Preparation for Academic Studies in Higher Education (PASHE)

Table of contents

• Course overview
• How to apply
• Entry requirements
• Course learning outcomes
• Course outline
• Teaching and learning
• Technical requirements
• Feedback and assessment
• Preparation
• What our students say

Course overview

The 2025 PASHE course will be delivered online.

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 and related disciplines.

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

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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.

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 2025.

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 two 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 – 12pm UK time on 9 May 2025.

8-week course refund request deadline – 12pm UK time on 30 May 2025.

No refund will be made if you withdraw or are withdrawn (for example, because of poor attendance) from a course after it begins.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

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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.

Entry requirements for each PASHE course according to the language level required and the language test taken

Minimum IELTS level required for each PASHE course

11-week PASHE: 

• UCL Level 2: 5.5 IELTS overall (No less than 5.0 in Listening and Speaking and 5.5 in Reading and Writing).
• UCL Level 3: 6 IELTS overall (No less than 5.5 in any subskill).
• UCL Level 4: 6.0 IELTS overall (No less than 5.5 in Listening and Speaking and 6.0 in Reading and Writing).
• UCL Level 5: 7.0 IELTS Overall (No less than 7.0 in any subskill).

8-week PASHE: 

• UCL Level 2: 6.0 IELTS overall (No less than 5.5 in Listening and Speaking and 6.0 in Reading and Writing).
• UCL Level 3: 6.5 IELTS overall (No less than 6.0 in any subskill).
• UCL Level 4: 6.5 IELTS overall (No less than 6.0 in Listening and Speaking and 6.5 in Reading and Writing).
• UCL Level 5: 7.5 IELTS overall (No less than 7.0 in any subskill).

Minimum TOEFL iBT score required for each PASHE course

11-week PASHE: 

• UCL Level 2: 82 overall (No less than 18/30 in Speaking and Listening and 22/30 in Reading and Writing).
• UCL Level 3: 87 overall (No less than 18/30 in Speaking and Listening and 22/30 in Reading and Writing).
• UCL Level 4: 87 overall (No less than 18/30 in Speaking and Listening and 24/30 in Reading and Writing).
• UCL Level 5: 100 overall (No less than 23/30 in Speaking and Listening and 25/30 in Reading and Writing).

8-week PASHE: 

• UCL Level 2: 87 overall (No less than 18/30 in Speaking and Listening and 22/30 in Reading and Writing).
• UCL Level 3: 92 overall (No less than 20/30 in Speaking and Listening and 24/30 in Reading and Writing).
• UCL Level 4: 92 overall (No less than 20/30 in Speaking and Listening and 24/30 in Reading and Writing).
• UCL Level 5: 109 overall (No less than 23/30 in Speaking and Listening and 27/30 in Reading and Writing).

Minimum Pearson level required for each PASHE course

11-week PASHE: 

• UCL Level 2: 59 overall (No less than 53 in Speaking and Listening and 59 in Reading and Writing).
• UCL Level 3: 67 overall (No less than 59 in each subskill).
• UCL Level 4: 67 overall (No less than 59 in Speaking and Listening and 67 in Reading and Writing).
• UCL Level 5: 76 overall (No less than 76 in each subskill).

8-week PASHE: 

• UCL Level 2: 67 overall (No less than 59 in Speaking and Listening and 67 in Reading and Writing).
• UCL Level 3: 75 overall (No less than 67 in each subskill).
• UCL Level 4: 75 overall (No less than 67 in Speaking and Listening and 75 in Reading and Writing).
• UCL Level 5: 80 overall (No less than 76 in each subskill).

For students holding conditional offers for IOE courses, the PASHE end-of-course assessments (in academic reading, writing, speaking and listening) meet UCL’s undergraduate language requirements or postgraduate language requirements.

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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 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 social sciences
4. read widely, engaging with depth, volume and complexity of text appropriate at undergraduate or postgraduate level in education and/or social sciences
5. select and use appropriate source materials, employing in-text citation and a corresponding list of references
6. recognise key points of lectures and take notes
7. participate in seminars and other classroom discussions
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 in written and oral tasks
10. apply independent learning and study strategies for research and writing in undergraduate or postgraduate education studies.

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Course outline

The course will focus on academic texts and communication in the field of Education and related disciplines, and include:

• English for academic purposes (EAP) and language development
• critical reading, writing, speaking and listening
• structure, argument and coherence in academic writing
• extensive and close reading, note-taking, summarising and referencing
• presentation practice
• seminar and classroom discussion
• lectures by IOE academics.

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Teaching and learning

The 2025 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:

• online group workshops and self-study facilitated by course tutors
• lectures delivered by IOE academics
• 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 PASHE is an intensive programme and full-time commitment requiring active engagement and participation, and up to seven hours of daily study from Monday to Friday.

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

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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.
• Edge, Safari, Chrome or 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. 

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

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Feedback and assessment

Your PASHE tutors will provide ongoing formative feedback during the course.

You will be assessed summatively in each of the four skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking. There will be a combination of graded course assignments and examinations. If you are a PASHE conditional offer holder, you will need to meet the English language requirement stated in your degree offer letter in order to progress to your chosen UCL programme.

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Preparation

Before starting the PASHE course, we recommend that you explore the Academic Writing Centre's resources for academic reading and writing.

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What our students say