Undergraduate Summer School

Ensuring Sustainable Futures

At the University of York, we consider sustainability to be a key element of our responsibilities and values. We want our students to understand the sustainability challenges our world faces, but more than that, we want our students to drive changes aimed at ensuring future sustainability.

Climate change, habitat destruction and unsustainable resource use are all major challenges to the future stability of our world. But it’s not enough to just learn about the challenges. We must focus on the solutions.

In this module, you will learn about current and future sustainability challenges and the ways in which we are trying to solve them through research, education, policies and innovations. As part of our module, you will engage in a number of discussions and practical sessions.

Aims

The aim of this module is to introduce you to the skills, knowledge and tools needed to develop solutions to the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges.

In particular, it will:

• provide you with knowledge of sustainability challenges
• introduce you to a solutions-based strategy of evaluating sustainability challenges
• enable you to confidently discuss and propose solutions to sustainability challenges.

This course is offered by the Department of Environment and Geography, a top 15 UK research department, ranked 2nd for research impact in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences.

You need to have at least an upper-intermediate level of English (ca. IELTS 5).

English is a global language, and as such, it serves a variety of purposes for people around the world. For some, it’s purely functional, for others, it’s a gateway to other cultures.

In this module, you will develop your functional English language skills so that you can be a more effective communicator. You will also explore what intercultural communication is and will become better aware of cultural differences. Finally, you will enhance your academic English language skills.

Aims

The aim of this module is to develop your English language, academic and intercultural communication skills.

In particular, it helps you:

• develop your English language skills through a communicative and functional language based approach
• broaden your cultural horizons and enhance your intercultural competence
• enhance your academic English language skills through an integrated skills and context-based approach with a focus on effective communication.

This course is offered by the Centre for Global Programmes.

You need to have at least an intermediate level of English (ca. IELTS 4.5).

Books and their Makers (Literature)

How are books made? Who decides what gets read, where and when? And what difference does it make to think about the histories, social lives and business of books as well as about their contents?

In this short course, you will discover the extraordinary world of publishing and book-making, drawing on examples from medieval scribes to contemporary digital publishing. You will have the chance to get hands-on with bookmaking in the University’s unique Thin Ice Press, and to learn from contemporary editors, publishers and writers as well as leading academic experts. 

Aims

The aim of this module is to develop your  knowledge and understanding of the techniques and histories of book production, circulation and reading, and of how the business of books shapes the texts we read, and our ways of reading.

In particular, it helps you:

• develop your knowledge and understanding of how books have been made in the past, and how they are made now
• understand how the physical form of books and the business of publishing shapes the literary landscape and the way we read
• develop your skills in literary analysis, and in written and oral communication, with expert guidance.

This course is offered by the Department of English and Related Literature, 5th in the UK for English, according to The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023

You need to have at least an upper-intermediate level of English (ca. IELTS 5).

Introducing the Human Mind

This course aims to introduce you to psychology and the scientific exploration of the human mind and behaviour. We will explore important questions relating to how we interact with the world around us and why we behave the way we do.

We will introduce you to this incredibly diverse, rich and fascinating area through a series of interactive sessions and workshops. Specifically, you will learn how the brain works, how our minds develop, and how we socially engage with others.

Aims

In this module, we aim to enhance your understanding of the human mind through three complementary dimensions of psychology:

• the human brain - the neural systems that underpin who we are
• human development - how we mature and grow as individuals
• human social behaviour - how we interact with others.

This course is offered by the Department of Psychology, one of the world’s top psychology departments, excelling in both teaching and research.

You need to have at least an upper-intermediate level of English (ca. IELTS 5).

English is a global language, and as such, it serves a variety of purposes for people around the world. For some, it’s purely functional, for others, it’s a gateway to other cultures.

In this module, you will develop your functional English language skills so that you can be a more effective communicator. You will also explore what intercultural communication is and will become better aware of cultural differences. Finally, you will enhance your academic English language skills.

Aims

The aim of this module is to develop your English language, academic and intercultural communication skills.

In particular, it helps you:

• develop your English language skills through a communicative and functional language based approach
• broaden your cultural horizons and enhance your intercultural competence
• enhance your academic English language skills through an integrated skills and context-based approach with a focus on effective communication.

This course is offered by the Centre for Global Programmes.

You need to have at least an intermediate level of English (ca. IELTS 4.5).

English is a global language, and as such, it serves a variety of purposes for people around the world. For some, it’s purely functional, for others, it’s a gateway to other cultures.

In this module, you will develop your functional English language skills so that you can be a more effective communicator. You will also explore what intercultural communication is and will become better aware of cultural differences. Finally, you will enhance your academic English language skills.

Aims

The aim of this module is to develop your English language, academic and intercultural communication skills.

In particular, it helps you:

• develop your English language skills through a communicative and functional language based approach
• broaden your cultural horizons and enhance your intercultural competence
• enhance your academic English language skills through an integrated skills and context-based approach with a focus on effective communication.

This course is offered by the Centre for Global Programmes.

You need to have at least an intermediate level of English (ca. IELTS 4.5).

Our Undergraduate Summer School has no formal academic requirements, but we will ask you to provide details of your current studies.

If you are not currently studying on an undergraduate (Bachelors) programme, please contact our team to discuss whether our summer school is the right choice for you.

The programme is suitable for both native speakers of English and for students who have been learning English as a second/foreign language.

Although there is no formal language requirement, for most modules, we strongly recommend that applicants have a good upper-intermediate level of English (at least around CEFR B2 or IELTS 5). For the English Language Academic and Intercultural Skills module, we recommend an intermediate level of English (at least around CEFR B1 or IELTS 4.5).

You will need personal details, a copy of your passport and preferably a current student card (or any other official document proving your student status.

We will get in touch with you to confirm the next steps.

You must follow Government guidance on travel, including visas and travel restrictions related to Coronavirus. On a short programme like this you can normally study as a visitor, but you must check your status and seek advice.

Travel restrictions related to the Coronavirus pandemic often change. Whether you can enter the country, need to quarantine, and/or conduct tests depends on where you travel from, as well as your age and vaccination status. Please check the latest Government advice before travelling.