British military students

There are three types of accommodation available for military students at Cranfield Defence and Security:

  • Single rooms in the Officers' Mess accommodation,
  • Service families’ accommodation (SFA),
  • Privately-rented accommodation.

The first two categories are available to British military students only. Overseas military and civilian students studying at Cranfield Defence and Security will not be allocated SFA or Mess accommodation – please see below for further information about private renting options.

UK MoD-sponsored single military students should call 01793 785566, quoting the CIC number which will be provided in the joining instructions. If you are a MoD-sponsored military student and you require married accommodation, please contact the Defence Infrastructure Organisation on 0800 1696322.

Civilian and overseas students

As Cranfield University does not have accommodation at its Shrivenham site, civilian students live in rented accommodation in nearby villages.

If you are coming from overseas we strongly advise you not to bring your family to the UK until satisfactory accommodation arrangements have been made.

The closest small villages to the Defence Academy site are Shrivenham and Watchfield, nestled in the Vale of the White Horse. Other towns in the area, such as Highworth, are a short drive or cycle from the Shrivenham site, while Faringdon lies on the direct S6 bus route to site.

The nearest large supermarket stores can be found in Faringdon. There are also a small number of retail outlets in the area, such as a mini supermarket, a fast food chain restaurant and a pub restaurant called The College Farm where you can get 20% student discount on food on Mondays.

Shrivenham is reasonably near Swindon (about 10 miles away) and Oxford (20 miles away in the opposite direction). Both Swindon and Oxford have excellent, regular bus services (S6) which stop outside the gates. Your DMR pass allows you discounted travel on this bus service. Swindon and Oxford are both served by main-line trains from London and other major destinations.

‘A Student’s Guide to Shrivenham’ is available to all students via the VLE and provides information on finding local accommodation. The Cranfield Students’ Association (CSA) have also launched an MS Teams page called 'Accommodation' as a platform to offer advice and help to find accommodation for incoming and current students. You can contact the CSA directly on csa.shrivenham@cranfield.ac.uk or, if you already have a Cranfield email address, you can access the Teams site.

You can search off-campus accommodation on these external websites: Rightmove | SpareRoom

Living in Shrivenham

Living in Swindon

Living in Watchfield

Short-stay accommodation