Pre-sessional English
Full-time
5 or 10 week
June 2025
In a nutshell
Do you need to improve your English language skills to study for a postgraduate or undergraduate degree at Salford?
You can take our British Council accredited Pre-sessional English course to improve your skills in speaking, reading, writing, and listening. If you pass you can progress onto your chosen degree course at Salford.
Our team of fully qualified staff will support you to develop your academic English through written assessments, presentations and projects including critical analysis and discussions.
You will also gain valuable skills to help you prepare for studying for a UK degree, and you will meet students from our friendly and diverse community.
To take this Pre-sessional English course, you must be an international student with UKVI IELTS 4.5 or above and have a general level of education that is suitable for entry into UK universities. You must also have a conditional offer to study an undergraduate or postgraduate course at the University of Salford.
Why study a Pre-Sessional English course at Salford?
- We are a top 10 UK University English Language Centre (EL Gazette, 2023).
- Our courses are accredited by the British Council.
- Our class sizes are small to give you extra support. We had 13 students on average last year, and we don’t teach more than 18 students at one time.
- Develop your interpersonal skills and socialise with our friendly and diverse community.
- Study on our modern campus with state-of-the-art facilities and a beautiful park. Live close to the exciting Manchester city centre.
- Over 90% of our students over the last 2 years achieved the grades they needed to get onto their future degree course. The summer 2024 pass rate was 92% and the summer 2023 pass rate was 95%.
students accepted
Course accreditations and memberships
What will I learn?
The English language skills you need to get an unconditional offer for your future degree course.
Academic writing skills, including essay writing.
Research skills, including notetaking and referencing.
Digital skills, including using software to create presentations, academic posters and reports.
Presenting and communicating skills.
Skills in critical thinking, listening to lecturers and time-management.
All about the course
How will I be taught?
Here is an example timetable. Please note, this information is a guide, and your actual schedule may vary.
This is a full-time course and so you should expect to spend around 30 – 35 hours studying each week. Here is a guide to the schedule:
- Between 16 – 17 hours of teaching per week
- Class size is a maximum of 18 students. There may also be a weekly lecture where the class size is a maximum of 60 students.
- Classes are usually 1 hour and 40 minutes long
- If your classes are scheduled for both the morning and afternoon, you will have a lunch break of at least 45 minutes between your classes
- Regular small group tutorials, and one-to one tutorials
- Approximately 10 hours of private study per week, including completing tasks and projects such as presentations or reports
Where will I be taught?
- 10 week course - You will be taught face-to-face on our Peel Park campus for the duration of the course.
- 5 week course - You will be taught face-to-face on our Peel Park campus for the duration of the course.
Please contact salfordlanguages@salford.ac.uk for further information.
How will I be assessed?
You will have regular assessments, which are opportunities to practise for success. This includes:
- Mini-reading and listening assessments
- Writing assessments
- Speaking and listening practice
You will also have a final assessment at the end of the course in each of the four skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening. This final assessment will determine your IELTS equivalent grade. If you achieve the stated IELTS requirement in your degree offer letter, you will be able to progress onto your future degree course.
How will this course benefit my career?
This course focuses on preparing you for academic study so you will succeed in your chosen degree. You will also develop skills that will be beneficial for your career, including communication, critical thinking, presenting, time-management, digital skills and more.
Facilities
You will be taught in our Maxwell Building or our Peel Building on our Peel Park campus, which is just minutes away from Manchester city centre.
You can study and relax in our open-access Language Resource Centre in between classes which overlooks our beautiful Peel Park and River. This area has comfortable seating for small groups to work together on projects or to relax and chat, and booths for private self-study. The facilities include a computer suite with a high-speed network environment giving access to advanced software packages used by students for various purposes.
If you’re a football fan, you might be interested to know that you can see Manchester United FC’s Old Trafford Football Stadium from our Language Resource Centre too!
There are also lots of facilities available to you on other parts of our campus, including the Clifford Whitworth Library which is always available for you to access, and it has PC Suites, Mac computers and laptops available for loan, bookable work rooms and a café.
OTHER USEFUL LINKS
Explore our location and watch a video with our current students.
askUS are our student support service. Visit their pages for information on all areas of your university life.
You can also find information about accommodation options.
What you need to know
Course length - which one do I need?
The course duration depends on your current level of English (UKVI IELTS) and what level you need to get into your future degree. We offer courses over 5 weeks or 10 weeks. You can check which length of course you need by looking at the entry requirements below.
The Pre-sessional English programme that you should apply for depends on two things:
- Your current level of English
- The level of English you need to study in your future degree course
To be accepted for this course, you must have a conditional offer for either an undergraduate or postgraduate course at the University of Salford. Your offer letter will state the minimum English language qualification you must have to gain entry onto your chosen degree. This will be written as a UKVI IELTS score. Check the table below to see what Pre-sessional course you need:
I need UKVI IELTS 5.5 with minimum 5.5 in each skill band to get onto my future degree course
| Your current level of English | Course you need to apply for |
|
UKVI IELTS 4.5 with a minimum of 4.0 in each skill band score UKVI IELTS 5.0 with a minimum of 4.0 in each skill band score |
10 week course |
| UKVI IELTS 5.0 with a minimum of 5.0 in each skill band score | 5 week course |
I need UKVI IELTS 6.0 with minimum 5.5 in each skill band to get onto my future degree course:
| Your current level of English | Course you need to apply for |
| UKVI IELTS 5.0 with a minimum of 4.0 in each skill band score | 10 week course |
| UKVI IELTS 5.5 with a minimum of 5.0 in each skill band score | 5 week course |
See course dates and fees below.
I need UKVI IELTS 6.5 with minimum 6.0 in each skill band to get onto my future degree course:
| Your current level of English | Course you need to apply for |
| UKVI IELTS 5.5 with a minimum of 4.5 in each skill band score | 10 week course |
| UKVI IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.0 in each skill band score | 5 week course |
See course dates and fees below.
Age requirement
The minimum age to study this course is 18 years old
Pre-sessional English course fees and dates
Our Pre-sessional English course is available to students who are starting their degree in September. The courses are available on the following dates:
| Course | Start date | Fees |
| 10 weeks | 23 June 2025 | £4,000 |
| 5 weeks | 28 July 2025 | £2,000 |
Please visit our fees and funding page for information on instalment plans and deposits. You can also find details about course refunds.
Remember to check what course length you need by looking at "Entry requirements".
Please note, that no classes take place on public holidays. The only scheduled public holiday at this time is on Monday 25 August 2025.
When do I need to apply?
Student numbers are capped and places may fill quickly, so we advise you to apply as early as possible.
You can find application deadlines on our apply page.
Additional costs
The cost of course materials (including a coursebook and online workbook) and all in-house University of Salford assessments are included in the tuition fee.
You should also consider further costs, which may include books, stationery, printing, and general subsistence on trips and visits.
For more information about additional costs, please see the following:
Money advice for international students
All set? Let's apply
Applications for our Pre-sessional English course must be completed online.
Before beginning your application, please read our Guidance notes.
Also check our application deadlines.