University of Southampton Calendar 2012/13


University Calendar 2012/13 Section IV : General Regulations Regulations for Admission to Degree Programmes

1.	University Commitment
	The University will at all times seek to operate admissions regulations that are fair and are in accordance with the law of the United Kingdom, and the University's Charter, Statutes, Ordinances and Regulations. This includes specific compliance with legislation relating to discrimination (e.g. Equality Act 2010) and the University's Equal Opportunities Policy Statement. This includes a commitment that the University will: actively assist groups that experience disadvantage in education and employment to benefit from belonging to the University actively seek to widen participation to enable students that do not traditionally participate in Higher Education to do so; Ensure that admission procedures select students fairly and appropriately according to their academic ability and that the procedure is monitored and regularly reviewed.
2.	Age of Applicants
	The University of Southampton admits students on individual merit and does not discriminate on the grounds of age. Some programmes of study are bound by external professional or placement requirements concerning age. The University is also bound by the UK Border Agency’s rules regarding tier four (‘general student’) visas; this means that the University is unable to sponsor (for visa purposes) students under the age of sixteen years. Where the age of an applicant would raise issues of safety, child protection, visa-sponsorship, personal support or issues of care, the Head of Outreach, Recruitment and Admissions should be notified in order to invoke appropriate measures to investigate and assess the situation prior to an offer being made.


3.	Applicants with Current UK Qualifications
	3.1	Undergraduate Programme of Study
		Applicants to programmes of study who have achieved current UK qualifications must satisfy the relevant and specific programme requirements in addition to the general University requirements outlined below. Applicants will normally be expected to have passed three subjects of the General Certificate of Education Advanced level (GCE A level) or equivalent in other current UK qualifications. Current UK qualifications are regulated by the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA). A limited list of examples of current UK qualifications which could be considered for entry is found in Appendix 1. Candidates will normally be expected to have passed General Certificates of Secondary Education (GCSE) in English and Mathematics at grade C or above, or equivalent. The University of Southampton University Programmes Committee will review annually guidance on the equivalence of UK qualifications to be used when assessing applications. The University of Southampton will normally be guided by qualification information provided by the University and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS) and senior academic judgement of prior experience of qualifications when determining their equivalence. Applicants must satisfy the University and the appropriate Programme Admissions Tutor that their academic qualifications are sufficient to enable them to successfully undertake the programme of study. In addition to the general entry requirements, candidates for admission may be required to take an additional admissions test for some programmes. Additional examinations can also be required to qualify for Faculty or programme bursaries.
	3.2	Higher Degree
		The Faculty concerned may declare eligible for admission to a programme leading to a higher degree: a graduate of a University in the United Kingdom or any other appropriate institution of higher education; a candidate not being a graduate whose qualifications have been specially approved for this purpose by the Faculty concerned.
4.	Candidates with UK Qualifications that are no longer offered
	4.1	Applicants with achieved qualifications Candidates with UK qualifications that are no longer offered must have achieved a qualification previously approved by the QCDA or prior statutory body or have otherwise satisfied the Faculty concerned. Examples are an Ordinary Level Certificate or Higher National Certificate or Diploma awarded before the establishment of BTEC, pre-GCE school-leaving examinations, AO-levels, Advanced Extension Awards (AEA) and Vocational GCE A levels.
	4.2	Applicants not possessing formal qualifications Candidates not possessing any of the qualifications outlined in section 3.1 may be admitted to a first degree programme provided they can submit evidence of previous serious study and attainments which indicate the capacity to pursue the proposed programme successfully. Examples of such evidence include recent study with the Open University or another institution of higher education, successful completion of an approved Access course, or recent relevant work experience. In such cases, eligibility for admission is subject to the approval of the Faculty concerned.

5.	Applicants with non-UK Qualifications
	Candidates with non-UK qualifications will normally be expected to have qualifications of an equivalent standard to those outlined in section two of these regulations, and should also meet the programme specific requirements. Candidates from countries whose education systems offer fewer than 13 years of formal education, or whose qualifications have not been judged by the University of Southampton to be equivalent, may be required to provide evidence of additional study, such as GCE A-levels or a recognised foundation programme. The University Programme Committee will review annually guidance on the equivalence of non-UK qualifications to be used when assessing applications. Candidates for admission must satisfy the University and the appropriate Programme Admissions Tutor that their academic qualifications are sufficient to enable them to undertake the programme of study.

6.	English Language Requirements
	In addition to any of the above qualifications, candidates whose first language is not English are required either: to reach a satisfactory standard in an approved test in English (see Appendix 2) or to offer a RECENT first degree from an approved university that has been taught and assessed in English, or to have come from a country which appears on the list of those exempt from testing (see Appendix 3) and have been instructed and assessed in English.
	It should noted that the applicant may have satisfied the English language requirements as listed above, however, the Faculty, with advice from the Centre for Language Study, may recommend that the student take a pre/in-sessional English language programme. It should also be noted that if the applicant cannot provide any evidence of the requirements listed above, the candidate must otherwise demonstrate to the Faculty that they have an adequate command of all four language competencies (reading, writing, listening and speaking) to successfully follow the proposed programme of study. The original English language certificate is required as evidence in all cases except where online verification is available; i.e. IELTS or TOEFL results. Applications for approval of a different English language requirement for a given programme from the standard University of Southampton should be made to the University Programme Committee who will consider any case in the light of the minimum English language requirements for Tier 4 visa sponsorship as specified from time to time by the UK Border Agency.

Updated by the University Programme Committee, July 2011

APPENDIX 1
List of current qualifications offered in the UK
General Certificate of Education Advanced level (GCE A level) General Certificate of Education Advanced Subsidiary level (GCE AS level) General Certificate of Education Advanced level in applied subjects (GCE A level) General Certificate of Education Advanced Subsidiary level in applied subjects (GCE AS level) BTEC Nationals OCR Nationals Scottish Highers Scottish Advanced Highers Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma Extended Diploma Cambridge pre-U Principal Subjects and Diploma General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQ) at national framework level three or higher National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) at national framework level three or higher

APPENDIX 2 : Accepted Tests and Test Scores for English Language Certification

The required certification in English Language should normally have been obtained within the last two years. The following tests are currently approved:

British Council/Cambridge IELTS, TOEFL, internet-based TOEFL are nomally acceptable at the following grade/score levels (for exceptions please see below):

IELTS*	6.5 overall with at least 5.5 in each competency
TOEFL paper-based test	580 overall
TOEFL internet-based test	92 Overall, with a minimum of 21 in listening, 22 in reading, 23 in speaking and 21 in writing

* IELTS qualification must include the Academic Reading and Writing modules. Though overall grade is stated, requirement for the particular components of listening, reading, writing and speaking may vary from programme to programme and meet or exceed 5.5.

Programmes accepting lower IELTS, TOEFL and internet-based TOEFL equivalent scores/grades:

For all Foundation programmes:

IELTS	5.5 overall with at least 5.5 in each competency
TOEFL paper-based test	527 overall
TOEFL internet-based test	71 Overall, with a minimum of 21 in listening, 22 in reading, 23 in speaking and 21 in writing

For admission to research degrees in Engineering and Science disciplines:

IELTS	6.0 overall with at least 5.5 in each competency
TOEFL paper-based test	553 overall
TOEFL internet-based test	81 Overall, with a minimum of 21 in listening, 22 in reading, 23 in speaking and 21 in writing

Some programmes require higher scores. A number of programmes specifically require the following grade/score levels:

IELTS	7.0 Overall, with at least 5.5 in each competency
TOEFL paper-based test	617 overall
TOEFL internet-based test	105 Overall, with a minimum of 21 in listening, 22 in reading, 23 in speaking and 21 in writing

Specific examples include the International Part-Time PhD Pathway – Distance Learning Mode in the Faculty of Humanities, PhDs at Winchester School of Art, LLM programme in the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, MSc Audiology in Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, the Bachelor of Medicine, MSc and postgraduate research programmes in the Faculty of Medicine and a number of BSc programmes in the Faculty of Health Sciences.

Applicants are advised to contact individual Faculty Recruitment and Admissions Teams or Graduate Schools for definitive programme requirements.

The list of accepted tests is as follows:

AEB test in English for Educational Purposes (TEEP) (Grade 4 throughout).
Brunei/Cambridge GCE O level English (grade C or above); Brunei/Cambridge GCE A level English (grade C or above).
Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (Grade C or above).
Cambridge International Examinations English O-level (used in Malaysia) (Grade C or above).
Certificate in Advanced English (Cambridge) (Grades A - B).
Certificate of Attainment in English (London) (Levels 5 - 6).
GCE O-level or GCSE in English (Grade C or above).
IGCSE English as a Second Language (used in Cyprus, the Middle East and Argentina) (Grade C or above).
International Schools: Undergraduate applications where the medium of instruction and assessment is English in an international School.
‘International’ Universities where the language of instruction is in English.
JMB University Entrance Test in English for Speakers of Other Languages (Pass).
Malaysian English SPM 119 (Grade C or above).
Nigeria: West African Examinations Council Year 12 Certificate in English (WASSCE) (grade C6 and above).
Northern Consortium of British Universities (NCUK): EAP module - B for all courses at the University.
Pre-sessional English Language Courses delivered by Language Specialists International (LSI).
Successful completion of a pre-sessional course offered by the University's Centre for Language Study.
University of Reading: Test in English for Education Purposes (TEEP).
Warwick Higher Education Foundation Programme: 55% for all courses at the University.

The following qualifications are also acceptable:

Abitur with a minimum score of 11 out of 15 or 2 out of 6 in English Language as a Leistungskurs.
European Baccalaureate with a minimum 7.5 in English as the First Foreign Language L2 or First Foreign Language - Advanced L2A.
International Baccalaureate (Syllabus A1: Grade 4 at either Higher or Standard level; syllabus A2: Grade 5 at Higher level or Grade 5 at Standard level where the IB subjects have been studied through the medium of English; Syllabus B: Grade 5 at Higher level).
India English Exam for CBSE and ISC exam boards with a minimum score of 70%.
Norwegian Vitnemål with minimum score of 4 in English.

APPENDIX 3 : Countries where no Separate Test of English Language Proficiency is required as long as education has been through the medium of English

Students whose first language is not English meet the University�s requirement by virtue of having been taught and assessed in English and who come from countries which appear on this list.

Anguilla
Antigua
Australia
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Bermuda
Botswana
British Virgin Islands
Canada
Cayman Islands
Christmas Island
Cocos Islands
Cook Islands
Dominica
Falkland Islands
Fiji
Gambia
Ghana
Grenada
Guyana
Heard Island
Jamaica
Kenya
Lesotho
Malawi
Malta
Mauritius
McDonald Island
New Zealand
Niue
Norfolk Islands
Papua New Guinea
Saint Kitts
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Sierra Leone
Singapore
South Africa
Swaziland
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Turks and Caicos Islands
Uganda
United States of America
Western Samoa
Zambia
Zimbabwe

APPENDIX 4 : Table of IELTS and TOEFL Test Score Comparisons

IELTS*	TOEFL paper-based test	TOEFL internet-based test
4.5	477	53
5.0	500	61
5.5	527	71
6.0	553	81
6.5	580	92
7.0	617	105
* IELTS qualification must include the Academic Reading and Writing modules. Though overall grade is stated, requirement for the particular components of listening, reading, writing and speaking may vary.