Entry Requirements

To be accepted you will need to meet the general Birmingham International Summer School entry requirements as well as specific entry requirements of your chosen academic programme where applicable.

You must:

  • Be currently enrolled at a university studying an undergraduate or postgraduate programme.

  • Be aged 18 years or over at the start of the programme.

  • Demonstrate a suitable level of English proficiency. Please refer to information below.

  • Demonstrate relevant academic-specific requirements. Please check below for further information.

English Language Requirements

Please demonstrate a suitable level of English proficiency. For this programme we require one of the following:

IELTS  5.5 overall with no less than 5.5 in each band

TOEFL IBT 72 overall with a minimum of 18 in listening, 18 in reading, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing.*

Pearson Test of English (PTE) 59 with no less than 59 in all four skills.

Language Cert Academic 60 in all skills 

Alternative English Language qualifications may also be accepted.

 * For TOEFL tests taken from January 2026, there will be a requirement of 4 in all skills.

Alternative English Language Qualifications
Qualification Minimum grade requirement
GSCE English (or Edexcel IGCSE English) Grade C
GCE O Level English Grade C 
Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) IGCSE English: First Language  Grade C
Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) IGCSE English: Second Language Grade C
International Baccalaureate English: Standard/Higher Level, First/Second Language Grade 5
ESOL Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) / C1 Advanced 169 with no less than 162 in any component
CET Level 4 Grade 530
CET Level 6 Grade 500
TEM Level 4 Grade 60
HKDSE Level 3 with a minimum of 3 in each band

For more information about English Language requirements, please contact the BISS office.

Academic Requirements

To be accepted onto the following BISS programmes, students must demonstrate relevant subject background as detailed below with a transcript in English:

Biomedical Science, Clinical Care, and Population Health 

Students must demonstrate relevant subject background in any of the areas: Biomedical Science, Clinical Care, and Population Health, Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing.  Academic backgrounds in biosciences, biochemistry, bioengineering, public health, pharmaceuticals and medicine will be considered.

Data Science in Economics and Business

International students aged 18+ with English proficiency (minimum B2) and some prior coding experience in at least one programme language (for example, R, Python, MATLAB, Python, Julia, C++, C, C#, Java, Fortran, Stata). Students must bring their own laptops with R pre-installed.