STA Student Handbook (Taught Programmes) 2025/26
ADVICE AND COUNSELLING SERVICE (ACS)
The Advice and Counselling Service offers a range of free and confidential professional services to all Queen Mary students.
They have helpful advice and guidance for financial, immigration and other practical issues as well as emotional support on our website (welfare.qmul.ac.uk). You will also find information there about their services and contact details.
Financial, Immigration, and Welfare Advice
Their Welfare Advisers can advise you on solutions and options relating to financial, immigration, practical legal and welfare issues. They can advise you about your rights and entitlements to different sources of funding and welfare support, and also offer an advocacy service if you need professional representation to remedy your difficulties e.g. if you need help dealing with Student Finance England or the UK Home Office. They provide specialist advice and support on all aspects of student finance (loans, grants, bursaries), hardship funds and, welfare benefits and dealing with debt. We can help you plan your budget and find out how to reduce your spending.
If you are an international student they can advise you on your immigration rights. They can advocate on your behalf if you need help resolving an issue, for example with Student Finance England or the UK Home Office.They also offer preventative advice, on issues such as planning a budget and maximising your income from a range of sources, to help you avoid problems emerging during your studies.
They offer dedicated support for students who no longer have contact with their family (estranged), and students who have experience of local authority care, and students from a refugee background. They also provide support for students experiencing domestic abuse or forced marriage.
They provide confidential advice on all student and Tier 4 related immigration issues. The Welfare Advisers in the Advice and Counselling Service are the staff at Queen Mary who are authorised by the UK government to offer immigration advice to our students.
Counselling
Life can seem like a struggle at times, and it is normal to sometimes feel a bit low or anxious. Sometimes, though, emotional and psychological issues can become too challenging, and may have a negative effect on your studies and well-being. Their Counsellors can help you to make sense of difficult experiences and feelings by providing.The first step is meeting confidentially with one of our Counsellors to discuss what type of support might be most useful to you. This might be short term counselling, group therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy or a referral for longer term support or specialist services outside Queen Mary / in the NHS. For many students, just one or two sessions can really help. Their Counsellors are all highly experienced in working with students, and all types of issues.
Contacting the Advice and Counselling Service
For more information about available services and contact details please visit the Advice and Counselling Service’s website: www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk