What are the Requirements to Study in the UK?

The Academic requirements for different universities vary and so for different nationalities owing to differing study systems. This is a vital part of your admission process to ensure your previous academic qualifications are sufficient to undertake your new course. The process can be complex at times, but Student Connect will guide you in matching your academic requirements to the right university. 

But as a rule of thumb most institutions will assess based on your HSC for undergraduate courses and your undergraduate degree for postgraduate courses.

As a general guidance this could be a sample academic requirement but may vary for different institutions and nationalities. 

For more specific advice pertaining to your background, please get in touch with one of our friendly members of staff. They will discuss with you the academic entry requirements that is specific to your background. 

Foundation

When you have not completed your 12 years education and only completed 10 or 11 years of education and or you do not have enough grades into first year of undergraduate course, then you are able to pursue foundation course which works as a bridging qualification to join first year of undergraduate degree. This will be a preparatory course which will allow you to obtain admission to Year 1 of Undergraduate study. The length of the foundation depends on your individual circumstances, it can be up to 3-12 months. 

For foundation courses, as per UKVI requirement, you need to have obtained UKVI Secure English Language Testing (SELT) with minimum scores of B1 scores. 

There are at times you do not need UKVI IELTS when the foundation is integrated with your main course, however, this is not generic and will require specialist advise and guidance from our teams. 

Undergraduate

Students who have passed the Senior or Higher Secondary education with minimum 12 years of education meeting certain grading criteria can apply to study first year of undergraduate study. 

This is typically A level qualification with minimum three subject or equivalent overseas qualifications. Please note different universities and courses have different requirements for your grades. For example, a university may request you to have certain grades in certain subjects or overall score to pursue a course. 

Students are required to have a IELTS score of at least 6.0 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each skill or its equivalent alternative English test that is acceptable by the University.

Top-Up

Transferring to a UK university after completing one or 2 years in your home country.

Top Ups usually require a tutor to match your credits and modules to the programme you are intending on joining. Hence you may have to apply well in advance, depending on your background and meeting some specific criteria you may be admitted to advanced entry into year 2 or year 3. Similarly, some universities have partnerships with other universities for transfer year programmes and you may be eligible if your institution have a tie up with a UK university. 

You need to have obtained satisfactory IELTS or its equivalent alternative English test that is acceptable by the University.

Pre Master

When you do not have sufficient grades for direct entry into a postgraduate course, you may pursue a preparatory Pre Master course depending on your circumstances. The course will contain both academic and English language modules. This will be a bridging course allowing you to enter your Post graduate studies. The length of the foundation depends on your individual circumstances, it can be up to 3-9 months.

For Pre-master courses, you need to have obtained satisfactory IELTS or its equivalent alternative English test that is acceptable by the University. 
Several Pre-Master courses will give you one CAS for your visa, integrating your premaster and your main master course. 

Postgraduate

Students who have passed the 3 or 4 years of undergraduate degree.

This is typically a second class (2:1 and 2:2) qualifications or the equivalent overseas qualification Please note different universities and courses have different requirements for your grades. For example, a university may request you to have certain grades in certain subjects or overall score to pursue a course. 

Students are required to have a IELTS score of at least 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each skill or its equivalent alternative English test that is acceptable by the University.