The deadline for acceptance gives you a date by which to make a response to your offer. Once the deadline expires we will assume you do not wish to accept the offer and we will decline the offer on your behalf. Please note: You will only become responsible for the payment of your tuition fees when you formally register for your programme, not when you accept your offer of a place. If you wish to extend the deadline please email your admissions contact (provided with your offer). If you wish to accept the offer after your place has been declined on your behalf please email your admissions contact (details provided with your offer) and see if the offer of a place is still available.

Yes, this is correct. At the end of this programme it may be possible for you to progress to the PhD if you have met the required academic standards.

You definitely have a place providing you meet the conditions of your offer and you accept the offer within the deadline for acceptance*.

We normally make two kinds of offer:

A conditional offer which has conditions attached which have to be met before you can become unconditionally accepted by the university and guarantee your place. If you fail to meet the conditions of your offer, the offer of a place may be declined or withdrawn.

An unconditional offer is made with no conditions attached and needs to be accepted by the applicant in order for the university to unconditionally accept them and guarantee their place at the university.

*The deadline for acceptance gives you a date by which to make a response to your offer. Once the deadline expires we will assume you do not wish to accept the offer and we will decline the offer on your behalf. Please note: You will only become responsible for the payment of your tuition fees when you formally register for your programme, not when you accept your offer of a place. If you wish to extend the deadline please email your admissions contact (details provided with your offer). If you wish to accept the offer after your place has been declined on your behalf please contact admissions and see if the offer of a place is still available.

There are a few reasons why you may be offered an alternative course. You may have asked us to consider you for another programme. The department who reviewed your application may feel that you are more suited to another course and may recommend you an offer on a different programme or at a different level depending on your qualifications and experience. It may be that your first-choice programme is over-subscribed, and we have been unable to admit you to that course. There are also occasions where courses are changed or, due to unforeseen circumstances, withdrawn. The University, like any university, has the right to withdraw a programme, without giving notice. If you have any questions regarding this then please contact the University using the contact details on your offer from us.

If you are a native speaker of English and already have an English language qualification, it may be enough. Your offer will inform you as to whether you need to take a further test or not: if the offer is unconditional, you will have done enough; if it is conditional, you may have to do more. If you are an international student and English is not your first language, see our entry requirements for international students to find out what level of English is required and which tests we will accept.

Please note that IELTS/TOEFL certificates are only valid for 2 years.

If you can provide evidence that you have been taught in English we may remove the English language requirement. Please contact the University regarding this using the contact details sent to you in your offer from us.

Some courses (for example those where students work unsupervised with children
or vulnerable adults) will require the satisfactory completion of a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check (formerly known as a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check) which is a UK wide legal requirement. The DBS check will make the University aware of any spent or unspent criminal convictions you hold, and the University will then consider whether any convictions are compatible with membership and a place on a particular course.

Some courses (for example clinical courses) will require the satisfactory completion of a Health Declaration. The Health Declaration will make the University aware of any health concerns, disabilities or special needs you may have to ensure the right support can be provided before you even begin your studies. Find out more about the support available.  

Some courses (for example clinical courses) will require the satisfactory completion of a Health Declaration. The Health Declaration will make the University aware of any health concerns, disabilities or special needs you may have to ensure the right support can be provided before you even begin your studies. Find out more about the support available.  

Your degree transcript/certificate are documents that should have an original certification stamp, certified by a notary, an organisation such as the British Council, your university, or by a Birmingham local representative in your country. Please note that scanned copies of these documents are not acceptable (unless they have come via one of our international representatives) and you will need to post these documents to the Admissions Office at the address on your offer.

Depending on your individual application's requirements and current workload it may take up to 10 days to have your place confirmed once you have met the conditions of your offer. The Admissions office aim to process each application as quickly and efficiently as possible. You will receive your registration details via email prior to starting your course.

A conditional offer becomes unconditional once you have provided evidence of all the requirements stated in your offer. You will have been asked to accept/decline your offer within two months of the date of the offer in order to secure your place (if there is a different deadline for acceptance, your offer will state this).

Please log into your portal to accept/decline or return your acceptance form to confirm your decision. You will need to accept your offer in your portal by the date specified in your offer, or the offer will be automatically declined on your behalf.

If your offer is already unconditional you will just need to accept your offer in the portal in order to become unconditionally accepted on the course.

An unconditional acceptance email/letter is issued once you have accepted a conditional offer and met the conditions, or when you have accepted an unconditional offer. If you have accepted your offer, met the conditions and received your unconditional acceptance email/letter you will receive your registration details via email (during August or early September) prior to starting your course.

You will be sent a registration email once you become unconditionally accepted by the university. Registration details will be automatically sent to you by email prior to the start of your course.

Your department will send you joining information (induction/timetable/book lists etc) prior to the start of your course. Please contact them for further information.

You should apply to change your course as early as you can in the academic year. If you apply after the first two weeks of term, there may be extra conditions you need to satisfy before you can transfer onto the new programme. You may also be asked to defer your entry to the new course to the following year. You should check with the Admissions Tutor in the appropriate school or department to find out if this is the case. Visit our Academic Services support website for more information about changing courses.

If you wish to defer your application please put your request in writing/via email so we can confirm that it is okay with your Admissions Tutor. When a deferment is acceptable we are happy to defer for one year only. Please let us know of your decision to defer as soon as possible so we can offer your place to another applicant. Please note an offer can only be deferred once.

Yes, it may be possible to change the start date of your PhD. Please put your request in writing so we can contact your Admissions Tutor and see if it is okay with them. Please note that most PhD's can start in any month except July/August.

For some PhD's (e.g. Business School) and for funded studentships it may not be possible to change the start date. Please contact your supervisor for details.

You can update your address details through the postgraduate applications portal.