CELT Pre-sessionals - Advice for Agents and Applicants

Academic Link - 12-week Graduate Certificate & English Language Pre-sessional

10-week Management Studies Pre-sessional - 8-week Pre-sessional - 4-week Pre-sessional

Academic Language Orientation

Places on courses

CELT experienced a high volume of applications for summer Pre-sessional programmes in 2011, and our message is to apply early to avoid disappointment. CELT will post a message on its website when courses are full, and agents and applicants should always check this before making an application.

Deadlines for application

We also suggest deadlines for course applications. Although it is possible that places will be available after the stated deadlines and courses may not be closed, applications after these dates may not be successful, particularly for the popular Pre-sessional courses.

Deadlines take into account the need for early applications so that CAS documents can be processed and also to avoid applicants losing their place due to issue of late visas. Please note that students unable to obtain a visa before the start of a CELT course are allowed to join the course no later than one week after the start date. Delays in visa processing may result in students losing their places.

The deadlines also reflect our experience of increasing popularity of courses in recent years. Courses can fill very quickly and we are often not able to open courses to accommodate demand from late applicants.

Applications

1. Agents should note that commission is paid only on applications that meet the terms of the signed agreement with the University of York. Only applications citing an agent with whom CELT holds a valid agreement will qualify for payment of commission.

2 . Please that the personal statement is particularly important and must be the student’s own work.

3.Accommodation during CELT courses – please click here

Detailed Information - Specific Courses

Academic Link: 23 April -29 June (application deadline 4 March)

This 10-week course aims to improve general English proficiency while introducing students to UK academic culture and preparing them for IELTS test re-takes. Students with scores of IELTS 5.5/6.0 requiring 6.0 /6.5 for entry to York departments can take this course to improve their IELTS score to a level sufficient for direct entry to degree courses, or to an appropriate level to continue through July-September on a Pre-sessional course. The course may also be suitable for students wishing to improve proficiency and IELTS test scores for entry to programmes in other UK universities. The course is also suitable for PhD students wishing to prepare themselves for PhD study from July.

Please note For continuation onto CELT Pre-sessional courses, students with 5.5 at the beginning of the Academic Link course are required to re-take IELTS in the local test centre to improve their overall IELTS score to IELTS 6.0 with 6.0 in writing.

12- week Graduate Certificate and English Language Pre-sessional: 4 July -21 September (application deadline 13 May)

This 12-week certificate course is aimed at prospective MATESOL /MALLE students who intend to enter the Department of Education in October. It will convert students’ IELTS scores of 6.5 to 7.0 for this purpose, while at the same time providing a bridge to the English teaching profession for those with little or no background in TESOL. The September month of the course can be taken as a stand-alone module for appropriately qualified students who wish only to gain practical experience combined with teaching methodology.

10-week Management Studies Pre-sessional: 11 July - 18 September (application deadline 20 May)

Students with conditional offers for 6.5 entry, holding IELTS 6.0 overall with a score of 6.0 in the Writing paper, can take the Management specific Pre-sessional course. This course aims to prepare students for study on various York Management School (YMS) Masters’ programmes, with the exception of the MA in HRM. Students who successfully pass the programme can enter the YMS directly in October without the need for an IELTS re-take. Please note that students with higher overall IELTS scores (eg 7.0) with weaker component scores (eg 5.5) may be considered, but they must be referred to the Programme Manager.

8-week Pre-sessional: 30 July-21 September (application deadline 10 June)

Students with conditional language offers for degrees other than Management or MATESOL, requiring IELTS 6.5 or equivalent, may take the 8-week Pre-sessional if they already hold 6.0 overall in IELTS (or equivalent), with a minimum score of 6.0 in the Writing paper. Students who successfully pass the assessments and tests on the programme can enter their departments directly in October without the need for an IELTS re-take.

4-week Pre-sessional: 3 September -28 September (application deadline 15 July)

Only students with unconditional language offers are accepted for this course. The course may also be suitable for students at the appropriate level who are not aiming to study at York, or who may be studying or working in their own countries.

Academic Language Orientation

The four-day course is open to students with unconditional language offers, entering postgraduate programmes. Please note, however, that students with full induction programmes in their departments in week 0 should not apply for this course.

IELTS re-take

IELTS re-take is only necessary at the end of the Academic Link course. Provided that students have attended 85% of the Pre-sessional /Graduate Certificate courses and passed the relevant assessments and the end of course tests, they can enter their departments in October without the need to re-take the IELTS test.

  • Please note that a ‘pass ’ on Pre-sessional courses is not guaranteed and depends on student effort and progress.
  • Students struggling to achieve the required standard on CELT courses may be advised to re-take IELTS, but should be aware that departments at York may not accept them if they fail the CELT course and are unable to improve their IELTS scores.

Academic Conditions

Agents and students should be aware of the need to ensure academic conditions for entry to degree courses are cleared as early as possible with University Admissions Office, preferably before the start of CELT courses, and certainly within the first weeks of CELT courses.

  • Students successfully passing CELT Pre-sessionals may still be refused entry to departments if their academic conditions are not met.