Pre-Sessional Programmes

We offer 13-week, 9-week and 5-week summer and Foundations Pre-Sessional programmes. These programmes are carefully tailored to equip you with the English language and academic skills you need to succeed on your chosen undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.

English Language Entry Requirements

Students requiring a Tier 4 visa will need to take a Secure English Language Test (SELT).

Requirement to Engage

You must fully engage with the Pre-Sessional programme.

This means that you must:

attend all classes in the timetable
submit all assessments by the due date
undertake all exams

Failure to engage will lead to deregistration and may prevent you from joining your main degree programme. If we are sponsoring your Tier 4 (general) Student immigration permission, this may also affect your visa status.

Programmes we offer

Pre-Sessional Summer Programme

Queen Mary's Summer Pre-Sessional programmes run for 13 weeks, 9 weeks or 5 weeks. They are designed to develop your English language and academic study skills, and prepare you for your chosen undergraduate or postgraduate degree at the University.

Our programmes offer you a stimulating academic experience and the Pre-Sessional teaching team is committed to making sure that you complete the programme successfully. The programme is designed for:

international students.
students from the European Union.
students with an offer from Queen Mary which requires a summer pre-sessional programme.
students with an unconditional offer who want to follow a summer pre-sessional in order to perfect their English and study skills, prepare for academic life, and acclimatise to life in the UK, London and Queen Mary.

Full details of our Summer Pre-Sessional Programme

PSE Newsletter 2017 [PDF 505KB]

PSE Booklet

Pre-Sessional Booklet [PDF 458KB]

Foundations Pre-Sessional Programme

This programme is for students who need extra English support before joining the International Foundation Programme or studying for their Pre-Masters Graduate Diploma in Humanities & Social Sciences or in Finance & Economics at Queen Mary.

This programme is for students who have reached the academic requirements of their International Foundation Programme or their Pre-Masters offer, but not the required English language level. This includes:

international students.
students from the European Union.
students with an offer from Queen Mary which requires attendance on the Foundations Pre-Sessional.
students with an unconditional offer for the International Foundation Programme or the Pre-Masters who want to follow the programme in order to prepare for academic life, and to acclimatise to life in the UK, London and at Queen Mary.

Find out more about the Foundations Pre-Sessional.

What our students say about the Pre-Sessionals

I did Pre-Sessional B and C and I gained an insight into university study before my I started my LLM. It was also helpful to get used to life in Britain by making friends and exploring the city together. Doing research on legal issues and writing essays is helping with my final dissertation now. I highly recommend it because at the end you will feel confident in your academic studies.

Gökce Mutlu. Pre-Sessional English, 2015.

Watch Gökce's video testimonial
Needless to say, I have learnt English skills, specifically the methods to cite articles and books in your legal writing. I also had a lot of opportunities to meet students who are studying different subjects such as Science and Business. The conversation with these students in English was fascinating and inspiring.

Naoto Yamamoto. Pre-Sessional English, 2015.

Watch Naoto's video testimonial.
The Pre-Sessional course was really helpful to me. I had classes with plenty of exercises, which helped me to improve my English skills in an academic environment. I also had a preview of my main course, having regular lectures, writing essays and practising presentations, with really good individual feedback. Thus, I am much more prepared now in my Master's degree.

Charlotte Altschul. Pre-Sessional English, 2012.
The Pre-Sessional Programme was a great experience for me. There was a wide variety of opportunities to study English. I made several presentations, took academic lectures and improved my essay skills. Especially in essay skills: for example, how to follow cohesion and coherence. The style of academic study is different from my country, so it was a good opportunity for me to get used to it before starting my main course of study.

Maki Yoshie. Pre-Sessional English, 2012.
The Pre-Sessional was the most valuable experience I have had, not only in improving my English, but also in gaining knowledge of the economic and political situations in foreign countries, and having the opportunity to meet students with job experience. The teachers were very kind and cooperative and I now completely understand the structure of academic essays.

Ryohei Iwanari. Pre-Sessional English, 2012.
I had a great time in the Pre-Sessional English course here at Queen Mary. Particularly, how this course was taught is really helpful. Moreover, the class was brilliant - it provided lots of additional benefits for me, apart from the study of English, because most of the classes on this course consist of LLM students, who are most likely to get high-status jobs in their country, such as lawyers or paralegal professionals. Therefore, I feel that this course was really beneficial for my study abroad life at Queen Mary.

Kosuke Hosokawa. Pre-Sessional English, Law Pathway, 2012.