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Check your eligibility to study Pre-sessional English at UAL and find out which course is right for you.

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:

  1. main course level,
  2. main course language requirement,
  3. current English level,
  4. improvement needed.

1. Main course level


Your main course

Suitable Pre-sessional course for you

Level 3 Introduction courses

Pre-Foundation English

Unconditional Pre-sessional

Foundation Diploma

Certificate of Higher Education

19 Week Pre-sessional

13 Week Pre-sessional

9 Week Pre-sessional

Unconditional Pre-sessional

Bachelor Degree

Graduate Diploma

Master’s Degree

Postgraduate Certificate or Diploma

PhD

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 / TOEFL iBT Home Edition
  • Trinity ISE
  • LanguageCert International ESOL SELT

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

1.5 IELTS bands or equivalent

19 Week Pre-sessional

1.0 IELTS bands or equivalent

13 Week Pre-sessional

0.5 IELTS bands or equivalent

9 Week Pre-sessional

0.5 IELTS bands or equivalent + my main course is Foundation Diploma or Level 3 Introduction

Pre-Foundation English

I already meet my language requirement.

Unconditional Pre-sessional

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 Online

I meet my language condition

Unconditional Pre-sessional On Campus

Bachelor Degree,

Graduate Diploma,

Or

Certificate of Higher Education

More than 1.5

Not eligible for Pre-sessional

1.5

19 Week Pre-sessional Online

1.0

13 Week Pre-sessional Online

0.5

9 Week Pre-sessional Online

or

9 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 1.5 bands

Not eligible for Pre-sessional

1.5

19 Week Pre-sessional Online

1.0

13 Week Pre-sessional Online

0.5

9 Week Pre-sessional Online

or

9 Week Pre-sessional On-campus

I meet my language condition

Unconditional Pre-sessional On Campus

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