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- What is the difference between PASHE and Pre-sessional?
The Preparation for Academic Studies in Higher Education (PASHE) are courses for applicants holding offers for degree courses delivered by IOE, Faculty of Education and Society.
The Pre-sessional courses are for offer holders in all other faculties.
Applications
- How do I apply for a Pre-sessional course?
You can apply online via the course website.
Please check the how to apply section before you start your application.
- When should I apply for a Pre-sessional course?
We recommend you apply as soon as you receive an offer for a UCL degree course and meet the English language entry requirements of the Pre-sessional course you want to attend.
You can find course application deadlines in the how to apply section, but applications for a course will close earlier if we have received enough applications.
We would expect to open waiting lists for later applicants.
- Can I combine the results of two English language tests?
No, you must meet the entry requirements in a single test from the list of accepted tests on the Pre-sessional website. We do not accept one-skill retakes.
Different tests are acceptable for each of the face-to-face and online courses. Please see our entry requirements page for more information.
- Can students with unconditional offers apply for the Pre-sessional course and do unconditional offer holders need to do all the Pre-sessional assessments?
Students with unconditional offers are not eligible for the Extended or Standard Pre-sessional courses.
Any student whose offer becomes unconditional during the Extended or Standard Pre-sessional course will be expected to complete all assessments to successfully complete the course.
- Can I apply for two or more Pre-sessional courses at the same time?
We will only make one Pre-sessional offer per applicant, so please submit only one application.
Only your first application will be considered, and you may not receive a refund for other applications you make.
- Can I apply with two different degree offers?
If you have applied for two UCL degree programmes and one of them has a higher English language requirement, you should make sure the Pre-sessional course you apply for is long enough for you to meet the higher English language requirement.
- How and when will I know if I have a place on the course?
We will email you a formal offer of a place on the course, once we have checked:
- your application is complete
- you meet the entry requirements.
- Can I switch my offer of a place to a shorter course?
No, once an offer has been made, we will not consider requests for students to switch to shorter courses.
- Can I switch between the face-to-face and online course of the same length?
Once an offer has been made, we will not consider requests to switch to shorter courses.
We will consider requests to switch courses of the same length eg from the face-to-face to the online Pre-sessional course, or the Pre-sessional to the PASHE, or vice versa, where there is space in the course that you wish to switch into.
Please note that it may not be possible for you to switch if we are preparing to open or have already opened a waiting list for the course you wish to move to, or if we have already issued a CAS for your visa application.
- Can I ask for a refund after I have paid my Pre-sessional course fee?
You will receive a full refund of your course fees if any one of the following applies:
- you provide appropriate evidence before the course begins that you have received full funding for the course
- you are enrolled on the face-to-face course and fail to secure the necessary clearance to enter the UK, and a further visa application is not possible (claims must be supported by a Refusal of Entry Clearance letter)
- you change your mind about attending the course and request a refund within 14 days of accepting your offer (unless there are 14 days or fewer before the course starts, in which case no refund will be made).
Other refund requests must be received by the deadlines below to be considered and are subject to a 10% administration charge. Refund requests must be submitted by email to presess@ucl.ac.uk.
- Extended face-to-face course: 24 April 2026
- Extended online course: 8 May 2026
- Standard face-to-face course: 15 May 2026
- Standard online course: 29 May 2026
No refund will be made if you withdraw or are withdrawn (for example, because of poor attendance) from a course after it begins.
Visas
- I am attending the face-to-face Pre-sessional, how do I get my CAS and when will I get it?
CLIE will issue CASs two to three months before your Pre-sessional course starts, or as soon as possible after that. You do not need to request a CAS – it will be sent to you automatically.
The CAS is an electronic document and will be emailed to you from the course email address: presess@ucl.ac.uk.
- Will my CAS cover both my Pre-sessional course and my main programme of study?
UCL can only issue CASs covering both the Pre-sessional course and the degree programme at UCL if the applicant already holds an unconditional offer for their degree course. Nearly all students attending the face-to-face and online Pre-sessional courses will have conditional offers, so if you need a CAS, it will almost certainly only cover the Pre-sessional course.
- When will I receive my CAS for my degree programme?
Once you have completed this course, your results will be forwarded to UCL Admissions.
If you have met the English language condition and any outstanding academic conditions of your degree offer, they make the offer unconditional and then issue you a CAS covering your degree course.
You should normally expect your CAS within one to two weeks of the Pre-sessional results being issued.