Entry Requirements
Listed below are details on the requirements for entry to universities in the UK. This information is designed to help prepare you for applying for entry to universities and colleges in the UK.
Academic Requirements
Undergraduate courses
Most universities and colleges in the UK consider the results in the High School leaving exams of your country for entry to undergraduate degree progammes. Depending on the country you are from there may be exceptions to this for subject areas such as Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary
Medicine.
Students are required to have gained first division or second higher division in their high school leaving examinations or appropriate results in A levels or the IB. The requirements for entry can vary considerably between universities and colleges in the UK and it is always best to check with your nearest Study Overseas office for details on any specific institution.
Some universities will consider lower grades if you have additional professional qualifications or work experience. Alternatively, if you do not have the grades to get admission directly to a degree course, you could join courses that are known as the bridging/foundation programmes. These programmes normally last for one year and provide entry to degree programmes. Another option is to join a Higher National Diploma programme. This is a two
year programme and roughly equivalent to the first two years of a degree programme. On successful complete of the programme you may be able to enter the second or third year of a relevant degree programme in the UK.
Postgraduate courses
For entry to most postgraduate degrees you are required to have at least a higher second or first division in your bachelor degree programme. Some universities will insist on a first division and details on the requirement for specific institutions are available from your nearest Study Overseas office. In addition some universities will accept students with lower marks if they have professional qualifications or good relevant work experience.
There are some select courses that might require relevant work experience for a couple of years in a relevant field.
MBA
MBA is the most popular degree professionals seek these days. In the British education system the degree is designed in a way to impart management principles as well as training to qualified professionals. Most of the MBA degrees require you to have some work experience in either a related field or at an appropriate managerial capacity. This can vary from 1 to 6 years, with most programs requiring at least 2 to 3 years of full time work experience after completion of your undergraduate degree. This is in addition to a good undergraduate qualification. There are, however, some universities in the UK that have designed their MBA programmes to ensure that they are suitable for students who do not have any work experience. Details on the programmes are
available from your nearest Study Overseas office.
English Language Requirements
Candidates for admission whose first language is not English normally need to have a a qualification in English Language before they can be admitted to any course or programme in a UK institution. A general guide to the accepted English language entry requirements for most institutions is outlined below. However it is worth checking with your nearest Study Overseas office if you need information on any specific institution that we represent.
British Council IELTS band 6.5 or above
TOEFL (including the Tests in Written and Spoken Practice), minimum score of 600 (paper-based test) or 250 (computer-based test)
O-level English Language or GCSE English Language - Grade C or above
Cambridge Higher School Certificate at Subsidiary level or in the Cambridge
Oxford Certificate of English as a Foreign Language at Higher Level
IELTS and TOEFL
Two of the most popular and internationally-available tests are the International English Language Testing Service [IELTS] test which may be taken in most countries at British Council offices and the American TOEFL test which is widely available through offices of the US Information Service.
TOEFL is now being run as both paper-based (PBT) and computer-based test (CBT) in many countries; others still offer the traditional paper-based text. There are a few universities in the UK that prefer to accept an IELTS score over a TOEFL score and if you have not sat an English language test then IELTS is recommended.
