Full-time Pre-sessional English courses

Course overview

• Who: Anyone preparing to study a degree at The University of Sheffield
• Cost: £459 per week for courses beginning in the 2024-25 academic year - includes all tuition and course material
• Level: CEFR B1 to C1
• Hours: 16.5 hours of tutor-led classes (15 hours in Term 4), a 1 to 1 tutorial and at least 5 hours of guided independent study per week
• Time: Year round (40 teaching weeks per year)
• Minimum age: Adult learning environment. Minimum age 18 years (some exceptions considered)
• Maximum class size: Term 1 to 3 - 16 students / Term 4 - 18 students
• Social programme: A combination of in-person and some online activities are available
• Apply: Apply Now

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Our Pre-sessional English course is designed to improve your English language and academic skills to meet the requirements for entry onto a degree programme at The University of Sheffield.

The highly qualified and experienced tutors on the course will also support you with improving your English language and academic study skills in lively and interactive classes, which will help you succeed when you join your degree programme.

Joining a Pre-sessional English course saves you the trouble of taking multiple IELTS exams before you can start your degree. If you successfully complete the assessments on the Pre-sessional English course, and have otherwise met all the other conditions outlined in your offer, you can progress directly to your degree programme when the course finishes. 

The course can also help you settle into life as a student in the UK, even if you’ve already met the English language requirements for your prospective degree programme.

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Course structure

Our Pre-sessional English Course is made up of the following components:

• General Language Development - students studying for longer pre-sessional programmes will have lower levels of English so will first take our General Language Development (“University English”) module to prepare them for the more demanding Academic English modules. At the same time they will study the Basic Academic English option module. This will be usually for one term.
• Academic English skills: academic writing, academic reading, academic listening and academic speaking.
• Spoken English skills: you will be taught to communicate more effectively in English in areas such as presentations and seminars.
• Writing skills: you will be taught academic writing skills focusing on paraphrasing, summarising and synthesis.
• 1-1 tutorials - regular meetings with a tutor providing you with the opportunity to discuss your work and progress in the areas of Reading and Writing.

For prospective undergraduate students the course contains an additional focus on reading skills as these will form the basis of your studies when you begin your degree course.

Study Plan on longer Pre-sessional courses

If you have a lower level of English you may need to join one of our longer pre-sessional courses. Our long term pre-sessional programme aims to gradually build your basic language skills which are required to succeed on a degree programme.

As you progress and increase your confidence in using the basic language skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking, vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation), the Academic Skills content of the course increases. The final module concentrates on improving the Academic Skills you will need while studying on your future degree programme.

Example Long Pre-sessional Course

This shows the modules you would study on a 4-Term Pre-sessional Course:

Term 1 - University English + EAP Option

At lower levels of English you need to develop your General Language skills - our University English programme is a general language module but focussed on developing language skills within a University environment.

Term 2 - EAP Introduction

There is continued language development but with more of a focus on academic tasks such as writing, presentations and seminars. You will be introduced to these skills and allowed to develop them throughout the term.

Term 3 - EAP Higher

There is continued language development but with more of a focus on academic tasks such as writing, presentations and seminars. It expands on the second term and helps you to develop your academic skills. You will continue to develop your range of language skills.

Term 4 - EAP Final

We assess the four skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening) and academic literacy through a combination of integrated academic assessments. You may be asked to participate in a seminar, give a presentation and write an essay based on academic sources.

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Assessment and progression

In order to progress to your academic course at The University of Sheffield you must complete and pass the pre-sessional course assessments. 

The pre-sessional course will assess your four skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening) and academic literacy through a combination of integrated academic assessments.

You may be asked to participate in a seminar, give a presentation and write an essay based on academic sources.

Progression to University

Progression from the Pre-sessional Course onto your University of Sheffield degree programme will also include consideration of:

• Attendance of teacher-led lessons
• Engagement with your personal tutor
• Completion of tasks and assessments

If you fully participate and pass the pre-sessional course assessments you will be able to progress directly onto your University of Sheffield degree course.

Results from our Pre-sessional course are only accepted by The University of Sheffield. The results are valid for 2 years and can be used for entry onto a degree course at the start of the academic year immediately following Term 3 and 4, or the following academic year should you choose to defer the start date of your degree course. If you plan on attending a different university after studying our Pre-sessional English course, you will need to ask your prospective university which English language qualifications they can accept.

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Example timetable

In-person Timetable

Please note these are example times and may be subject to change before or during the course.

All times are UK local time (GMT/BST)

Monday

09:30 - 11:00 - Lesson 1

11:30 - 13:00 - Lesson 2 

Tuesday

09:30 - 11:00 - Lesson 1

11:30 - 13:00 - Lesson 2 

Wednesday

09:30 - 11:00 - Lesson 1

11:30 - 13:00 - Lesson 2 

Thursday

09:30 - 11:00 - Lesson 1

11:30 - 13:00 - Lesson 2 

Friday

09:30 - 11:00 - Lesson 1

11:30 - 13:00 - Lesson 2 

Tutorial

You will have a personal tutor assigned to you in each term. You will meet them regularly to discuss your work and progress on the course. These tutorials will typically take place at a time between 2pm and 3pm.

Guided Independent Study

There will typically be 60 minutes per day of required guided independent study, including readings, lectures, language practice activities, writing tasks and preparation for speaking tasks.

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Tuition fees and course content

For pre-sessional courses starting in the 2024-25 academic year the tuition fee is £459 per week.

This fee includes:

• All tuition and course materials
• Course assessments
• Regular 1 to 1 tutorials with your personal tutor
• Individual feedback
• Lectures by University of Sheffield academic staff
• Access to online course materials and virtual learning environments
• ELTC Student Exclusive Social Programme
• Educational visits to nearby cities, museums and historical places of interest (in Term 1, 2 and 3 on in-person courses only)
• Access to 24 hour Library and Computing facilities at The University of Sheffield (in-person courses only)
• A UCard which you can use to access University facilities and discounts in some shops and on public transport (in-person courses only)
• Membership to the No.1 Students' Union in the UK for seven years running

How to pay

Paying your tuition fees is a crucial part of your registration at University.

For information on how to pay your tuition fee correctly, as well as the things you need to look out for, visit:

Information about your ELTC tuition fee

How to pay your tuition fees and important information 

We can also accept payments from sponsors:

Tuition Fees - Sponsored students

 Accommodation and travel

The Pre-sessional course tuition fee does not include accommodation or transportation costs. To discover the range of accommodation options and travel information we have for students joining our Pre-sessional course, please read our accommodation and travel information webpage .

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Course dates and entry requirements

You can join a Pre-sessional course at the beginning of any of our four terms.

Please select your preferred start date below to view the entry requirements, fees and dates for the various Pre-sessional English courses starting in that period:

• Term 2 - January 2025
• Term 3 - April 2025
• Term 4 - Summer 2025

Do I need a UKVI approved Secure English Language Test (SELT) result to join a Pre-sessional English course?

In most circumstances - yes.

If you plan on joining a course at a British University after finishing your Pre-sessional Course then you will need to submit an UKVI Approved Secure English Language Test (SELT) result, such as IELTS for UKVI, as evidence of your English level when submitting your application. A UKVI SELT at CEFR Level B1 or above (which is equal to an IELTS score of 4.0 in every component - Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening and Overall) is required to apply for a Student Visa for an English language course.

In some circumstances it is possible to attend our 10 and 6 week in-person Pre-sessional courses and a Postgraduate course on a single Student Visa obtained with a combined CAS. It may be possible for you to obtain a combined CAS without holding a UKVI approved SELT certificate, providing your academic offer is unconditional or it only contains academic conditions for your degree taken in your home country.

If your academic offer is still conditional with English language conditions, then you will need to supply a UKVI approved SELT for admission onto a pre-sessional course.

For more information please read the the university's main combined CAS information webpage.

If you do not have an UKVI approved SELT certificate we recommend checking the IELTS website for more information about IELTS for UKVI and to find your nearest test centre.

If you are unable to obtain an UKVI approved SELT certificate, you can join our online Pre-sessional courses or you may still be able to join our University English (General English) course on a Short Term Student Visa (if your course is over 6 months but less than 11 months) or a Visitor Visa (if your course is less than 6 months). Please contact us or visit our University English webpage for more information.

Technical requirements

The online components of the course will be delivered using Blackboard Collaborate.

To access the online content, students will require a desktop or laptop computer with a webcam and microphone, and a broadband internet connection (recommended minimum speed 5mbps).

Computer equipment and internet access is not provided as part of the course.

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Length of study

The length of time you will need to study depends on your current English level, and the English language entry requirements for the University course you intend to study in the UK.

In general, the further away you are from the English language requirements for your degree programme, the longer you will need to study a Pre-sessional English course for.

Our longest course is 40 weeks in duration, split across 4 terms, and is suitable for students who are no more than 2 full IELTS bands away from the English language entry requirements for their prospective University course (e.g. a student with IELTS 5.0 overall, with at least 4.0 in every component who needs to reach IELTS 7.0 overall, with at least 6.0 in every component could join our 40 week Pre-sessional course).

If you join one of our longer Pre-sessional courses you may initially be placed into a General English class to help you reach an appropriate ability level for Academic English study.

As your language skills improve you will be able to progress into an Academic English class later in your Pre-sessional course.

Please see the 'Course dates, fees and entry requirements' section above for more details.

Please note: If the Pre-sessional Course you wish to attend is 28 weeks or more in duration then we do not require you to hold a conditional offer for a degree course at the University of Sheffield before you submit your Pre-sessional Course application.

If you are applying for a Pre-sessional Course which is under 28 weeks in length then you must hold and have accepted a conditional offer for a degree programme starting in the 2024-25 academic year at The University of Sheffield before we can make you an offer for our Pre-sessional English Course.

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Apply

To apply for a Pre-sessional Course you need to submit your application through our online form. Before submitting your application please read and take note of the following information:

Deadlines

The final deadline for applying to our in-person pre-sessional courses is 1 month before the course start date. Specific deadlines for each pre-sessional course can be viewed on our entry requirements webpages. We recommend applying at least 6 weeks before the start of the course so you can complete the application process and obtain a visa if you need one.

Entry Requirements

Please check that you meet the entry requirements for the pre-sessional course you are applying for. See the 'Course Dates and Entry Requirements' section above for more information.

Further application guidance

You can find further information about how to complete an application to a Pre-sessional English course on our how to apply webpage:

Apply Now - Pre-sessional English

Please read our Terms and Conditions before submitting your application.

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