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Are you an international student hoping to study on a degree course in the UK? Our Pre-sessional English for Academic Purposes course will help you.

Get ready to study in the UK

Our Pre-sessional English for Academic Purposes course will help you:

To improve your English language skills (grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation)
To improve your academic English skills (for writing assignments, understanding lectures, taking part in classes, reading and making presentations)
To develop the study skills you need to do well
To understand how UK universities work, so you know how to do well in your studies
To improve your social English and understanding of British culture
There is a maximum of 15 students per class (25 On campus). This means you will have dedicated time with a tutor.

You will study with our Language Academy. Our Pre-sessional English Language courses will help you get the skills you need to do well on your chosen course at the University of Central Lancashire.

If you successfully complete the Pre-sessional English course at the right level, you won't have to take another English test like IELTS. You'll have met the English language requirements for your chosen course.

Why study with us

If you successfully complete this course at the right level, you will meet the English language requirements for your course at UCLan
There is a maximum of 15 students per class. This means you will have dedicated time with a tutor.
You will be taught English through a range of activities. From learning with our friendly tutors, to self-study and sessions with your classmates.

Interested?

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Award: Certificate
Level: Undergraduate or postgraduate
Delivery: Online and On Campus
Study Mode: Full-time
Duration: From 6 – 10 weeks of study depending on your chosen intake
Start Date: Start dates are varied

Course overview

Class hours: Online 8 hours per week of live class, on campus 20 hours per week
Assessment: Coursework (70%) and final test (30%)
Certificate of completion: Marks for writing, speaking, reading and listening
Class sizes: Maximum of 15 students per online class, and 25 students per class on campus
Minimum age: 18

Summer 2025 programme

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Intake

Delivery Mode

Entry Requirements (IELTS)

Dates of Study

Length of Study (weeks)

Cost

Application Deadline

Online

5.0

(minimum score 4.5)

16 June – 22 August

£4,000

19 May 2025

Online

5.5

(minimum score 5.0)

14 July – 22 August

£2,400

16 June 2025

On Campus

5.5

(minimum score 5.0)

28 July – 5 September

£2,400

2 June 2025

Teaching and learning: Online Delivery

Each week you will have a range of activities. This includes live classes, peer study sessions, a lecture and tutorials, as well as guided self-study.

Your tutors will teach classes and tutorials They will also guide you through the various activities and give you feedback.

You will take part in group discussions, watch videos and lectures, read and discuss academic articles, and make short presentations.

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Sample weekly timetable for online study
Time (UK)	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
8am – 10am	Class	Lecture	Peer study session	Class	Peer study session
11am -12pm	Tutorials	Tutorials	Tutorials	Tutorials	Tutorials
1pm onwards	Self-study	Self-study	Self-study	Self-study	Self-study

Online platform

You will receive a UCLan email and log-in details to UCLan university systems. This includes our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) platform Blackboard, and Microsoft Teams.

All your classes and other activities will be run through Teams. Here you will be able to talk to and message classmates and teachers, attend classes, and complete your self-study activities. We will provide training on how to use Teams and Blackboard at the start of the course.

The online Pre-Sessional English is an interactive course, and you will have daily contact with both your teacher and classmates. Teams is a great way to communicate.

Technical requirements

Your teachers will expect you to be able to join in online classes using video. You will need to have access to a computer with a camera and microphone. You will also need broadband internet access so that you can participate in class.

We provide free versions of Microsoft Office, which you should download before the start of the course.

Teaching and learning: On Campus Delivery

Each week you will take part in twenty hours of class in addition to self-study. Classes will be in teaching rooms on the university’s main campus in Preston.

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Sample weekly timetable for on campus study
Time (UK)	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
10am – 12pm	Class	Class	Class	Class	Class
1pm -3pm	Class	Class	Class	Class	Class

All classes are interactive and are taught by experienced university lecturers.

Maximum class size: 25

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It’s really fantastic that we can learn and practice English with British people in the UK. Studying at the Language Academy will be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life.

Charles Ye

Pre-sessional student at the Language Academy, now studying for a PhD with Lancashire Law School (UCLan)

Scholarships and bursaries

We have a wide range of bursaries, scholarships and funds available to help support you whilst studying with us.

Select your country to see eligibility information and how to apply by selecting more info on the cards below.

Select your country/region

China Academy Scholarship
We are delighted to offer 30 China Academy Scholarships. The scholarships are the value of the tuition fee for the last block of the Pre-Sessional English programme and will be in the form of a tuition fee waiver.
Find out more about China Academy Scholarship

Fee-waiver scholarship

In order to help sanctuary-seekers access our undergraduate and postgraduate courses, we have five fee-waiver scholarships available for our on-campus pre-sessional English course (intake 3 in the above table).

To apply for this scholarship, please apply for the pre-sessional English course using the link above and indicate in the personal statement section of your application that you would like to be considered for the scholarship.

Within your personal statement please outline which undergraduate or postgraduate course you would like to use the pre-sessional English course to help you access and include details of your current qualifications in your application. When assessing your application to the pre-sessional English course, the Admissions team will assess whether you meet the entry requirements for your desired undergraduate or postgraduate course. If you do, your application will be assessed by a panel that will select five recipients.

Please note, this information is in relation to Pre-sessional English course and not our Sanctuary Scholarship, which is a scholarship for 3 year undergraduate courses. For more information about how to apply for the Sanctuary Scholarship please visit the Sanctuary Scholarship webpage.

Eligibility criteria

As the scholarships are limited to five per year, the selection process may be competitive, and meeting the following criteria does not guarantee you will be awarded the scholarship. In order to be eligible for this scholarship you must:

Currently live within the North West of England (Cumbria, Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Lancashire)
Have the right to study in the UK
Current immigration status should be described as one of the following:
- Refugee status
- Discretionary leave to remain (DLR)
- Indefinite leave to remain (ILR)
- Humanitarian Protection (HP)
- Awaiting a decision on application for refugee status (asylum seeker)
- Leave as an Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Child (UASC leave)
- Refused Asylum Seeker - application for refugee status has been denied and a fresh claim is in process
- Lived in the UK for the last half of life, which was not for the principal purpose of study, and has a form of immigration permission. This can include Limited Leave to Remain (LLR)
You have demonstrated within your application that you intend to use the pre-sessional English course to access further study and that you meet the other eligibility criteria of the course you wish to progress on to.