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We are extremely excited to be launching our new programme, UCL Expand, designed for Year 12 students to expand their knowledge and skills beyond the school curriculum.
UCL Expand is a hybrid 7-week subject focused academic programme, created and delivered by UCL postgraduate students and staff. Enhance your academic skills, learn from UCL postgraduate students, meet new friends, and more in this brand new UCL programme.
There is a choice of four subject strands to choose from, allowing you to delve deeper into a topic of interest and provide you with great super-curricular engagement which will undoubtedly strengthen your university application:
- Creativity and Imagination (for students interested in subjects relating to Fine Arts, Creative Writing, Theatre & Performance Studies, Visual Arts, Design)
- Societies and Cultures (for students interested in subjects relating to Social Sciences, Modern & Ancient History, Anthropology, Law, Economics, Politics & International Relations, Media, Linguistics, Geography)
- Life and Health Sciences (for students interested in subjects relating to Health & Population Sciences, Biological Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Nutritional Sciences, Pharmacology)
- Technologies and the Physical World (for students interested in subjects relating to Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, Information & Data Technology)
UCL Expand Core Sessions
Date | Activity | Time |
|---|---|---|
14th February 2024 | UCL Expand Welcome Event | 10:00 – 16:00 (Registration between 10:00 - 10:30. Prompt start at 10:45) |
21st February 2024 | Online Session 1: Research & Analysis | 18:00 – 19:30 |
28th February 2024 | Online Session 2: Critical Thinking | 18:00 – 19:30 |
6th March 2024 | Online Session 3: Project Work Week | 18:00 – 19:30 |
13th March 2024 | Online Session 4: Academic Writing | 18:00 – 19:30 |
20th March 2024 | Online Session 5: Presentation & Debate | 18:00 – 19:30 |
27th March 2024 | Final Project Presentations & UCL Expand Graduation Day Hosted on UCL Bloomsbury Campus | 10:00 – 16:00 (Registration between 10:00 - 10:30. Prompt start at 10:45) |
UCL Expand: Optional Online Drop-in Sessions
| Date | Time |
|---|---|
| 26th February 2024 | 18:00 - 19:00 |
| 4th March 2024 | 18:00 - 19:00 |
| 11th March 2024 | 18:00 - 19:00 |
| 18th March 2024 | 18:00 - 19:00 |
| 25th March 2024 | 18:00 - 19:00 |
Your Guide to UCL Expand
Session Information
- What and how many sessions are there?
The programme will consist of 7 sessions: 5 weeks of online academic sessions, sandwiched between two in-person events on the UCL Bloomsbury Campus.
- Can I have a further breakdown of each of the sessions?
During the Welcome Event, you will meet your Taster Presenter and Student Ambassadors, take part in a campus tour, a session on choosing your course & university, and a subject introduction session led by your Taster Presenter.
During the online academic sessions, you will learn more about your Taster Presenters’ topic, following a weekly theme of academic skills. The 3rd online session will be dedicated to working on your project, alongside your Student Ambassadors and members of the Access & Widening Participation Office.
The Research and Analysis week will leave you with an understanding of how to investigate a topic, how to distinguish between reputable and unreputable sources of information, and the ability to examine the implications of their research.
The Critical Thinking week will leave you with an understanding of how to analyse sources to form a judgement, the ability to challenge your own assumptions and take multiple perspectives on an issue, and an awareness of the difference between a fact and an opinion.
The Academic Writing week will leave you with an understanding of the formality, objectivity, and precision required to write academically. You will also learn how to communicate your project work in an academic capacity, and how to form conclusions.
The Presentation and Debate week will leave you with an understanding of delivering a clear and persuasive argument, creating a clear presentation structure, and the ability to listen to and answer questions. This session will directly contribute to the presentation of your projects during the in-person Graduation event.
During the Graduation Event, you will celebrate your accomplishments across the programme, and present your final projects. We will also provide you with a session on how to apply your experiences on Expand to your personal statement.- Is there any financial help available for travel to and from UCL campus for the in-person sessions?
We will be judging eligibility for financial assistance for travel on a case-by-case basis.
Applying
- Am I eligible to apply?
Please note the application deadline has now passed and we are not taking any further applications.
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 and when do I apply?
Please note the application deadline has now passed and we are not taking any further applications
We do not operate on a first-come-first-served basis. Applications closed on the 2nd of January 2024. After which we will shortlist applicants, doing so by assessing the applicants against our targeting criteria. 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?
Please note the application deadline has now passed and we are not taking any further applications.
Since we are only able to take a small number of students per subject strand, we ask that you only apply if you are able to attend all sessions, so 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.