Pre-sessional courses

The International Education Institute provides four pre-sessional courses for students who use English as an additional language and who have an offer to study at the University.

Pre-sessional courses provide an excellent orientation to the University and enable students to develop:

  • language knowledge and academic literacy
  • attributes of reflectiveness, criticality, autonomy, confidence and academic integrity
  • critical analysis skills and the ability to incorporate sources and evidence in academic work
  • knowledge of academic and discipline-specific conventions
  • familiarity with institutional services, processes, and forms of assessment.

Contact

Email: summerstudy@st-andrews.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)1334 46 2255

Useful links

What pre-sessional course can I apply to?

There are three pre-sessional courses. The type of pre-sessional course you can apply to depends mainly on:

  • whether you are an undergraduate or a postgraduate student
  • the type of offer you have received from the University.

Postgraduate students with:

  • As as postgraduate student with an offer with an English language condition, you can apply for any of the following courses:

    • 10-week pre-sessional course
    • 10-week pre-sessional course (blended learning)
    • 4-week pre-sessional course.

    Your eligibility to apply is also subject to the language requirements in your subject area. See more on language requirements for pre-degree students.

  • As a postgraduate student with an offer without an English language condition, you can apply for any of the following courses:

    • 10-week pre-sessional course (blended learning)
    • 4-week pre-sessional course.

Pre-sessional eligibility table

Check the pre-sessional eligibility table to get a quick overview on who can apply to each pre-sessional course.

Undergraduate students with:

  • As an undergraduate student with an offer with an English language condition, you can only apply for the 4-week pre-sessional course.

    Your eligibility to apply is also subject to the language requirements in your subject area. See more on language requirements for pre-degree students.

  • As an undergraduate student with an offer without an English language condition, you can only apply for the 4-week pre-sessional course.

10-week Academic English Pre-sessional Course for Postgraduate Offer-holders

A full-time pre-degree course for users of English as an additional language.

  • Thursday 22 June 2023 to Thursday 31 August 2023
  • £4,665
  • Ten weeks taught on-site in St Andrews
  • Designed for postgraduate applicants with offers with an English language condition.

10-week Academic English Pre-sessional Course for Postgraduate Offer-holders (blended learning)

A full-time pre-degree course for users of English as an additional language.

  • Thursday 22 June 2023 to Thursday 31 August 2023
  • £4,665
  • Six weeks of online tuition, and then four weeks taught on-site in St Andrews
  • Designed for postgraduate applicants with offers with an English language condition, or offers without an English language condition.

4-week Academic English Pre-sessional Course for Postgraduate or Undergraduate Offer-holders

A full-time pre-degree course for users of English as an additional language.

  • Thursday 3 August 2023 to Thursday 31 August 2023
  • £2,250
  • Taught entirely on-site in St Andrews
  • Designed for undergraduate or postgraduate applicants with offers with an English language condition, or offers without an English language condition.

Looking for a short introduction to University life?

Undergraduate students with unconditional offers can apply for the Academic Induction course, a two-week introduction to academic study at St Andrews.

See course details