks for your college allocation to be confirmed, so please be patient, particularly after A-Level Results Day.

When we're ready for you to enrol with the University, we will send two emails to the personal email address you provided on your application. The first email contains your IT account username. The second email explains how to derive your password. The emails will be sent 24 hours apart, from no.reply@durham.ac.uk. Be sure to regularly check your junk folder for these emails. 

Once you receive both emails:

  1. Update your password straight away. You can get help with updating your password on our Change Password webpage.
  2. Set up your multi-factor authentication, so you can log into your University IT account. You can get help with setting this up on our Multi-Factor Authentication webpage. 
  3. Log into Banner Self Service and enrol with the University. There's more information on how to do this in the Enrolling with the University section of this webpage. 

Important Information - do not begin the Programme and Module Registration element in Banner Self Service before 1st September and you have received information from your Department about making your module choices. If you have completed Enrolment and your Department hasn't contacted you with information about selecting your optional modules, please contact your Department. 

Purple Line Separator

Enrolling with the University

As soon as you've updated your password and set-up multi-factor authentication, you need to log into Banner Self Service and enrol with the University.

Enrolling with the University involves confirming your personal details in Banner (our student records system) are correct, letting us know your address, emergency contact and agreeing to the University's terms and conditions. You will need to:

  1. Log into Banner Self Service.
  2. Choose the 'Registration and Enrolment' option.
  3. Select 'Academic Year 2023/24' and click 'continue'.
  4. Choose the 'Enrolment' option. 
  5. Confirm/Update all your personal details and address information.
  6. Provide us with an emergency contact
  7. Let us know if you'd like to be registered to vote.
  8. Confirm your student fees are correct
  9. Agree to our data rules and regulations. 
  10. Upload a photo (there's guidance on the photograph requirements in our Uploading your Photograph section).
  11. Click 'Confirm Enrolment' at the bottom of the page.

It is essential you complete Enrolment as soon as possible, or there may be an impact on the following:

  • Accessing your University email
  • Getting a campus card
  • Accessing learning resources
  • Accessing your Department's Welcome and Orientation pages
  • Printing Council Tax Exemption letters
  • Printing bank letters.

Purple Line Separator

Uploading your photograph

If you are a new student, you will need to upload a photograph of yourself during Enrolment. The photograph will be used on your campus card, which can be collected from your college when you arrive in Durham, provided you have uploaded the photograph by 13th September.

When you receive your username and password by email, upload your photograph: 

  1. Log in to Banner Self Service 
  2. Choose the 'Registration and Enrolment' option.
  3. Select 'Academic Year 2023/24' and click 'continue'.
  4. Choose the 'Enrolment' option.

Your photograph needs to be in the following format: 

  1. 198 wide x 239 high (pixels) 
  2. File Type JPEG (.jpg file extension) 
  3. The picture should be clear and in focus 
  4. Head and shoulders passport style picture on a plain white background 
  5. A picture of you looking straight at the camera (eyes open, no sunglasses or tinted lenses) 
  6. Your face should not be obstructed by a hat or other items of clothing 
  7. You should not wear clothing of similar colour to the background 

If you are unable to upload your photo by 13th September, you can do so after, but this will slow the process of getting your campus card. Find out more about campus cards on our Computing and Information Services (CIS) webpages.

Purple Line Separator

Selecting your Optional Modules

Undergraduate students need to be registered for 120 credits of modules in each year of study. Many programmes have 'core' modules, which must be studied by all students on that programme. If the 'core' modules on your programme total less than 120 credits, then you'll need to select 'optional' modules. 

Your programme's regulations will tell you which modules are 'core' for your programme, and which 'optional' modules are available to you. You can read your programme's regulations here. 

It is essential you don't begin selecting optional modules until 1st September, and after your Department has been in touch to offer you guidance, so you can make informed choices about your modules. If you have completed Enrolment and haven't heard from your Department about selecting your optional modules, please get in touch with your Department. 

If possible, you should have selected your optional modules by 20th September. This will ensure you receive important information about selecting appropriate modules, and give our Timetabling Team time to ensure you're allocated to teaching groups before teaching begins after Welcome and Orientation Week. 

To complete Module Registration you need to:

  1. Log into Banner Self Service.
  2. Choose the 'Registration and Enrolment' option.
  3. Select 'Academic Year 2023/24' and click 'continue'.
  4. Choose the 'Programme and Module Registration' option.
  5. Any 'core' modules will already be registered for you. 
  6. Click 'Add Another Module'. 
  7. Select the Department owning the module you wish to study and click 'Search Module List'.
  8. Select the module you'd like to study and click 'Add Selected Module'.
  9. Once your 'core' and 'optional' modules total 120 credits, click 'Submit'.
  10. Any 'optional' modules will need to be approved by the owning Department. If your request isn't approved, you'll receive an email to let you know. 

Important information - many modules have pre-requisite requirements, and you won't be approved for the module unless you meet these. For example, to study Economics of Sustainability (ECON1051), you will need an A-grade or higher in A-Level Mathematics. To study a module from outside your Department, it will need to be an 'open' module. You can read the module outlines for all our Level 1 'open' modules here. You will only be able to select modules that are compatible in the timetable. 

Purple Line Separator

Confirming your Identity

When you arrive in Durham, you'll need to confirm your identity with your College; we call this Verification. Even if you aren't going to be living in your College, you will need to confirm your identity there to get your campus card. We accept the following documents as proof of identity: 

  • Current Passport 
  • Current UK Driving Licence 
  • Current Biometric Residence Permit. 

If you are a UK student and you do not have any of these forms of identification, we will accept your original Birth Certificate.

If you need to open a bank account or apply for Council Tax exemption, you can print off the required letters in Banner Self Service, once you've completed Enrolment and Registration.

Purple Line Separator

Useful Links

  • Your College and Department will be able to help with the Enrolment and Registration process
  • If you have received your CIS username and password, but haven't been able to log into Banner Self Service, please contact the IT Service Desk for support
  • Visit our Welcome and Orientation Week pages to find out what you can do now to prepare for studying and enjoying life as a Durham student.

Purple Line Separator