Preparation for Academic Studies in Higher Education (PASHE)

The summer course Preparation for Academic Studies in Higher Education (PASHE) is designed for IOE students intending to take undergraduate or postgraduate courses in Education or related disciplines.

PASHE 2025 

The information on this page relates to the 2024 PASHE programme.

Information on PASHE 2025 will be available from early December.

Table of contents

Course overview

This is a full-time English for Academic Purposes course designed for international students who need to improve their academic English for undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Education.

Students with unconditional offers for any undergraduate and postgraduate programme at the UCL Institute of Education are also welcome to apply.

For students holding conditional offers for IOE courses, the PASHE end-of-course assessments (in academic reading, writing, speaking and listening) meet UCL's English language requirement. 

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How to apply

Applications for PASHE courses ​​​​​​

Please note that applications may close earlier than the deadlines below if all places on the course are filled.

11-week course

  • Deadline for applications: 1pm UK time 17 May 2024.
  • Course dates: 10 June - 23 August 2024.
  • Course fees: £7,800.

8-week course

  • Deadline for applications: 1pm UK time on 7 June 2024.
  • Course dates: 1 July - 23 August 2024.
  • Course fees: £7,200.

Your place on a course is only confirmed when you have paid your fees, and you should expect to do this shortly after being offered a place. Please also note that we will only make one PASHE offer per applicant in 2024.

Other important information

For UCL conditional offer holders, PASHE assessment results will be sent to Central Admissions at UCL.

Students who have achieved the required language level, and who have met all other conditions of their offer, will subsequently receive an unconditional offer and be issued with a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS). They will need this CAS to apply for a visa to study in the UK.

Paying tuition fees

Course fees are normally payable not more than 2 weeks after the offer is made. Offer holders will receive information via email on how to formally accept their offer and, pay the course fees.

Refunds

Refund requests must be received by the refund request deadlines below to be considered and are subject to a 10% administration charge. Refund requests must be submitted by email to pre-sess@ucl.ac.uk.

11-week course refund request deadline – 1pm UK time 17 May 2024

8-week course refund request deadline – 1pm UK time 7 June 2024

No refund will be made if you withdraw or are withdrawn (for example, because of poor attendance) from a course after it begins.

More information on living expenses can also be found on UCL International Student Support webpages. 

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Entry requirements

Which PASHE course you can apply for depends on both your current level of English and the English level required for your future UCL Institute of Education degree programme. 

English language requirements

If you hold a conditional offer for a postgraduate or an undergraduate UCL degree, we accept the following English language tests:

  • IELTS (UKVI / Academic / Indicator)
  • PTE (UKVI / Academic / Academic Online)
  • TOEFL (iBT / Home Edition)

Your test must be taken within two years of the Preparation for Academic Studies in Higher Education (PASHE) course start date.

Language level required for your UCL degree course

Minimum IELTS level required for each PASHE pre-sessional course

11-week PASHE:

  • UCL Level 2: 5.5 IELTS overall (No less than 5.0 in any subscore)
  • UCL Level 3: 6 IELTS overall (No less than 5.5 in any subscore)
  • UCL Level 4: 6.0 IELTS overall (No less than 6.0 in Writing and 5.5 in any other subscore)

8-week PASHE:

  • UCL Level 2: 6.0 IELTS overall (No less than 5.5 in any subscore)
  • UCL Level 3: 6.5 IELTS overall (No less than 6 in any subscore)
  • UCL Level 4: 6.5 IELTS overall (No less than 6.0 in any subscore)
Minimum TOEFL iBT score required for each PASHE pre-sessional course

11-week PASHE:

  • UCL Level 2: 82 overall (No less than 20/30 in reading and writing and 16/30 in speaking and listening)
  • UCL Level 3: 87 overall (No less than 22/30 in reading and writing and 18/30 in speaking and listening)
  • UCL Level 4: 87 overall (No less than 24/30 in writing, 22/30 in reading and 18/30 in speaking and listening)

8-week PASHE:

  • UCL Level 2: 87 overall (No less than 22/30 in reading and writing and 18/30 in speaking and listening)
  • UCL Level 3: 92 overall (No less than 24/30 in reading and writing and 20/30 in speaking and listening)
  • UCL Level 4: 92 overall (No less than 24/30 in reading and writing and 20/30 in speaking and listening) 
Minimum Pearson level required for each PASHE pre-sessional course

11-week PASHE:

  • UCL Level 2: 59 overall (No less than 53 in each subskill)
  • UCL Level 3: 67 overall (No less than 59 in each subskill)
  • UCL Level 4: 67 overall (No less than 67 in writing and 59 in other subskills)

8-week PASHE:

  • UCL Level 2: 67 overall (No less than 59 in each subskill)
  • UCL Level 3: 75 overall (No less than 67 in each subskill)
  • UCL Level 4: 75 overall (No less than 67 in each subskill)

Please be aware that scores cannot be rounded up when evaluating eligibility.

Students with unconditional offers may have other UCL accepted language qualifications:

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Course learning outcomes

By the end of the PASHE course, students should be able to:

  1. Operate at a linguistic level required for entry to undergraduate or postgraduate level study as stipulated by UCL English language requirements.
  2. Identify line of argument in and critically review a range of academic texts at a level appropriate for the commencement of undergraduate or postgraduate level study in education and/or the social sciences.
  3. Recognise features of a range of academic texts and use this knowledge to plan, draft, and review and edit written assignments at a level appropriate for the commencement of undergraduate or postgraduate level in education and/or the social sciences.
  4. Read widely, confidently and effectively, engaging with depth, volume and complexity of text appropriate at undergraduate or postgraduate level in education and/or the social sciences.
  5. Select and use appropriate source materials effectively, employing accurately-formatted in-text citation and a corresponding accurately-formatted list of references.
  6. Recognise the main points of lectures and take notes effectively.
  7. Participate confidently in seminars and other classroom discussions, including agreeing, disagreeing, asking questions and seeking clarification.
  8. Plan, draft, review and edit a presentation at a level appropriate for the commencement of undergraduate or postgraduate level study.
  9. Reflect upon and respond to formative feedback and feed-forward in written and oral tasks.
  10. Be familiar with, and apply, independent learning and study strategies, including digital literacy, for research and writing in undergraduate or postgraduate education studies.
  11. Recognise the importance of engaging actively and fluently by working in pairs or groups, as appropriate for seminars at undergraduate or postgraduate level study.

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Course outline

The course will focus on academic texts in the field of Education and include:

  1. English for academic purposes (EAP) and language development.
  2. Critical reading, writing, speaking and listening.
  3. Structure and coherence in academic writing.
  4. Extensive reading, note-taking, summarising and referencing.
  5. Presentation and viva speaking practice.
  6. Seminar and classroom discussion.
  7. Lectures by academics in the field of education.

Weeks A-C (11 week students only)

This part of the programme focuses on general English for academic purposes (EAP) and will offer a broad introduction to the above areas. In particular, students will:

  • Develop structure, coherence, accuracy and clarity at paragraph level, by planning, drafting, reviewing and redrafting a portfolio of short written tasks.
  • Be introduced to academic conventions (citation and referencing).
  • Participate in a number of short speaking tasks (group and individual).

Weeks 1-8

This part of the programme focuses on the notion of criticality in postgraduate studies and will continue to develop learners' proficiency in EAP skills. In particular, students will:

  • Continue to improve structure, coherence, accuracy and clarity in writing at a level appropriate for the commencement of postgraduate study by planning, drafting, reviewing and redrafting a fully referenced argument essay.
  • Gain further practice, and consolidate knowledge, in following academic conventions (citation and referencing).
  • Participate in a number of short speaking tasks (group and individual).
  • Complete end-of course summative assessment.

Tutor groups are kept small, with average class sizes of 12-14 students.

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Teaching and learning

The 2024 PASHE course will be delivered online and provide a balance of tutor-led teaching and self-study. Students will be expected to spend a significant number of hours working on assignments and self-study tasks using the PASHE Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and meeting one-to-one for online tutorials with their tutors.

Each part of the PASHE programme includes:

  • self-study and online group workshops facilitated by course tutors
  • lectures delivered by academics in the field of education
  • tutorials – all students will have either an individual or group tutorial each week
  • regular online group discussions
  • formative feedback throughout the course
  • peer evaluation and feedback throughout the course.

Whilst this means that you will be able to carry out all your studies remotely, the pre-sessional is an intensive and full-time commitment requiring active engagement and participation, and up to seven hours of daily study from Monday to Friday.

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Technical requirements

Please note the following technical requirements for the online PASHE course:

  • access to a laptop or desktop computer with an internet connection, mobile devices are not appropriate
  • a headset/headphones or speakers and a microphone
  • a webcam
  • Chrome and Firefox installed
  • a fast internet connection.

As with all online platforms, the higher the bandwidth of your internet connection, the smoother your experience of our platforms will be. We would recommend speeds in excess of 10 Mbps.

Training will be provided in the use of UCL online platforms (e.g. Microsoft Teams, and Black Board Collaborate) and technical support will be available during UK office hours.

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Feedback and assessment

If you are a PASHE conditional offer holder, you will need to achieve an overall pass in all pre-sessional assessments according to our assessment criteria to pass the course. You will need to meet the English language requirement stated in your degree offer letter in order to progress to your chosen UCL department. You will be examined in each of the four skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking.

 PASHE online assessment suite will include:

  • A portfolio of reading tasks 
  • A portfolio of listening tasks
  • A researched essay of 1,500 words
  • An oral viva.

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Preparation

Before starting the PASHE course, we strongly recommend that you explore the resources for academic reading and writing.

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What our students say

"I enjoy the blackboard session and tutorial most. Blackboard sessions teach common English and educational knowledge. Everybody can express ideas in the chat board and the tutor will give comments. In the tutorial, students can ask questions and tutors will answer immediately. In addition, tutors can personalise assignments based on individual preferences. Online study provides students with a more flexible time. I think some of the listening material is difficult because it is without subtitles. The support is very comprehensive and at a high level during PASHE."