UCL Expand

Applications are now closed for 2025-2026.

UCL Expand 2026 is a hybrid 8-week subject focused academic programme, created and delivered by UCL postgraduate students and staff. UCL Expand is exclusively for Year 12 students.

Expand your learning beyond the school curriculum, enhance your academic skills and strengthen your personal statement whilst having fun and making new friends. 

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UCL Expand lets participants choose a subject they’re interested in from a selection created by our postgraduate Subject Experts. This allows them to tailor their learning and create a project on a topic they enjoy.

Subjects change each year, but previous years have included law and human rights, public history, computer science, biology and health sciences, literature, astrophysics, social sciences and many more!

Applying

Am I eligible to apply?

Our programmes are funded by UCL’s Access Agreement and Widening Participation funds. As such, there are eligibility criteria that all applicants should consider before applying, find out more about who we work with here. Since the programme has a limited capacity, applications will be assessed against our targeting criteria.

How do I apply?

Applications for UCL Expand 2026 are now open!

You will need a parent or guardian present with you to complete the application form. You will also need contact information for a teacher who will provide a reference for you.

For more information on our targeting criteria, please see our who we work with page. 

I’m unavailable for some of the dates, am I still able to apply?

Because we are only able to take a limited number of students, we ask participants to only apply if they are able to attend all online seminars and in-person events. This ensures each participant is able to benefit from the full programme.  

If you are unable to attend or do not get a place on UCL Expand, we have plenty of other opportunities which are great to get involved in. See our website for more details.

Please ensure that you have read all the information on this page and can commit to all dates listed below before applying to the programme.

Applications are now closed.

UCL Expand 2026 schedule 

Please ensure that you can commit to all dates listed below before applying to the programme.

Your Guide to UCL Expand

Sessions and subjects

What and how many sessions are there?

The programme will consist of 8 seminars: 6 weeks of compulsory online academic sessions and two in-person events on the UCL Bloomsbury Campus. There is also 1 optional drop-in session.

Because we are only able to take a limited number of students, we ask participants to only apply if they are able to attend all online seminars and in-person events. This ensures each participant is able to benefit from the full programme. 

Can I have a further breakdown of each of the sessions?

During the Welcome Event, participants will meet their postgraduate Subject Expert and Student Ambassadors, and take part in the following sessions: a campus tour; an academic libraries workshop; and a subject introduction session led by Subject Experts.

During the online academic seminars, participants will learn more about their Subject Expert’s topic, following a weekly theme of academic skills. The fourth online seminar will be dedicated to working on the final project, with the help of Student Ambassadors and members of the Access and Widening Participation Office.

UCL Expand online seminars will encourage Year 12 participants to explore four key academic skills, focusing on what it means to think, research, solve problems and communicate like a subject expert. All seminars will encourage critical thinking, analytical skills and academic debate, and will give participants an insight into what it means to study academic content at university within different disciplines.

During the Graduation Event, participants will celebrate their accomplishments across the programme, and present their final projects.

UCL Expand graduates will also be invited to attend an optional online Personal Statement session in the summer, where we will explain how they might apply their experiences on Expand to their personal statements.

What subject will I study?

Information about subject strand options will become available to successful participants after their place on the programme has been confirmed. It is not guaranteed that participants will get their first choice, but we will try our hardest to make this happen.

We will have subject choices which are related to STEM, Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, and even a mix of both! Additionally, even if the subjects offered are not directly related to participants' desired university pathway, they will practise and develop a variety of academic skills throughout the programme which are suitable for all degree courses.

What is the UCL Expand final project?

Outside of the UCL Expand programme, participants will produce a project. The project should take the form of an academic poster, although participants can choose an alternative format if they wish. Participants have freedom over the subject focus of their poster, although we encourage it to be linked to the topic they have learned about in online seminars. 

Participants will present their projects at the UCL Expand Graduation Event. This will be an informal presentation and will take the form of an academic poster presentation. This will involve participants speaking to small groups of other participants and UCL Expand staff about their research whilst standing in front of their posters. They will also be able to see other projects and ask questions of other participants about their research. 

The project will not be marked, but it is compulsory to submit a project in order to graduate from the programme.

Participants should not worry about the project - it is an opportunity for them to explore a topic they are interested in and to demonstrate their learning and research skills. Participants will also receive full and detailed guidance to support them to produce their project. 

Previous UCL Expand participants have found creating and presenting the project to be their favourite part of the programme: 'I loved the freedom we were given to link [the project] to the subject content we learnt but also focus on something we were really interested in outside of the subject strand'. 

 

Is there any financial help available for travel to and from UCL campus for the in-person sessions?

Yes! For those who meet the criteria of our participant travel policy, we will fund or part fund the travel to and from UCL campus to take part in the in-person events for UCL Expand.

We will confirm your eligibility for travel support if you are accepted onto the programme.

Please see more information about our participant travel policy here: Our Policies - Travel.

Please note that the travel policy only applies to students who live outside of a London Borough.