Pre-Sessional English courses at UCA

The UCA Pre-sessional English (PSE) course is an interactive and project-based programme designed to develop the academic English and study skills you need for UCA degree programmes.

You will be taught by experienced tutors who specialise in English for Art, Design, and Business, helping you build confidence in speaking, listening, reading, and writing in an academic setting. Lessons focus on real-world communication, ensuring that you can apply what you learn to your degree studies.

Teaching is highly interactive, with a strong emphasis on engagement and participation. You will take part in structured lessons, research tasks, and project work, developing key skills such as critical thinking, note-taking, referencing, and academic writing. Alongside group learning, you will also receive individual support through one-to-one tutorials, where tutors provide personalised feedback on your progress.

The course blends live teaching, independent study, and tutor-led guidance, meaning you are fully prepared for the demands of university-level study.

Studying online

You will need a fast, reliable broadband connection, a good quality laptop with a webcam, and a quiet study space that you do not share with anybody else. These are essential for the PSE course and you will not be able to study without them.

It is also recommended that you have access to a printer, though this is not a requirement of the course.

On-campus

Although you will be studying in a face-to-face environment, you will still need a good quality laptop to access materials, complete some assessments, do online research etc. You will not be able to successfully complete the course if you do not have one, and a mobile phone is not a suitable substitute.

Please note that UCA is not able to provide computers for the use of on campus PSE students.

All courses

All online and on-campus courses use:

• Microsoft Teams
• Padlet
• MyUCA

All of these are free for students and you will be given a guide to how you will use them in your first week. Your tutor will also introduce you to other applications during the course.

Whether you are studying online or face-to-face, you will need something to make notes with. You can use traditional pen and paper or a tablet for this – either is fine.

Although timings of the online and campus courses vary slightly, the study day is broadly the same for both. All times given are UK BST.

• On-campus students: the study day starts at 9:30 UK in the morning and finishes no later than 16:30 UK.
• Online students: the study day starts at 8:00 UK in the morning and finishes no later than 15:00 UK.

Morning sessions (Monday to Thursday)

Live, interactive lessons with your class tutor consisting of two 1.5 hour sessions with a 30 minute break between them.

Afternoon sessions

Guided self-study or independent study, tutorials, extra skills classes, and project work.

Fridays

Lectures, project briefings, workshops, additional support sessions, independent study, project work, assessments and extracurricular activities (trips, project work, and additional support sessions).

Regardless of studying face-to-face in the UK or online, all students are expected to complete a minimum of 3 hours independent study every day, including at the weekends.

Our Pre-Sessional English courses are full-time, intensive study. It's strongly recommended that you make your best effort to attend 100% of your classes.

You'll be marked absent for a lesson if you're more than 15 minutes late. If your attendance drops below 90%, you'll be invited to a meeting with your tutor. You may be withdrawn from the course if your attendance falls below 70%.

We understand that sometimes unexpected issues may cause you to be late or require you to miss a class. If you need to miss a class or have already been absent, you must complete the Pre-Sessional Absence Form on the same day.

Some absences – such as illness (with evidence), serious personal issues or official visa appointments – may be authorised. However, work commitments, social events or minor transport delays will not be accepted as valid reasons for missing class.

Online lesson recordings

The course requires you to attend live classes and actively participate in real-time learning. Lessons are not pre-recorded, so you must be present for scheduled sessions with your camera on at all times. However, you will have access to course materials – including pre-class videos (PCAs) – resources and assignments that you can review in your own time.

In addition to live classes, you are expected to complete at least three hours of independent study per day. This includes research, coursework, and guided self-study tasks, ensuring that you reinforce what you’ve learned in lessons. If you need extra support, you will also have a weekly one-to-one tutorial with your tutor to discuss your progress and receive feedback.

You'll take a set of final assessments that determine the scores you receive on your certificate. Scores for each part of the assessment are converted to a 0-9 scale (similar to IELTS).

You will be assessed through a combination of project-based work, timed assessments, and pre-class activities (PCAs) to ensure you develop the academic skills needed for university study.

You'll be introduced to all parts of the assessment at the start of the course, and look at them in more detail as you progress through the course. You will be given the opportunity to practise parts of the assessment in class and during your independent study time, and your tutor will guide you in developing the skills you need to successfully complete the course.

• Project-Based Assessments: these include a Reflective Interview, a Poster Presentation, and a Timed Written Reflection, where you will demonstrate research, critical thinking, and communication skills. One of the benefit of project-based assessments is that you get time to develop your submissions as you go through the modules and through the course.
• Timed Assessments: these consist of a Listening & Note-taking Assessment, where you take structured notes and answer comprehension questions, and a Reading & Writing Assessment, which includes a comprehension task and a 350-word academic essay response task.
• Pre-Class Activities (PCAs): these will introduce key academic skills through short videos and quizzes that contribute to your final score. PCAs are completed before the class dealing with that particular academic skill. In this way, they help you to better prepare for what you are going to study in class and allow for more time in class for dynamic, communicative activities.

All students, both online and on campus, follow exactly the same assessment materials and structure. However, online assessments require a greater use of technology. Timed assessments are dual-proctored, requiring students to join Teams meetings on both a laptop and a phone or tablet.

Assessment retakes

If you do not achieve the required score in part of your final summative assessment, you may be eligible to take additional support classes before retaking that section.

Please note that all retake classes and assessments are taken online via Microsoft Teams and may be delivered by a different tutor from the class tutor you studied with.

Retake classes and assessments are offered at no extra cost.

No, our Pre-Sessional English courses are not IELTS preparation courses. It is intended to develop your academic English skills for UCA courses, and uses project-based learning in the context of art, design, and the creative industries.

It has been designed to not only improve your English, but also prepare you more fully for your chosen programme of study and university life.

The Pre-Sessional English syllabus is based around a clearly structured set of learning objectives. These are goals that tell you what skills or knowledge you will develop during the course. Think of them as a roadmap showing what you are working towards:

• Learning objective 1: Speaking Skills
  • Assessed through: Project Steps, Reflective Interview and Presentation
  • Objective: To develop confidence and proficiency when speaking in academic contexts
• Learning objective 2: Presentation Skills
  • Assessed through: Poster Presentation
  • Objective: To deliver effective presentations related to Art & Design or Business in academic settings
• Learning objective 3: Listening & Notetaking Skills
  • Assessed through: Listening & Note-taking Assessment
  • Objective: To enhance listening comprehension and note-taking abilities
• Learning objective 4: Academic Reading Skills
  • Assessed through: Reading & Writing section 1 and 2
  • Objective: To understand, analyse, and extract key information from academic texts
• Learning objective 5: Academic Writing Skills
  • Assessed through: Reading & Writing section 2
  • Objective: To improve academic writing proficiency
• Learning objective 6: Academic Integrity
  • Assessed through: Reading & Writing section 2, Poster
  • Objective: To understand and practise principles of academic integrity
• Learning objective 7: Reflective Practice
  • Assessed through: Reflective Interview and Written Reflection
  • Objective: To reflect on academic experiences and learning
• Learning objective 8: Study Skills
  • Assessed through: holistically through all other objectives
  • Objective: To develop a range of skills essential for autonomous academic study

No, the Pre-Sessional English course is full-time and intensive, meaning you will need to dedicate significant time to studying. You will have live classes, independent study, coursework, and assessments, requiring a commitment of at least 30 hours per week.

Balancing a job alongside the course would be very difficult, and we strongly advise against working while studying, even a part-time job. Your focus should be on improving your academic English and preparing for your degree. If you are studying on campus with a student visa, you must also check UK visa regulations regarding work restrictions.

No. If you successfully complete the Pre-Sessional English course with the required target scores, you will meet the English language entry condition for your main course. No further English test (such as IELTS) is required.

All UCA Pre-Sessional English certificates are valid for 1 academic year.

No. At the present time, our Pre-Sessional English certificates are only valid for entry to UCA programmes of study.