If you are studying in Durham or remotely and are directly affected by a global conflict or crisis and this has an impact on your ability to focus on your studies, please talk to your course leader or a member of your academic department who will be able to offer support and advice.

If you are a Year Abroad, Placement Year or exchange student on placement abroad and have concerns, please contact your Departmental Exchange Coordinator or the Global Opportunities Team for further advice.

If you find yourself unable to sit exams or submit your assessments due to a global conflict or crisis, you should discuss the matter with your Department and College. We will work with you to look at the possibility of suspending your studies and ensure you have access to any relevant support. 

Our departments can also provide extenuating circumstances support to students who experience sudden, unexpected difficulties that may affect your performance at assessment. 

Suspension of studies is normally for one year, but it may be possible for this to be extended further if circumstances require it. Discussions will need to be had with your Department and College and we will continue to support you as much as possible.

You can suspend your studies at any point during the academic year. It is always better to inform your Department and College as soon as possible if you wish to do this, or even if you are thinking of suspending your studies.

You can withdraw from your course at any point during the academic year. We ask that you discuss this with your Department and College to ensure you have access to any relevant support during this difficult decision. 

UK visa holders should note that ending your studies is likely to have an impact on your visa. UK visa rules for students are determined by the Government. UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) are continuing to update their advice, the latest of which can be found here. Any changes or new visas may incur a financial cost. 

If you have any questions about your student visa, please contact the Student Immigration Team (immigration@durham.ac.uk). 

All students who are planning to travel to, within, or through an area of conflict are advised to check the latest travel advice from the UK Government, the relevant authorities in the region, as well as appropriate advice on travel disruption.   

For updated UK Government travel advice see the UK government website. 

Please note this advice can update frequently (including several times in the same day) due to the rapidly changing situations. It is recommended you sign up for relevant alerts and / or check the website regularly.

Please discuss the matter with your Department and College (see: Academic Studies above). Please also check with immigration@durham.ac.uk about whether this may impact your visa and therefore your ability to undertake and/or complete your studies.

Frontline support for students is offered through our Colleges' Student Support Offices. Staff within the Colleges are here to help you and to answer any queries you may have. They can also signpost you to other support services available. Details of all support available can be found on our student support hub (internal access only): Student Support Hub.

You can access help and support via: 

• your College Student Support Office 
• the Counselling and Mental Health Service  
• the multi-faith Chaplaincy Service 
• Durham Students’ Union.

If you face financial difficulty as a direct result of a global conflict or crisis, we encourage you to speak with your College to discuss your issue. If you’re in unexpected financial need with living costs, you can find more details on the financial support webpages.

Please contact immigration@durham.ac.uk. An appointment can be made for a meeting at the Palatine Centre.

If you are experiencing difficulties in terms of travelling home or any other residential issue, please speak to your College Student Support Office in the first instance.  

If you leave your accommodation early, it will depend on your contract as to whether there will be any remaining financial obligations to you. 

Student Support Hub (internal only): College Support Teams

www.durham.ac.uk/colleges-and-student-experience/colleges/ 

As an inclusive community, we do not tolerate antisemitism or anti-Muslim hatred, and we take reports of bullying and harassment, hate incidents and abuse seriously.  

We condemn in the strongest possible terms any incidents of racism or targeting individuals or groups for their religious, political or cultural beliefs.

We have robust risk assessment procedures for any planned events on campus. We have an emergency response plan to prepare for and deal with any incidents and we work closely with local police. 

Our priority is your safety and wellbeing. We encourage and expect respectful behaviours from everyone in our community. Our Race Equality Charter contains a number of actions designed to tackle racism, including through educational talks, training and informative events and activities throughout the academic year on racial and intercultural issues.   

You can use our online ‘Report and Support’ tool to report an incident or seek support or speak to your College support office. 

We also have a network of advisors who can provide support in cases of bullying, harassment or other causes for concern. They act as a first point of contact for those who feel they have experienced a hate incident. 

If a hate crime is in progress on campus and immediate action is required, our SafeZone app enables you to send an emergency alert if anyone is in danger.

The app is free to download and as a user you will be directly connected to the University security team who will find and assist you as quickly as possible when an emergency alert is issued. Off campus, SafeZone will connect you directly to the emergency services. 

You can also contact University Security directly on +44 (0)191 334 2222. 

As a university community, we uphold freedom of speech within the law and expect and require all our community to do so.  

We encourage the pursuit of knowledge and the exchange of ideas, but this must be done in a tolerant manner. Anything less will not be accepted. As set out in our Code of Practice, any activity, including meetings, demonstrations or the distribution of materials, must be notified in writing to the University Secretary at least 14 days before the activity is due to take place.  

Our response is in line with our legal and compliance requirements, including the Prevent Duty, Government guidelines and our own Purpose and Core Lived Values.  

Our Antisemitism Support Guide provides useful information for responding to experiences of antisemitism and details support available for our Jewish Students.

The Community Security Trust (CST) has published a number of resources on their social media feeds, including guidance on how to communicate about Israel in a non-antisemitic way. CST also has a national emergency number which should be used to report antisemitic attacks, alongside contacting the police via 999: 0800 032 3263.  

Tell Mama is a confidential support service for those suffering from anti-Muslim hate and discrimination across the UK. Their website features a number of different ways to report anti-Muslim incidents, including via phone or WhatsApp.