Pre-sessional English language courses

Our pre-sessional English courses are designed to improve your English language skills to the level required by your chosen degree at Stirling. The courses are delivered in partnership with INTO at the University of Stirling International Study Centre.

How to apply for a pre-sessional English course

Our courses

For students starting in September 2025 we currently have both on-campus and online courses available.

Online courses
On-campus courses

Course dates and fees for students starting a degree course in January 2026 will be announced soon.

Online courses

The online courses have been designed to provide the same high-quality level of teaching and student support as the on-campus courses.

Courses for students starting a degree course in September 2025

12-week pre-sessional English course (online)

Designed to improve your IELTS score by 1.0 in one or more skills.

8-week pre-sessional English course (online)

Designed to improve your IELTS score by 0.5 in one or more skills.

  • 20 learning hours delivered per week for the 12-week and 8-week online courses.
  • Half of the teaching will be delivered live through a state-of-the-art virtual classroom, enabling students to engage with other students and with the lecturer.
  • Live virtual classroom sessions will be delivered Monday to Friday between 08:30-13:00 (typically between the hours of 9:30 and 12:00 GMT).
  • Classes are delivered by experienced and qualified English language teaching staff.
  • Classes will include discussions, interactive quizzes, video, group projects, presentations and writing practice.
  • Students will develop and enhance their skills in listening, speaking, reading, writing, research and presentation.
  • Students will be able to balance their study time between live virtual classroom sessions, self-study and group work with fellow students.

Students will have a number of formative tests over the course and a final assessment at the end of the programme. An IELTS equivalent score will be achieved at the end of the course.

The course will be accessed through University of Stirling International Study Centre’s online learning platform and live virtual classroom technology.

As we approach the start date for your course, you will be sent an email with a unique link and instructions on how to join.

To ensure that you can fully participate, it is essential that you have:

  • a desktop or laptop computer;
  • good quality headphones and microphone;
  • a web camera;
  • a reliable internet connection.

On-campus courses

We have 10-week and 6-week courses that are taught face-to-face on campus.

Courses for students starting a degree course in September 2025

10-week pre-sessional English course (on-campus)

Designed to improve your IELTS score by 1.0 in one or more skills.

6-week pre-sessional English course (on-campus)

Designed to improve your IELTS score by 0.5 in one or more skills.

  • 25 learning hours delivered per week.
  • On campus teaching will be delivered in the INTO Building and Cottrell Building, allowing you to study in the heart of the University campus.
  • Classes will typically run Monday to Friday from 09:30-12:00 then 13:00-15:30.
  • Classes are delivered by experienced and qualified English language teaching staff.
  • Classes will include lectures, interactive quizzes, video, group projects, presentations and writing practice.
  • Students will develop and enhance their skills in listening, speaking, reading, writing, research and presentation.
  • Students will be able to balance their study time between live virtual classroom sessions, self-study and group work with fellow students.

Students will have a number of formative tests over the course and a final assessment at the end of the programme. An IELTS equivalent score will be achieved at the end of the course.

Students need to apply for accommodation separately to applying for the course. Once you have accepted your offer to study at the University of Stirling, you will gain access to the University’s online Applicant Portal – where you can apply for your accommodation. Your accommodation fees are to be paid to the University of Stirling through the online Applicant Portal when you accept your offer of accommodation.

Pre-sessional English entry requirements

Our online and on-campus courses are suitable for students with current overall IELTS levels between 5.0 and 6.5 and who need to improve their IELTS score by either 0.5 (8- and 6-week courses) or 1.0 (10- and 12-week courses).

The University accepts a wide variety of English language tests including IELTS (Academic and UKVI Academic), PTE (Academic and UKVI Academic), TOEFL iBT, Password English Language Testing and China College English Test (CET) for online pre-sessional English courses. We only accept IELTS UKVI Academic and PTE UKVI Academic tests for our on-campus pre-sessional English courses.

All English language tests must be taken within 2 years of the start date of the Pre-sessional English course.

English language grade equivalencies
Column one lists the IELTs score, with its equivalents in other tests in rows two to six
IELTS and Password Solo TOEFL iBT Pearsons Test of English Academic CET4 (Total) CET6 (Total)
5.0 overall with 5.0 in each part 63 overall with 15 in Listening, 14 in Reading, 19 in Speaking, 16 in Writing 56 overall with 56 in each part 425 N/A
5.5 overall with 5.5  in each part 72 overall with 17 in Listening, 18 in Reading, 20 in Speaking, 17 in Writing 59 overall with 59 in each part  550-600 425
6.0 overall with 6.0 in each part 80 overall with 19 in Listening, 20 in Reading, 22 in Speaking, 19 in Writing 60 overall with 60 in each part 650-700 550-600
6.5 overall with 6.5  in each part 88 overall with 21 in Listening, 22 in Reading, 23 in Speaking, 22 in Writing 62 overall with 62 in each part  650-700 550-600
7.0 overall with 7.0 in each part 95 overall with 22 in Listening,  24 in Reading, 25 in Speaking, 24 in Writing 67 overall with 67 in each part  N/A 650-700

How to apply

If you have already applied for a course and have received an offer from the University of Stirling, you can apply for our pre-sessional English courses via the University of Stirling International Study Centre.

Apply for online pre-sessional English courses
Apply for on-campus pre-sessional English courses

Application deadlines

Course type and length Teaching dates Application deadline
6-week on-campus 14 July 2025 - 22 August 2025 16 June 2025
10-week on-campus 16 June 2025 - 22 August 2025 19 May 2025
8-week online 30 June 2025 - 22 August 2025 2 June 2025
12-week online  2 June 2025 - 22 August 2025 5 May 2025

Want to find out more?

Find out more about studying at Stirling or our pre-sessional English courses.

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