Information Studies

Information Studies

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Frequently Asked Questions

UCL Registry deal with admissions, student registrations, tuition fees and central enrolment. You will find a lot of useful information on their webpages for Prospective Students and Current Students. The webpages are updated continuously. Contact details for the different sections of the Registry can be found at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/registry/about.

The Department of Information Studies will provide you with information on the department, your programme of study and departmental enrolment. Please contact k.michaels@ucl.ac.uk if you have any queries on these - or if you're not sure who you should contact.

ACCOMMODATION

I will need accommodation - where can I find further information?

DIS unfortunately does not have the resources to help students find accommodation, but we hope that the following will at least provide a start:-

UCL student accommodation is normally only available for full-time students registered at UCL who require accommodation for a full academic year. Further information can be found at:-

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/accommodation/

There are a number of alternatives - see:

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/accommodation/residences/alternative

http://www.housing.london.ac.uk/cms/

Students looking for others to share a flat/house often advertise on student noticeboards on campus, so it's worth having a look in the main UCL building, if you can.

The UCL Students Union publish a useful "A short guide to...Finding Accommodation"

I will be moving to London - how expensive will it be?

UCL has a useful webpage providing information on living in London and guidance on the likely level of living expenses:-

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/transition/

For international students there is additional information at:-
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/international-students/

OFFER LETTERS

I have heard from the department that, subject to final checks, a place is going to be offered to me but have not heard anything further.

The formal offer letter is sent by the UCL Admissions Office. At certain times of the year, they deal with thousands of applications, so it does sometimes take a bit of time for offer letters to be sent out. However, if you have been waiting for more than 4 weeks, you should contact the UCL Admissions Office team covering the Arts & Humanities Faculty.

I have received my offer letter, but there is a mistake in it.

Please notify the UCL Admissions Office team covering the Arts & Humanities Faculty immediately - contact information.

READING LISTS

Is there a preliminary reading list for my programme?

Preliminary reading lists will be available in the summer from:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/infostudies/welcome/welcome-students/

REGISTRATION

I want to study over two years, but my student registration runs for five years - why?

You can complete your programme in two years. For almost all taught postgraduate programmes, UCL now has only two categories of student registration:

Full-time: registration will be for one year (precise end date depends on whether you are registered for the PG Certificate, PG Diploma or MA/MSc)

Modular/flexible: students are automatically registered for a maximum of five years for the PG Diploma and MA/MSc, but can complete their programmes in two years. Students for the PG Certificate are registered for two years.

The only exception is the MRes. This can be taken on a full-time basis over one calendar year or part-time over two years. That is the maximum registration.

TERM DATES

What are the term dates?

You can find the term dates at:-

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/staff/term-dates/2012-13/

The Department of Information Studies operates a Reading Week in November and February.

When will my course start?

The 2012-13 academic year will start on Monday 24September 2012. For information on online pre-enrolment and UCL and departmental enrolment, please check the Welcome page.

TIMETABLES

When will my course timetable be available?

Timetables are usually finalized over the summer, when the department has had a chance to work out any changes which might need to be made. We aim to make the draft timetables available as soon as we possibly can to help students plan ahead. Unfortunately, sometimes we cannot finalize everything as we ourselves are waiting for further information, but we will always try and notify students of any changes as they occur.

Timetables will be available from our Welcome page at:-

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/infostudies/welcome/welcome-students/


When will lectures start?

The first week of term 1, Monday 24 September to Friday 28 September 2012, is Induction Week. There will be many introductory activities so it is important that all full-time students attend during that week. You should therefore plan to be at UCL every day that week.

Part-time and modular students are encouraged to attend as much of Induction Week as possible, but we appreciate that it may be difficult to attend on more than one day.

LIS part-time students should make sure that they attend on Tuesday 25 September 2012 in particular.

The normal timetable will start from Monday 1 October 2012.

How long are the lectures?

Modules are usually taught in three hour blocks, starting either at 10.00 and ending at 13.00 or 14.00 and 17.00. Occasionally, modules have to start earlier or end later because of room booking constraints, but this will be made clear on the timetable.

TUITION FEES

How much will my tuition fees be?

There are various tuition fees for UK, EU and international students. The UCL Admissions Office (not DIS) is responsible for determining your fee status. They will usually notify you of your fee status in your offer letter and the fee payable in the offer confirmation, which is sent out over the summer.

For further information on fee status, please see:-

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/current-students/money

For 2012-13 tuition fees, please see:-

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/current-students/money/2011_2012_fees


Full-time students who are paying their own fees are expected to pay at least 50% of the total fee at the beginning of the academic year, with the remainder by the end of January 2013.

Modular students are charged pro rata to the full-time fee according to the credit value of the modules taken in each year. You will be expected to pay your tuition fee after you have registered for the modules you'll be taking in 2012-13 (about mid-October).