Eligibility for Pre-sessional courses
Application criteria
To apply, you must meet the following criteria:
- be 18 years old or over
- have submitted an application for a main course at UAL
- have a valid IELTS (or equivalent 4-skills English test) result.
Which Pre-sessional course should you choose?
The right Pre-sessional course for you depends on your:
- main course level
- main course language requirement
- current English level
- improvement needed.
1. Main course level
Your main course | Suitable Pre-sessional course for you |
Level 3 Introduction courses* | Pre-Foundation English On Campus |
Foundation Diploma* | |
Certificate of Higher Education* | 12 Week Pre-sessional Online 7 Week Pre-sessional On Campus Unconditional Pre-sessional On Campus |
Bachelor Degree | |
Graduate Diploma | |
Master’s Degree | |
Postgraduate Certificate or Diploma | |
PhD |
* If your main course is a Level 3 Introduction course, Foundation Diploma or a Certificate of Higher Education, you can use Pre-sessional to meet your UAL language requirement. However, you also must provide an IELTS Academic for UKVI, or equivalent approved Home Office Secure English Language Test (SELT), for your main course visa.
2. Main course language requirement
Find your language requirement on your main course offer letter or UAL Applicant Portal.
Example language requirement:
- IELTS (or equivalent) level 6.0 or above, with at least 5.5 in reading, writing, listening and speaking.
Next, you will compare this to your current English level.
3. Current English level
To show your current English level, you must submit a single, valid, accepted test result.
- Single: You can't combine scores from different tests. You must apply with 1 test result.
- Valid: Result is less than 2 years old on the start day of Pre-sessional course.
You need a more recent result if you apply for an on campus Pre-sessional course and you:
- Previously studied in the UK on a Tier 4 visa or a Study visa
- Previously studied Pre-sessional or EPIC or
- Currently are studying in the UK.
- In this case, you need a result issued after the start of your previous or current course.
Accepted tests:
- IELTS Academic* / IELTS Academic for UKVI
- PTE Academic* / PTE Academic for UKVI
- TOEFL iBT
- Trinity ISE
- LanguageCert International ESOL SELT.
*We no longer accept online English tests for Pre-sessional.
Unsure how your test scores equate to IELTS? Submit an Eligibility Questionnaire.
4. Amount of improvement needed
Compare your language requirement to your current English test result.
Calculate how many IELTS bands (or equivalent) you need to improve by: 0.5, 1.0, or 1.5.
I need to improve my English level by… | Suitable Pre-sessional course |
1.0 IELTS bands or equivalent | 12 Week Pre-sessional Online |
0.5 IELTS bands or equivalent | 7 Week Pre-sessional On Campus |
0.5 IELTS bands or equivalent + my main course is Foundation Diploma or Level 3 Introduction | Pre-Foundation English On Campus |
I already meet my language requirement. | Unconditional Pre-sessional On Campus |
So, which Pre-sessional course is right for you?
1) My main course is… | 2) I need to improve by this many IELTS bands… | The best course for me is… |
Level 3 Introduction or Foundation Diploma | More than 0.5 | Not eligible for Pre-sessional |
0.5 | Pre-Foundation English On Campus | |
I meet my language condition | Pre-Foundation English On Campus | |
Bachelor Degree, Graduate Diploma, Or Certificate of Higher Education | More than 1.0 | Not eligible for Pre-sessional |
1.0 | 12 Week Pre-sessional Online | |
0.5 | 7 Week Pre-sessional On Campus | |
I meet my language condition | Unconditional Pre-sessional On Campus | |
Master’s Degree, Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma, or PhD | More than 1.0 | Not eligible for Pre-sessional |
1.0 | 12 Week Pre-sessional Online | |
0.5 | 7 Week Pre-sessional On Campus | |
I meet my language condition | Unconditional Pre-sessional On Campus |