Full information on how to apply, course dates and application deadlines can be found on our course pages. 

• English for Academic Purposes Presessional
• Intensive Academic English Skills Course (4 Week)

Due to high demand for Presessional English courses and visa processing times, you are advised to apply as early as possible.

Yes, ye welcome applications from EU students. You can demonstrate your level of English with an English language test. For further information, please visit our entry requirements page or our course pages. 

Fees must be paid in full before the start of the course.

Credit/Debit Card/Bank Transfer

You can pay your Presessional English course tuition fees through our online payment portal.

Once you have selected the country from which you are paying, you will be able to choose your preferred payment method.

Please ensure you include your student ID number which can be found on your offer letter.

Financial Sponsorship

If an organisation is paying some or all of your tuition fees, you are required to provide a copy of your sponsorship letter. You are not required to provide these details where:

• Your course is being paid for by a family member or friend
• You are paying for your course with a bank loan

Once the details of your sponsor have been received an invoice will be issued for payment.

Please note that if we fail to receive payment from your financial sponsor you will be liable for payment of the tuition fees.

Cancellations and refunds

After you have accepted your offer of a place, you can cancel your acceptance within the cancellation period without giving us any reason. The cancellation period runs for 14 days from the date we accept your application. If you start your course during the cancellation period, the University will charge you a reasonable sum for the course provided.

You can cancel your place by informing the Birmingham International Academy by email at: presessional@contacts.bham.ac.uk.

If you encounter any technical problems with the applications portal, please contact directapplicationsystem@contacts.bham.ac.uk, who will be able to assist you.

Presessional Refund Policy

Payment of fees

1. Full payment of fees is required no later than one week after the start of the course. Information about payment methods can be found on the fees and funding section of the relevant presessional course here.

Your cancellation rights

2. After you have accepted your offer of a place, you can cancel your acceptance within the cancellation period without giving us any reason. The cancellation period runs for 14 days from the date we accept your application. If you cancel your place within the cancellation period, any payments received will normally be refunded in full. If you start your course during the cancellation period, the University will charge you a reasonable sum for the course provided. Important Information about the Presessional information, including the cancellation form, is now published at:

• Undergraduate programmes: Important information about presessional courses at the University of Birmingham

• Postgraduate programmes: Important information about presessional courses at the University of Birmingham

Refund of fees

7. No fees will be refunded because you arrived after the start of your English language course.

8. No fees will be refunded for authorised absence where you are expected to resume your studies after a short period of agreed absence.

9. If you have started a presessional course and then withdraw before the end of the course, you may be entitled to a partial refund as set out below.

You will need a CAS for campus based courses, and will need a Secure English Language Test (SELT) in order to obtain a CAS.

For courses delivered wholly online, you will not be required to hold a CAS and alternative English language qualifications can be considered in your application.

Students studying on the 10, 6 and 4 week presessional courses may be eligible for an integrated CAS, and will not need a SELT.

CAS statements will be sent at least 5 weeks before the start of your course. These will be sent by email, please check your junk and spam email accounts.

If you have applied via an agent, please check if the agent has received your CAS statement. The CAS will be sent to the email address you supplied on your application form, so please make sure you check that account.

All presessional applicants who need a Student Route visa must provide a valid official Secure English Language Test (SELT) certificate, attaining at least a B1 level of English in all skills.

A valid SELT for a presessional course is:

• An IELTS test taken at a secure test centre.
• IELTS tests taken at centres other than these approved centres will no longer be considered Secure English Language Tests (SELTs) by the UKVI
• An IELTS certificate with a UKVI reference number on it
• An IELTS academic test
• Your IELTS scores must meet the entry requirements for the presessional course you apply for
• You can find information about approved IELTS centres here: http://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/

We welcome applications from EU students. You can demonstrate your level of English with IELTS/TOEFL/PTE or alternative qualifications. Please contact presessional@contacts.bham.ac.uk for further information about alternative qualifications.

You will need a Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies (CAS) for your presessional course. In certain circumstances the UKVI regulations allow for an integrated CAS to be assigned to cover both the presessional course and your main programme of study.

UKVI regulations allow for an integrated CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies) to be assigned to cover both the presessional course and your main programme of study if:

• you, the applicant, have been made an unconditional offer for a main course of study at degree level, and will also take a pre-sessional course as defined in the Student Visa Route guidance

• the presessional course is no more than three months long

• the presessional course ends no more than one month before the main degree course

The University of Birmingham will only issue an integrated CAS if you have:

1) Met and submitted all evidence of your academic conditions by the deadlines set out below

AND

2) Been made an unconditional offer for entry on to the 10 week or 6 week presessional (by meeting the English language entry requirements for the specified presessional course)

If you do not meet the deadline you will be issued with a CAS for the presessional only and you will be required to extend your student visa once your offer for your main programme of study is unconditional and you have received a new CAS for this.

Please note - attendance on a presessional English language course does not automatically guarantee progression to your degree course. The presessional course has been designed so that students meet the required level and we therefore expect you to progress.

To ensure this is the case you will be formally assessed towards the end of your presessional course and in order to progress you will be required to meet the entry conditions as specified in the progression requirements for the programme for which you have been made an offer.

If you do not meet the entry conditions for your degree course, you could be withdrawn from your course and we will notify the UKVI of this. We will however provide you with guidance on alternative study options.

You must complete any re-takes before applying for the Presessional English Course.  Once you have applied and received an offer you will not be able to supply a new score to move to a shorter course.. 

No, the Presessional English Courses at the University of Birmingham are only open to and appropriate for someone who has already received an offer for an academic course at the University of Birmingham.

Any requests to join a longer programme than you need will be considered by the Academic Course Director. You will need to send supporting information of why you want to attend a longer length programme when you apply.

No. You must meet the minimum English language requirements before joining the Presessional course.

We strongly encourage people to only apply for courses once they have their English language test result and not move to shorter courses.

The Presessional programme is designed to help you meet your degree programme entry requirements. As such, once you have been given a presessional offer you should not attempt to resit other English language tests.

Once you have been issued with a CAS it is not possible to change the length of your course.

Once you have started studying a presessional course, you will not be able to move to a shorter length course even if you have a new English language qualification. The admissions department for your main programme may not accept revised English language test scores if you are registered on the presessional English course. You will be required to successfully complete your English course to gain entry to your degree programme.

Please contact us on presessional@contacts.bham.ac.uk to discuss your options.

We have a 4 week Academic English course running in late summer. This course is specifically designed for unconditional offer holders. The 4 week course focuses on the academic skills needed to study at the University of Birmingham.

Find out more about the 4-week EAP UNC Presessional course at the BIA

If you have an unconditional offer and wish to study a longer course, you are welcome to apply for the 6 and 10 week online and on-campus courses.

Once you receive your unconditional offer for the presessional English programme, you will need to complete your online registration.

To register online you will need your University username and password. You will receive your username, password and programme title by email. This email will be sent to your personal email address.

Please check your ‘Spam’ folder to ensure that any safeguards you may have will not block this message.

You will need to upload a high-quality passport-style photograph showing your head and shoulders against a pale background. This will be used on your student record and ID card.

If you have not received your online registration email before the course start date, please contact Student Help and they will be able to send it to you.

All international students at the University of Birmingham are required to have a right to study check.

This is where you upload your immigration document online to be checked by a member of the International Student Team (IST). When the RTS check is complete you will be able to commence your studies.

You can use your student ID number to sign up for an NUS extra card and make the most of the student discounts that come along with it. You will receive a student ID card for the University of Birmingham when you have completed your online registration and arrived on Campus for your induction.

The BIA Student Wellbeing and Experience Manager and the International Student Support Coordinator both provide support and advice throughout your studies.

Our International Student Support Coordinator has a specific focus on students under the age of 18. The BIA Student Wellbeing and Experience Manager can offer appointments by Zoom or Teams, phone or face-to-face.

As a student of the University, there is a wide range of online resources available to you throughout your studies. You can find out more about this as well as Frequently Asked Questions on wellbeing support.

Please contact the University’s International Student Team (IST) for all visa advice relating to your studies. The IST are the only University staff members who are authorised to give immigration advice and guidance.

Information on student visas.

The Guild of Students has launched the UoB Virtual Neighbourhood on Facebook. This is a virtual place for you to connect with other students, for advice and information, podcasts, mindfulness. You can also access their Instagram.

All BIA students will be enrolled on to the BIA Social Space canvas course where you can connect with other students and find out about the social activities that are being run.

The University's Welcome pages also contain a lot of information on how you can get involved in the community and connect with other students.

Canvas is the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) used at University of Birmingham. You can use Canvas to do the following:

• Access your course materials online 24/7
• Submit assignments
• Access grades and feedback
• Find lecture recordings
• Access multimedia content and resources for learning outside of the lecture
• Discuss and share ideas

You will need access to a computer with administrator rights to install software that meets the following:

• Windows 11 or 10 (includes x86 32 and 64bit processors and ARM 64bit processors using x86 emulation) - not Windows SE and not Windows S mode.
• Apple Mac: macOS 11 to 15.0+.
• ChromeOS: Updated to most recent stable version available via Google’s ChromeOS channel
• iPadOS: 12.0+ (iPad only) - external keyboard recommended with iPads.

For distance learning students:

• Ensure that you can participate in the live sessions. You will need a minimum of 2 Mbits/sec bandwidth, please check your internet speed and bandwidth: you can use online tools for this or contact your provider.
• You will also need a microphone and speakers: most computers have these built in. However, we recommend that you use a separate headphone with a built in microphone that has a USB connection.

We do not recommend using smartphones for taking part in classes.

Presessional courses taught on campus will have 15.5 hours of tuition per week (19 classes of 50-minute lessons). Classes are held Monday – Friday and are scheduled between 09:00 and 18:00. 

You can be assured that all online courses are run to the same high standard as our campus-based courses. The courses are designed to develop your English language and academic skills in preparation for your studies at the University of Birmingham. They are produced by our own academic staff at the University and are delivered using our own virtual learning environment (Canvas VLE) as well as by video conference using Zoom.

• The course includes a mixture of interactive, class-based discussion and listening tasks set by your dedicated class tutor, as well as guided reading and written tasks with feedback to develop your skills.
• You are fully supported throughout your course and will receive regular 1-1 tutorials by video to discuss your progress and answer any questions.
• You are assessed using a mixture of coursework and online tests.
• Timetabled sessions consider the needs of students studying in different time zones.
• Many classes are live streamed and recorded. We will make these classes available for you to view.
• There are pre-class and post-class activities that you will need to complete before and/or after your lessons.

You will need access to a computer with administrator rights to install software that meets the following:

• Windows 11 or 10 (includes x86 32 and 64bit processors and ARM 64bit processors using x86 emulation) - not Windows SE and not Windows S mode.
• Apple Mac: macOS 11 to 15.0+.
• ChromeOS: Updated to most recent stable version available via Google’s ChromeOS channel
• iPadOS: 12.0+ (iPad only) - external keyboard recommended with iPads.

For distance learning students:

• Ensure that you can participate in the live sessions. You will need a minimum of 2 Mbits/sec bandwidth, please check your internet speed and bandwidth: you can use online tools for this or contact your provider.
• You will also need a microphone and speakers: most computers have these built in. However, we recommend that you use a separate headphone with a built in microphone that has a USB connection.

We do not recommend using smartphones for taking part in classes.

If you have a slow internet connection check with your provider to see if they can increase your bandwidth. Make sure you switch off all other internet dependent devices, you do not have any applications running on your computer use the webcam only when necessary.

Timetabled sessions will take into account the needs of students studying in different time zones. Live online teaching takes place on Zoom and is scheduled between 08:00 and 14:00 GMT. Recordings can be accessed on Canvas. Live classes are of 45 minutes duration with 18 sessions per week (13.5 hours total weekly). Up to 20 hours per week should be allowed for completion of all pre and post-class activities and coursework. 

An interactive classroom atmosphere will be maintained as we will be using live streaming for many sessions.

As a pre-sessional student studying remotely, you will be part of our online student community, and will be able to attend our online social activities.

If you retake IELTS and meet your language requirements, admissions are not guaranteed to give you an unconditional offer.

You should remain on your Presessional English course.

Even if you withdraw, you will still be liable to pay your full fees.