Middle Common Room

The Middle Common Room (MCR) is the community of postgraduate students, at both Masters and PhD level, who are members of Hatfield College - one of Durham University's sixteen colleges, and the second oldest having been founded in 1846.

Situated on the North Bailey, Hatfield College enjoys a prominent position in the heart of the historic city of Durham, with the postgraduate house located just five minutes walk away.

College Membership for part-time and distance learning students

At present we have over 300 postgraduates at Hatfield College who study either on a part-time basis or via distancing learning. Although many of our students are not physically based in the North East we aim to offer a warm welcome when they are in Durham. We seek to foster a community which supports academic study and hope you will enjoy and benefit from all that College membership offers. We stay in touch via email and regular newsletters and also have very active social media channels– please do follow us for all of the latest news and updates on activities and events in College.

You are encouraged to join the Hatfield Middle Common Room. Do browse the MCR's own website for information on the MCR's activities. Some of our part-time students like to become Full Members of the Middle Common Room. We strongly encourage local students to do this, as they will be able to contribute to and benefit from active participation in the life of the Middle Common Room. We already have local part-time students who are active members of the Middle Common Room, including those who are also College Mentors, members of College societies and sports teams, for example.