Ewch i’r prif gynnwys

20-week course

Mae'r cynnwys hwn ar gael yn Saesneg yn unig.

Our 20-week summer pre-sessional course focuses on developing the English language and core study skills you need to study effectively on an academic course in the UK.

Your pre-sessional result will only be valid for entry to academic courses in the 2025/26 academic year.

You will study the first few weeks of the course online from your home country before travelling to complete the course on campus in Cardiff.

The 20-week programme is full-time, intensive courses of approximately 30 hours per week, including class time, tutorials, self-study, homework, and assessment.

Course dates and times

The deadline to apply for this course is 11 April 2025.

The 20-week combined course will run from 28 April to 12 September 2025. The first 7 weeks of the course will be delivered fully online – this means that you will study from your home country. There will then be a Reading week, during which you will travel to Cardiff to arrive for the final 12 weeks of the course, which will be taught on campus

The online section of the course (7 weeks, 28 April to 13 June) will include live online classes and class tasks, plus seminars and tutorials between 09:00 and 14:30 UK time (British Summer Time) with additional hours of guided practice and self-study.

The designated Reading Week (14 June to 22 June) will allow you to travel to Cardiff at a convenient time. It will also give you the opportunity to settle into your accommodation in Cardiff, to find your way around campus and to start to feel at home.

The on-campus section of the course (12 weeks, 23 June to 12 September) will include live on-campus classes and class tasks, plus seminars and assessment tutorials between 09:00 and 15:00 UK time (British Summer Time) with additional hours of guided practice and self-study.

A CAS will be issued to eligible students for the on-campus section of the course. A CAS will not be issued for the online section of the course as it cannot be studied from the UK.

You must ensure that you arrive in Cardiff between 14 and 22 June or you will not be able to continue with the course.

Cost

The course fee for 2025 entry is £8,400.

Entry requirements

IELTS (Academic) for UKVI

The 20-week course is for students with IELTS (Academic) for UKVI 5.0 overall (with a score of 5.0 in Writing, 4.5 in Speaking and all other sub-scores at 4.0 or higher) and have a course entry requirement of IELTS 6.5 overall.

SectionIELTS (Academic) for UKVIPTE Academic UKVI
Overall5.051
Listening4.043
Reading4.043
Writing5.051
Speaking4.546

Applicants for the  course will need to ensure that they take the IELTS (Academic) for UKVI test or the Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic UKVI test.

Schools accepting this course

These Academic Schools will accept the 20-week pre-sessional course in 2025:

College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

College of Biomedical and Life Sciences

College of Physical Sciences and Engineering

We regret that these schools do not accept the 20-week course:

  • Journalism, Media and Culture
  • Law and Politics
  • Social Sciences

Course outline

The course will:

  • develop your language and skills to prepare you for your academic course at Cardiff University
  • include a full teaching programme and course materials that will cover the skills of academic reading, writing, listening, and speaking
  • feature ‘guided practice’ materials which provide extra opportunities to develop key areas of academic language and skills, supplemented by self-study materials that you may wish to practise in your own time to check your understanding of different aspects of the course
  • offer every student a rich classroom experience: you will be placed in a group of students for your lessons with our experienced and qualified tutors, where we hope that you will enjoy working both individually and with the other students in your group as you develop your skills together
  • provide tutorials with your teacher and individual feedback on your progress
  • offer all students pastoral care from our approachable and caring team
  • introduce you to academic life and provide professional guidance on academic issues and expectations

The primary focus of weeks 1 to 7 of the course is to quickly develop your language resource. It will focus on intensive study of the vocabulary and grammatical features common to academic discourse.

As a result, you will practise and develop both receptive and productive skills which are required in an academic context.

Following a Reading week in week 8, weeks 9 to 12 will concentrate on basic academic skills in preparation for the final part of the course.

The final part of the course is designed to develop your general study and research skills. These weeks will focus on providing you with the ability to improve the structure and style of your academic work in line with university expectations and conventions.

It will further assist you in developing your analytical and collaborative skills. In these classes, you will learn and practise the core skills needed to complete your chosen degree programme.

These include skills such as:

  • note-taking
  • summarising
  • text structure
  • referencing
  • critical thinking
  • understanding lectures
  • making presentations
  • participating in seminars and tutorials.

Academic orientation

All students will be familiarised with university resources provided to students enrolled on academic programmes of study and with the conventions and expectations for the presentation of academic work.