Pre-Sessional courses

University of Essex International College (UEIC)

Situated within our main campus sites in Colchester and Southend, UEIC offers a variety of Pre-Sessional programmes to:

• improve your English language skills to support you to achieve the level required in your main course, and meet your offer conditions, or
• increase your confidence with UK academic study skills, or
• both of the above.

Essex is a campus-based university, and we know that our students value being together on campus. We offer our Pre-Sessional English courses on our campuses in the UK in the months and weeks before the start of your main study programme. This means you can settle in ahead of your main course programme and experience being in an English-speaking environment, as well as being part of our diverse, global campus community. We hope that you will travel to the UK to join us, however, if you have extenuating circumstances which mean you are unable to travel to the UK then we do offer our programmes online. If you require a visa, it is not possible to take a Pre-Sessional programme online while living in the UK as this is not permitted under Student visa sponsorship rules.

If you join a UEIC Pre-Sessional English programme you will take Kaplan’s own English language test at the end of the course. If you successfully pass this, the University will remove the English language condition from your main course offer. You will not be required to take another independent English language test such as IELTS, TOEFL or Pearson.

UEIC Pre-Sessional programmes available:

Pre-Sessional English Language with Study Skills (PELSS)

Our PELSS programmes provide you with integrated training in Academic English Language and Study Skills to prepare you for Undergraduate or Postgraduate degree level study at University of Essex.

The programmes are available at our Colchester campus or online, and run for 20, 15 and 10 weeks providing an uplift to your English language score equivalent to IELTS 1.5, 1 and 0.5 respectively.

As part of the programme you will work on grammar and vocabulary, reading and writing, and speaking and listening. You will also work on key skills such as engaging in academic discussion in seminars and lectures, and academic writing skills.

You will complete an independent project in which you will be given the opportunity to focus on areas relevant to your chosen degree at The University of Essex. The project will introduce you to a range of research and study skills including planning, drafting, and presenting.

PELSS on campus:

PELSS online:

Pre-Sessional English Language (PEL)

Our PEL programmes focus on enhancing your English language skills to prepare you for undergraduate and postgraduate degree level study. This programme develops your speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. It prepares you for your end of course exam, as well as introducing key language and vocabulary for studying at University in the UK.

The programmes are available either at our Colchester or Southend campuses, or online. They run for 10 and 5 weeks and provide an uplift to your English language score equivalent to IELTS of 1.0 and 0.5 respectively.

PEL on campus:

PEL online:

Academic Skills Preparation Programme (ASPP)

If you hold an unconditional offer to study at the University of Essex, and are impatient to get started with your studies in the UK, you may wish to take our 4-week long ASPP programme which is available either at our Colchester campus, or online.

Through completion of an independent project on a subject related to your chosen degree topic, ASPP will introduce you to academic study and research skills commonly used in UK universities. The programme will introduce you to British culture and society and support you to settle in and familiarise yourself with campus life prior to beginning your main programme of study. The programme also includes a module to support you to increase your personal development and employability skills.

ASPP on campus:

If you study ASPP on campus in the UK and require a student visa you will be issued with a linked CAS which will cover both your ASPP programme and your main programme of study.

ASPP online:

If you study ASPP online and require a student visa you will be assigned a CAS for your main programme of study only. You will need to travel to the UK after you have finished the ASPP as you will not be permitted to study the ASPP online from within the UK due to student visa sponsorship rules.

How to apply

To apply for any of our Pre-Sessional programmes you must first have an offer in place to study an Undergraduate or Postgraduate degree at University of Essex.

If you are applying to study PELSS or PEL this offer should be conditional on English language. There are different requirements depending on whether you are applying to study on campus in the UK or online from your home country. Further detail is provided below.

If you are applying to study the ASPP then you should hold an unconditional offer to study at University of Essex and you will not be required to have an accepted English language test (you only need to have satisfied the English language requirement of your main programme).

Applications can be made via the ‘Applying’ tab of your MyEssex applicant portal.

Studying in person on campus

If you wish to study PELSS or PEL on campus in the UK you must hold a Secure English Language Test such as UKVI IELTS (academic), Trinity or Academic Pearson Test of English (PTE) for UKVI. This must be dated within 2 years of the start date of your Pre-Sessional programme.

This will enable us to know your baseline level of English and determine which programme you may be eligible for depending on the uplift you require.

If you do not hold a secure English language test but wish to study on campus in the UK please email PSE@essex.ac.uk to discuss your options.

Studying online

If you would like to apply to study the Pre-Sessional programme online from your home country, you do not need to hold a secure English language test. However, you must hold an accepted English certificate to enable us to know your baseline level of English and determine which programme you may be eligible for depending on the uplift you require.

The certificates we are able to accept are:

• Academic IELTS (UKVI or non UKVI), including IELTS indicator (the online test)
• TOEFL IBT including the Special home Edition and “my best scores”
• Trinity ISE
• Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic or PTE for UKVI.

If you hold an English language certificate that is not listed please email pse@essex.ac.uk and we can advise whether we are able to accept it for admission to a Pre-sessional programme.

We are unable to accept Duolingo for entry to our Pre-Sessional programmes.

In China Provision

If you are resident in China, you may be interested in taking a Pre-Sessional programme on campus at one of our partner institutions in China.

These Pre-Sessional programmes focus on enhancing your English language skills to prepare you for undergraduate or postgraduate degree level study. You will be taught further grammar and vocabulary skills as well as additional reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. The programmes run for 11 and 6 weeks and provide an improvement to your English language score equivalent to IELTS 1.0 and 0.5 respectively.

If you take a Pre-Sessional English programme with one of our partners in China you will take the Essex Pathways English language test at the end of the course. If you have successfully passed you will be provided with a transcript and the University will remove the English language condition from your main course offer.

United Kingdom Education Centre (UKEC), Chengdu

Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDUFS), Guangzhou

Beijing Zhongguancun Foreign Language School (BZFLS), Beijing

Results and CAS issue

You will be provided with your results on 9 September 2022.

If you have achieved all the conditions of your main course offer, an unconditional offer letter and Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) will be issued for your main programme of study at University of Essex as soon as possible so that you can make a student visa application.

How to apply

Applications can be submitted via the “Applying” tab of your MyEssex applicant portal once this page is updated and we are able to accept applications.

In order to apply you must hold an accepted English language certificate:

• IELTS, UKVI or non UKVI Academic (including IELTS indicator)
• TOEFL iBT including TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition and My Best Scores
• Trinity ISE
• PTE (Pearson Test of English Academic) or PT (Pearson Test of English Academic) for UKVI
• CET-4
• CET-6

If you have any queries please email PSE@essex.ac.uk