4-week course overview
The 4-week course is open to both undergraduates and postgraduates with either conditional or unconditional offers from the University. It is designed to provide a boost to your language skills - both formal and informal - and give international students an enjoyable and useful introduction to their studies at St Andrews.
We take account of whether you are going to study Arts, Sciences or Social Sciences, and give you a grounding in the language and study skills you will need for success when you start your degree. We will also help you to deal with the University's administrative procedures and make sure you know your way around before your degree programme starts. You will meet students from other countries and have the opportunity to participate in a range of social activities so both your social life and your academic life should be off to a flying start!
Language requirements
Please note that there are minimum language entry requirements for the 4-week course:
| Qualification | Score |
|---|---|
| IELTS | 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 in each paper |
| TOEFL IBT | 90 - 100 |
| Cambridge CPE | C |
| Cambridge CAE | B |
| SQA Higher ESOL | B |
| TEEP | 6.5 |
For an overview of language requirements and a reference key for qualification types, please see our language requirements page.
Aims of the course
The overall aims of this course are to:
- improve study skills
- to increase fluency in English
- to introduce the participants to the University and to life in the UK in general.
The course is highly intensive and involves five mornings and four afternoons of class contact (20 hours) in addition to self-study. While the general emphasis of the course is on the academic writing and interactional skills necessary for successful study, additional sessions are also dedicated to reading and grammar development.
The morning session is divided into two lessons of 90 minutes each. The first one is dedicated to language development, the second to oral presentations and writing. During the second lesson students are arranged into separate Arts and Science groups according to their degree intention. Classes generally have between 10 and 15 students.
During the afternoons there are grammar workshops and specialist lectures.
Course development
Throughout the academic year students are entitled to more support at no further cost. There are four 20-credit undergraduate level modules in English as a Foreign Language (ET1001 & ET1002) and Academic English (ET2001 & ET2002).
In addition there is a range of workshops, tutorials and online resources provided by our In-sessional Language Support Service (IELSS).