Admissions A-Z

Taught Postgraduate (not including PGCE - please see PGCE entry below)

These sections are listed in alphabetical order.

Accommodation

Information on any accommodation support that can be offered to you can be found on the Student Housing Services website.

Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)

Masters applicants whose courses come under the remit of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC website) may be eligible to apply to the AHRC for funding. Applicants should note that the University can only support applications of the highest quality and can only submit a limited number of applications to the AHRC. Potential applicants should discuss their plans with the award leader at the earliest possible opportunity and should only proceed with an application to the AHRC with the support of the relevant award leader. More information on AHRC Studentships can be found on our AHRC webpage .

Please note that if you wish to apply for AHRC funding, you will need to ensure that you make your MA application to BSU in good time.

Contact hours

This is a minimum of six hours per week for full-time students and three hours per week for part-time students. We do not offer short courses in the evening. Lectures and other contact time normally takes place during the day, however there may be evening lectures for some courses and weekend workshops. You will be provided with your timetable prior to starting the course. Please contact the course leader for more information about modules and when they are taught.

Course date information

A sheet containing the course dates for all courses can be printed from the Student Services website. Please be aware that Masters enrolment and teaching usually begins during the first week in October, the week after undergraduate induction week.

Disabilities

If you have a disability, please see our Disability Statement.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) (Previously known as Criminal Records Bureau (CRB))

Applicants for courses or modules that involve contact with children or vulnerable adults will be required to submit DBS 'Enhanced Check' applications. Frequently asked questions (and answers!) about this can be found on the After Applying page. Please note that these guidelines are currently for CRB but will shortly be updated to outline any new information regarding DBS.

Entry requirements

Please consult the individual course pages for details on our entry requirements. If you do not hold a first degree you may be required to provide additional supporting evidence.

Equivalent or Lower Qualifications (ELQ)

Applicants who already hold an MA/MSc, or higher will still pay standard fees for the course. This is in accordance with BSU policy which can be found on the Student Services website.

Fee information

Fee information can be found in the course details.

Feedback

If your application has not been successful and you would like feedback, please contact the course leader directly. If you would like to find out about other similar courses, please visit www.prospects.ac.uk

Funding (non AHRC)

Please see the 'Money Matters' web pages for more information on this.

How to apply

Applicants for our taught postgraduate courses can either download an application form from the BSU Postgradute Web Pages or request an application form from admissions@bathspa.ac.uk.

How to find us

Directions on how to reach our campuses can be found on our website:

General maps and directions

How will my application be assessed?

When assessing your application form, we look at all of the ways in which you are able to demonstrate that you meet our criteria and acknowledge that there are many ways in which these are achievable.

International applicants

If you are applying for an undergraduate course, please ensure that you check with UK NARIC (the UK National Recognition Information Centre) whether or not your qualification is equivalent to a UK degree. Please contact admissions@bathspa.ac.uk if you would like clarification. Please also ensure that when you complete the application form, you state your actual qualification titles, not the UK qualifications you think they are equivalent to. It is also possible that you will be asked to send a copy of the transcript of your qualifications. We aim to make a decision on your application within three days of receipt but this very much depends on you submitting a complete application form and whether or not the course for which you have applied requires interview or audition attendance.

If you are applying for a course that usually requires attendance at interview (please see After Applying for more information) then you may be invited to attend if you would like to. We understand that this isn't easy for you so we would accept a recording or portfolio instead and would provide you with details of what we would require. Online portfolios (in the form of MySpace, YouTube pages etc.) would be preferable and quicker to process, although CDs and DVDs are usually acceptable.

If we decide to offer you a place, and if there is any indication on your application that you may be a full-fee paying student, the offer may be based on this assumption. This is so that we are able to process your application as quickly as possible. In the meantime, your application will be viewed for an evaluation to be made on your fee status by our Fee Status Assessment Team. If there is insufficient information on your application for such an evaluation to be made, you will be sent a fee status assessment questionnaire. Either way, once an evaluation has been made we will be able to amend the condition of your offer if necessary.

Please read our English Language Requirement Policy to find out more about whether or not your English qualifications meet our entry requirements. You will need to have IELTS 7.0, or equivalent, for MA Creative Writing, MA Writing for Young People, MA Scriptwriting and MA Literature and Landscape and IELTS 6.5, or equivalent, for our other MA courses.

Please be aware that we are required to take a copy of your passport and visa at the point of enrolment. Further information about the new tier 4 visa system for non-EU students entering the UK can be found on the UK Border Agency website.

International applicants will be required to pay a deposit and this amount will be confirmed shortly. Please see our International Deposit Policy for more information on paying the deposit.

Also, you might find this website useful to you - it has some very good information about studying in the UK: http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/student/information_sheets.php

Interviews

Interviews are part of the selection process for many of our MA courses and take the form of an informal, 30 minute discussion of your experience and the work you submit as part of your application. Telephone interviews are usually possible for overseas applicants. Please see the After Applying page for further information. Please, however, be aware that we may not send letters inviting you to attend an interview, but may communicate this to you by email (unless you have not provided an email address on your application). Please, therefore, always check your junk mail box in case our email has appeared there by mistake!

Open days and events

These are run by our Marketing department. For more information, please check the Open Days page.

Processing time for applications

Applications are then sent to the course leader who will make a decision on whether to interview you. The decision-making process begins in the January/February of the year of entry, so if you apply before that time, you may not be contacted until then. After January/February you should receive a decision, or an invitation to interview, within one month of your application being received. Please be aware, however, that if you have applied for a heavily subscribed course, the process is likely to take longer than this.

If you are required to attend an interview, we aim to contact you at least two weeks in advance of this date. All decisions are communicated to candidates by letter or email.

More information on interviews for the MA courses can be found on the After Applying page.

References

There is space on the application form for you to provide the names and contact details of two referees. Please be aware that you should include the actual reference from one of these referees with your application form. This should be provided in a sealed envelope with the referee's signature across the seal.

Registration and enrolment

In early September we write to all new students with information about induction week as well as joining instructions and information on how to register. Registration is done online, from the comfort of a home environment, via our Student Portal and should be completed before you first arrive at BSU. Once you arrive, you will need to enrol onto the course and for this you will need to provide your student number (which you will be issued via the Student Portal when you register) and some photographic identification. You will also need to provide qualification certificates.

Support

Information about how we can support your needs, regarding disability, welfare, health or financial concerns, can be found on our Student Support Services pages.

Student Portal

The student portal is an interactive website that allows us to communicate and collect information from applicants and new students. It can be used throughout your time at BSU for updating address details and registration for each year of study.

Submission of work to support your application

Please ensure that you include a submission of an example of your work with your application form. Details on what we require are currently provided on individual course application forms.

Taught Postgraduate Framework

This is a very important document that you should become familiar with: Taught Postgraduate Framework Document (.pdf).

When should I apply?

Please aim to apply before mid-April for heavily subscribed courses. We cannot guarantee consideration of your application after this time. If you are applying for AHRC funding, please see 'AHRC' above.

When will we contact you?

If you are made an offer, you will be asked to confirm acceptance. Details on how to register for the course will be sent to you in September.

Who will view my application?

Your application will be initially handled by our admissions team who forward it to the course leader for a decision to be made. If the course for which you have applied requires interview attendance as part of the admissions process, your application may also be viewed by academic staff who teach on the course as they may make up the interview panel. All staff are trained and experienced in the admissions process.

PGCE

The below sections are listed in alphabetical order.

Accommodation

Information on any accommodation support that can be offered to you can be found on the Student Housing Services website.

Applications

The following sections of your application are really important and are considered first by admissions staff during the decision-making process:

Qualifications completed or certificated - please ensure that you complete this section, including GCSEs. Please be sure not to confuse AS levels with A levels in this section.
Qualifications not yet completed or certificated - staff need to know which subject and level you are currently studying (i.e. Degree). If you are re-sitting GCSEs or any other qualification, or are taking musical instrument grades etc. please ensure that this is present in this section. Please be aware, however, that some GCSEs are required at point of application for certain courses.
Personal statement - this should be relevant to the course for which you are applying and should allow you to shine as a well-rounded individual. Ensure that you check it for spelling or grammatical errors before you send your application.
Reference and predicted degree classification - your predicted grades act as a guide to admissions staff as to what you are capable of achieving.
Other sections - it is obviously important that your application is completed fully, so please double check that all fields are completed correctly before you send it.

Course date information

A sheet containing the course dates for all courses can be printed from the Registry website.

Course information

This can be found on the School of Education web pages.

Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Enhanced Disclosure

Applicants for courses or modules that involve contact with children or vulnerable adults will be required to submit CRB Enhanced Disclosure applications. Frequently asked questions (and answers!) about CRB can be found here

Deadlines

You can normally apply from Early September in the year before the course is due to start. The GTTR deadline for PGCE Primary applications is usually 1 December (but please check this on the GTTR website) and we usually close admissions for this course at that point.
For all Secondary courses we will accept applications throughout the year if a course is still open. We do not have a deadline for applications - the courses will only close when they are full or prior to the course start date in September. These courses may also be available in clearing.

Disabilities

If you have a disability, please see our Disability Statement

Entry requirements

PGCE Primary and Early Years

Degree (2ii honours degree or above - preferably a 2i)
GCSE Grade C or higher in English language, mathematics and science (or suitable equivalents) at point of application
No GCSE equivalence tests are offered
Where English is not your first language you may offer IELTS 7.0 as an equivalent to GCSE English language

If you have any other qualifications to offer that you believe are equivalent to the above, please contact teaching@bathspa.ac.uk to check that we would accept them prior to making your GTTR application.

PGCE Secondary

Art and Design

Degree (2ii or above Fine Art, Art & Design, Ceramics, History of Art, Photography)
GCSE Grade C or higher in English language and mathematics (or suitable equivalents) at point of application
No GCSE equivalence tests are offered
Where English is not your first language you may offer IELTS 7.0 as an equivalent to GCSE English language

Design and Technology

Degree (2ii honours degree or above) in a related subject - please check course details page for specific guidance
GCSE equivalence tests are offered for English language and mathematics
Where English is not your first language you may offer IELTS 7.0 as an equivalent to GCSE English language

English

Degree (2ii or above - at least 50% of which should be in English and joint/second subject must be text-based)
A level English
GCSE Grade C or higher in English language and mathematics (or suitable equivalents) at point of application
No GCSE equivalence tests are offered
Where English is not your first language you may offer IELTS 7.0 as an equivalent to GCSE English language

ICT

Degree (2ii or above - at least 50% in a subject with a high level of proven personal and/or work-related experience in ICT)
GCSE equivalence tests are offered for English language and mathematics
Where English is not your first language you may offer IELTS 7.0 as an equivalent to GCSE English language

Mathematics

Degree (2ii or above - at least 50% of which should be in mathematics or a related subject with suitable mathematics content. For those who do not have this, successful completion of the Mathematics Enhancement Course will be required and the decision on whether or not the Enhancement Course should be completed is made by the interview panel)
A level mathematics
GCSE Grade C or higher in mathematics (or suitable equivalent) at point of application
GCSE equivalence tests are offered for English language
Where English is not your first language you may offer IELTS 7.0 as an equivalent to GCSE English language

Modern Languages

Degree (2ii or above - at least 50% of which should be in French, German, Spanish or Italian) Applications will also be considered from foreign nationals with fluent English holding a non-language degree from the above countries. Successful completion of a Modern Foreign Languages Enhancement Course would also be acceptable, in addition to a degree.
GCSE Grade C or higher in English language (or suitable equivalent) at point of application
GCSE equivalence tests are offered for mathematics
Where English is not your first language you may offer IELTS 7.0 as an equivalent to GCSE English language

Music

Degree (2ii or above - at least 50% of which should be in Music)
GCSE Grade C or higher in English language and mathematics (or suitable equivalents) at point of application
Keyboard skills are desirable
Where English is not your first language you may offer IELTS 7.0 as an equivalent to GCSE English language

Physical Education

Degree (2ii or above in Sports Science, Sports Studies or PE)
GCSE Grade C or higher in English language and mathematics (or suitable equivalents) at point of application
Where English is not your first language you may offer IELTS 7.0 as an equivalent to GCSE English language

Religious Education

Degree (2ii or above - in Religious Studies, Theology - or a combination of either of these subjects with Philosophy - Anthropology, African Studies, Sociology, Classics, History)
A strong interest in religions
GCSE equivalence tests are offered for English language and mathematics
Where English is not your first language you may offer IELTS 7.0 as an equivalent to GCSE English language

Science

Degree (2ii or above - at least 50% of which should be in science. For those who do not have this as part of their degree, successful completion of the Physics or Chemistry Enhancement Course will be required and the decision on whether or not this Enhancement course should be completed would be made by the interview panel)
A level science
GCSE Grade C or higher in mathematics (or suitable equivalent) at point of application
GCSE equivalence tests are offered for English language
Where English is not your first language you may offer IELTS 7.0 as an equivalent to GCSE English language

Please also see the relevant course links on the BSU teaching page for more information.

Fee information

Funding for teacher education courses is being changed. There will no longer be any government funding direct to the University and all funding comes from student fees, with TDA Training Bursaries available for some students.

For 2012/3 entry, fees for all PGCE courses were £9,000 (subject to OFFA approval). Applicants were eligible for TDA Training Bursaries up to a maximum of £20,000. Details of the TDA bursaries can be found here.

Feedback

You will be able to access feedback on your GTTR track page. Please click on the link for the course code and you will find the information behind that section.

Deferred applications

We do not offer deferrals under any circumstances, unless you have applied for one of our enhancement courses (please refer to course information to see whether this is applicable to you) and there are not enough places in the current cohort for you to be able to attend, or the course has already started for that year.

How to apply - link to existing page

Please see the main Bath Spa University Initial Teacher Training page.

How to find us

Directions on how to reach our campuses can be found on our website - please click on the markers which will reveal where our campuses, teaching sites and hall of residence are located in Bath:

Information distribution following firm acceptance of offer

If you have received an offer, you will be sent a welcome letter from January onwards with a Criminal Records Bureau application, medical form and suitability declaration, all of which you need to complete and return to us. Pre-course information can also be found on the School of Education web pages which is updated throughout the year.
Prior to the start of your course, you will be sent joining instructions which will give details about registration and enrolment.

International applicants

If you hold overseas qualifications, please ensure that you check with UK NARIC (the UK National Recognition Information Centre) before you apply whether or not your qualifications (school and degree) meet our entry requirements, having your documents assessed if necessary. Please contact teaching@bathspa.ac.uk if you would like clarification. Please also ensure that when you complete the GTTR application, you state your actual qualification titles, not the UK qualifications you believe them to be equivalent to. It is also possible that you will be asked to send a copy of the transcript of your qualifications.

PGCE courses require attendance at interview, and, if you are shortlisted, you will receive notification of this via GTTR Track as well as by email from us, so please ensure that you check your accounts regularly.

If we decide to offer you a place, and if there is any indication on your application that you may be a full-fee paying student, the offer may be based on this assumption. This is so that we are able to process your application as quickly as possible. In the meantime, your application will be viewed for an evaluation to be made on your fee status by our Fee Status Assessment Team. If there is insufficient information on your application for such an evaluation to be made, you will be sent a fee status assessment questionnaire which you should complete and return as quickly as possible.

Please read our English Language Requirement Policy to find out more about whether or not your English qualifications meet our entry requirements. You will need to have passed IELTS 7.0 or the equivalent at point of application.

International applicants will be required to pay a deposit and this amount will be confirmed shortly. Please see our International Deposit Policy for more information on paying the deposit. More general information can be found here.

Also, you might find this website useful to you - it has some very good information about studying in the UK: http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/student/information_sheets.php

Interviews

You will be required to attend the University for interview as we cannot accept telephone or video conferencing interviews. If you are shortlisted you will receive an email outlining the interview date, information about the day, as well as instructions on how to find the relevant University campus. Please be aware that we do not send letters inviting you to attend an interview, we would always communicate this to you by email (unless you have not provided an email address on your GTTR application). Please, therefore, always check your junk mail box in case our email has gone there by mistake! Do also check GTTR Track as this will display the date of your interview.

Interviews are held once a month (more often for PGCE Primary) and the amount of notice you are given will depend on the time your application is received and processed. If you are given a short amount of notice (for example, one week), you will be given the chance to attend on that day but may also be able to opt for an alternative date should one be available.

Please expect to have to carry out tasks in preparation for your interview. PGCE Primary interviews are conducted in groups, PGCE Secondary and KS2/3 interviews are made up of subject group and one to one interview sessions. You will be asked to produce your qualification certificates before the interview begins and these will be checked and put ready for you to collect before you leave.

Open days and events

These are run by the BSU Marketing department. For more information, please check The BSU Open Days and Events website for details of what's on and how to book.

Our offers will be either unconditional (i.e. you have met all of the academic requirements before applying) or conditional (for example, you need to complete your degree before starting the course). It is very important that you advise us when you have met any condition attached to your offer for us to be able to confirm your place. Please do this by contacting teaching@bathspa.ac.uk. Failure to communicate this to us will mean that you will not be able to register or start the course.

Part-time applicants

PGCE Primary and Early Years (3 - 7 age phase) is the only PGCE course that is available for part-time study. Applications should be made via the GTTR and are considered in exactly the same way as full-time applications.

Process time

Once your application is received at GTTR, it is processed and then arrives at Bath Spa University up to 5 days later. Admissions staff at BSU then view your application to check your academic qualifications and will then pass the application along to the Course Leaders for them to decide if you should be invited to interview. If you are offered an interview, admissions staff will input the date of the interview onto the GTTR system and will also send a letter to your contact address outlining the details of the interview. Decisions following interviews will normally be transmitted to GTTR within two weeks of the interview date and feedback will also be available (see 'Feedback').

If you have not been shortlisted for interview, this decision and the reason for the decision is also entered onto the GTTR system.

It is therefore important that you check GTTR track regularly.

Registration and enrolment

In late August/early September we write to all new students with information about induction as well as joining instructions and information on how to register. It is very important that you advise us when you have met any condition attached to your offer for us to be able to confirm your place. Please do this by sending an email to teaching@bathspa.ac.uk. You should also ensure that you have submitted all of the relevant documentation/certificates in good time (you will be informed of what you are required to provide). Failure to communicate your results to us or to provide the documentation will mean that you will not be able to register or start the course.

Registration is done online, from the comfort of a home environment, via our Student Portal and should be completed before you first arrive at BSU. Once you arrive, you will need to enrol onto the course and for this you will need to provide your student number (which you will be issued via the Student Portal when you register) and some photographic identification.

Student Portal

The student portal is an interactive website that allows us to communicate and collect information from applicants and new students. It can be used throughout your time at BSU for checking timetables, updating address details and registration information for each year of study.

Support

Information about how we can support your needs, regarding disability, welfare, health or financial concerns, can be found on our Student Support Services pages.

Timetables and contact time

This can be found on the School of Education web pages

When to apply

Who will view my application?

Your application will be initially handled by our admissions team who forward it to the course leader for a shortlisting decision to be made. Your application will also be viewed by academic staff who teach on the course as they will make up the interview panel. All staff are trained and experienced in the admissions process.