Course Start Updates

Newcastle University

The following table conveys important dates for deferral of course dates to 2021. Deferral requests should be sent to pgadmissions@ncl.ac.uk with student ID.

The following courses for 2020 entry are no longer available, the university has sent updates and advice to candidates for these courses.

Cardiff University

The university will accept deferral requests from 2020 to 2021. Note that students with a conditional offer for a UG course need to complete the reapplication of UCAS before the submission deadline.

University of Bristol

New course start dates are now available as the following: 

UG: Online Induction on 28 September; teaching starts on 5 October

PG taught courses: Online Induction 28 September; teaching starts on 19 October

PG research courses: The academic year starts on 21 September (details TBC with the course leader)

Queen Mary University of London

Most courses will start on 14 September 2020 (for details, refer to the offer letter). From September 2020 to January 2021, the university will adopt both online and offline teaching methods. 

The university advises that students arrive no later than the date stated in their CAS. For most, the latest date for arrival is 5 February 2021; UG medicine, dentistry, Ph.D., and visiting researchers should confirm with their respective faculty and follow the advised latest arrival date in their CAS. Those who couldn’t arrive in September because of COVID-19 may start the semester online and arrive on campus when possible. 

Please make sure students stay in the loop for any updates form the university and follow the instructions to complete online registration and induction so they are aware of all the important arrangements. 

When receiving their Unconditional Offer, students will be asked to confirm arrival dates for semester 1; students are also advised to stay tuned to all incoming correspondence from the university and follow any important instructions. 

The following courses now have the January 2021 start option: 

School of Business and Management

MSc Marketing

MSc Management

MSc Entrepreneurship and Innovation

MSc Business Analytics

MSc Accounting and Finance

School of Finance and Economics

MSc Banking and Finance

MSc Finance（September start cancelled）

MSc Behavioural Finance（September start cancelled）

School of Mathematics

MSc Data Analytics

School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

MSc Big Data Science

MSc Data Science and Artificial Intelligence

School of Law

LLM Laws

LLM Technology, Media and Telecommunications Law

LLM Banking and Finance Law

LLM Commercial and Corporate Law

LLM Comparative and International Dispute Resolution

LLM Competition Law

LLM Environmental Law

LLM European Law

LLM Human Rights Law

LLM Intellectual Property Law

LLM Public International Law

LLM Tax Law

LLM International Shipping Law

LLM International Business Law

LLM Energy and Natural Resources Law

LLM Immigration Law

LLM International Economic Law

LLM Criminal Justice

LLM Law and Economics 

MSc Law and Finance

MA Regulation and Compliance (London)

LLM Regulation and Compliance (London)

MA VM Regulation and Compliance

LLM VM Regulation and Compliance

PGDip Flexible Study (Laws) January start

School of Foreign Language, Linguistics, and Film Research

Foundation Year Programmes (excluding Science and Engineering disciplines)

Pre-master Programmes

For more details, visit the university site. 

Course start dates: 

4 January 2021: MSc Big Data Science and MSc Data Science and Artificial Intelligence

25 January 2021: the other courses above

From 18 January: Induction Week

The graduation ceremony for the 1-year PG course due to start in January will be held in April 2022. 

To defer their course of September-start to January (where applicable), students may submit a Deferral Request (found under Request a Change through the portal). Students should wait until receiving an offer to submit the deferral request. 

To transfer a current offer into one for the accelerated programme, students may submit a course change request under the ‘request a change’ section through the portal. 

Applicants for courses due to start in January 2021 may search for the courses they’re interested in through ‘Course Finder’ or ‘Agent Portal.’ Details can be found on the university site. 

Visit the university site for frequently asked questions about the January course starts. 

The University of Manchester

The university reminds offer holders of PG taught courses to complete the survey sent to them. 

The PG courses from the School of Environment and the School of Education and Development are no longer taking deferral requests. 

Scholarship Opportunities

The University of Leicester

Students who attended the online PSE programmes and successfully progress onto their courses are offered a £1,000 scholarship, deductible from their tuition fee.

Queen Mary University of London

The School of Business and Management will offer a ￡4,000 scholarship (deductible from the tuition of the first term), students the criteria of A-Level AAA, or equivalent in other international programmes may be considered. For more details, contact scholarships@qmul.ac.uk.  

Pre-sessional Language Programme

Queen's University Belfast

The university offers 8-week and 12-week Pre-sessional English Programmes for placeholders for the January 2021 intake; details explained in the table below:

Entry requirements of the PSE programmes are as the following: 

12-week programme

Courses requiring IELTS overall 6.5 (6.0 in each element): PSE requirement IELTS overall 5.5 (5.5 in each element)

Courses requiring IELTS overall 6.5 (5.5 in each element): PSE requirement IELTS overall 5.5 (5.0 in each element)

Courses requiring IELTS overall 6.0 (5.5 in each element): PSE requirement IELTS overall 5.0 (5.0 in each element)

8-week programme

Courses requiring IELTS overall 6.5 (6.0 in each element): PSE requirement IELTS overall 6.0 (6.0 in 3 elements and 5.5 in 1)

Courses requiring IELTS overall 6.5 (5.5 in each element): PSE requirement IELTS overall 6.0 (5.5 in 3 elements and 5.0 in 1)

Courses requiring IELTS overall 6.0 (5.5 in each element): PSE requirement IELTS overall 5.5 (5.0 in each element)

Applicants should submit a completed programme application form, a scanned copy of English proficiency certificate, a course offer letter/ email, and a scanned copy of the passport. More details can be found on the university site. 

The University of Leicester 

Application for the 40-week, 30-week, 20-week, 10-week, and 6-week PSE programmes is now open. The 6-week and 10-week programmes offer two options of teaching method: online and Ignite. 

Important dates for the Autumn PSE programmes are as the following: 

Recognised language proficiency includes IELTS, PTE, Duolingo, UG English Level 6, and NCEE English scores. 

Students will receive a provisional result on the last day of their PSE programme, the results will be sent to the admissions team directly. Given the deposit and other CAS required documents have been submitted, students will receive a CAS application form.

Admissions and Course Entry

The University of Leeds

As of 2020, certain UG programmes at the university will accept results of National College Entrance Examination (NCEE).

Refer to the following table for how the NCEE scores compare to A-level:

Where single-subject requirements apply, the table below explains the equivalence of NCEE scores to A-level:

Admission will also be based on the applicant’s performance in year 1 and 2 of high school, scores of any related subjects, high school certificate, and English language proficiency scores. Requirements may differ by course, please refer to the university website for details. 

School of Mathematics, Civil Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Computer-related disciplines require satisfactory A-level scores in mathematics. 

Note the updated admissions requirements don’t apply to the School of Medicine school and Dentistry. Students may apply for certain programmes through completion of the International Foundation Year Programme or other NQF Level 3 programmes.

Students who wish to apply for UG programmes via the means above should complete the UCAS application and submit reference letters. Refer to the university official website for the most up-to-date requirements.

Northumbria University, London Campus

Entry requirements for the PG course in Marketing (2-year with internship) are as the following: 

PG course

An average of 70% or above in the school performance in China, or a UK degree with 2.2 (no IELTS score needed)

Language requirements: UKVI IELTS 6.5 (5.5 in each element) or QA English test score

Course entry: September, January, May

Tuition: £18,500

Pre-master’s programme: 

An average of 60% or above in the school performance in China, or a UK 3rd degree Ordinary Degree, Pass Degree (no IELTS score needed)

Language requirements: UKVI IELTS 6.5 (5.5 in each element) or QA English test score

Course entry: September, January, May

Tuition: £6,750

The University of Leicester

The following PG courses are now open for application for the January 2021 intake. Applications can be made directly on the university website. 

Offer holders for the September intake who are seeking deferral to January 2021 may send the request with their full names and candidate ID to pgadmissions@le.ac.uk. 

Courses for the September 2021 intake will open for application on 21 September 2020. UG courses for the September 2021 intake will open for application through ukec.net.cn/university-info?uniname=University%20of%20the%20Creative%20Arts" target="_blank" style="color:#2894FF">UCAS on 8 September 2020; applicants may also submit their applications through the university Agent Portal on 21 September. For any queries regarding the courses, contact china@le.ac.uk. 

For the 2020 clearing applications, candidates may contact chuwei.tang@leicester.ac.uk. The UG clearing considers graduates with the NCEE scores 70%-75% and have submitted UCAS; upon meeting all requirements, candidates may obtain a free attendance to the Duolingo exam. Those without UCAS may also get in touch with their NCEE scores: admissions@le.ac.uk. 

CAS application for the September intake is now open, CAS application for the January 2021 intake will open 3 months prior to the course start.

Royal Holloway, University of London

The university is now processing CAS for September entry; the process for January entry will be in October. 

Requirements for CAS: 

• the student has received and accepted an unconditional offer
• a scanned copy of passport
• £3,000 deposit being made

Cardiff University

The university reminds students to mind the timing of their VISA application, which requires the students to arrive in the UK within 90 days of the issuance date. Some of the PG courses have a delayed start; some courses allow students to start the term online. 

The deadline for submitting a deposit for PG courses has been extended to 3 September 2020.

University of Bristol

The course application system was down on 1 and 2 August, students who attempted material submission should resubmit the documents. 

The UG clearing will open for application from 13 August. The Clearing Call Centre will open between 8 AM - 8 PM on 13 August and 9 AM - 5 PM on 14 August.

Queen Mary University of London

Given the limited space for the January intake, students are required to pay a £4,000 deposit to secure their space. Those who have paid £2,000 will only need to top up the other half of the deposit. Applicants for MSc Finance and MSc Behavioural Finance (both cancelled for September start) may defer to January with a £2,000 deposit; no need to pay this again if they have paid it previously. 

The system lists the £4,000 deposit by default; consultants for students of these courses who are deferring to January should inform the admissions team of the £2,000 deposit due to the cancellation of September start. 

Students for the UG courses (excluding Science and Engineering majors) and pre-master programmes due to start in September aren’t required to pay the deposit should they wish to defer to January. 

Loughborough University

Application, Offer, Reply, and CAS Deadlines for PGT International Students 2020:

For January Start

English Language Pre-sessional Programme Deadline   

Durham University

Clearing will not be available for the undergraduate courses.

University of Essex

Life on Campus and Logistics

The University of Leicester

Important information about the September course start: The induction week will start from 28 September; courses will start on 5 October; students may arrive on the campus no later than 12 October. Students are advised to arrive during the induction week; should they have any queries, contact the university for advice. 

Students are required to complete online registration through MyStudentRecord after paying the tuition fee, the deadline for online registration is two weeks within course start. 

Those who have reserved accommodation are offered a two-week free stay during their quarantine period. Those without a reservation but wish to observe quarantine in the university accommodation are required to pay for at least two-week stay.

Royal Holloway, University of London

The university accommodation will be open for reservation for students due to start their courses in September and January 2021. 

Students who have received an offer for the September intake but have had to delay their arrival due to COVID-19, the university will change the start date of their accommodation agreement. 

University of Birmingham

The university is seeing the first semester of its September intake flexible for international students, with the following options: 

• Arrive at the start of the term as scheduled
• Start online and arrive on campus at any time during the first semester
• Study the whole of the first term online 

Details can be found on the university website: PG and UG. 

Cardiff University

Some courses allow students to start the term online, students may arrive on campus no later than 31 January 2021. Please note this option is not applicable to all courses, refer to notifications from the university.

University of Bristol

The 2020/21 intake will adopt both online and offline teaching methods.

Queen Mary University of London

Place holders who have applied for their accommodation but deferred to January don’t need to resubmit their accommodation application. The university will make appropriate arrangements according to the offer. 

Those who have deferred to January but not yet applied for accommodation may submit their request in the Accommodation section through the portal. 

The university will prioritise the accommodation for the September intake. More details can be found on the university site. 

King's College London

The updated September teaching arrangement can be found on the university site for different faculties and departments.

Language Proficiency Requirement Updates

Royal Holloway, University of London

3+1 Top-up students who are due to start their course in September will no longer be required to submit an IELTS test result. 

Cardiff University

The university will accept language test results of Duolingo and TOEFL At Home before 30 October 2020.

University of the Arts London

The university offer condition requires A-level results, which cannot be provisional. Please refer to the sample below for the correct format of results that can be accepted. 

Upload the document to UAL portal, or send it to Kelly Lu ualbeijing@vip.163.com 

The deadline for submission is 21 September 2020.

King's College London

Duolingo English Test is no longer valid from 11 August 2020. If students have not yet taken Duolingo, test centres offering IELTS (Academic), TOEFL iBT and PTE Academics are reopening and the university recommends that students book one of these tests.