Presessional English courses for international students

Presessional courses are designed for students who wish to improve their knowledge of spoken and written English in preparation for academic study at the University of Birmingham. Students with conditional offers have the option of attending one of these courses instead of retaking IELTS. 

Due to the current global COVID-19 situation, the majority of our pre-sessional programmes will run online in 2020.

Please visit our overview of the programmes to read the latest updates.

International entry requirements

We welcome candidates with a range of overseas qualifications. See our international requirements for postgraduate entry to find out more.

Postgraduates with conditional offers to study at the Birmingham Business School

Postgraduates with conditional offers to study at the Birmingham Business School can usually apply to study on the Business Management English Presessional Programme.  Economics students should apply to study on the English for Academic Purposes Presessional.

Postgraduates with conditional offers to study all other courses

Postgraduates with conditional offers to study at all schools other than the Business School (and Economics students) should apply to study on the English for Academic Purposes Presessional.

Students with unconditional offers

Students with unconditional offers can apply to study on our 4-week intensive course.