Application and admission FAQ for undergraduate programmes
Questions
- Q: Do I need to apply for admission to your degree programmes through UCAS?
- Q: What times of the year do you admit new students?
- Q: Can I gain admission to year 2?
- Q: Can I gain admission to the final year?
- Q: Do you hold any Open Days?
- Q: If I can't come to Lancaster for an Open Day afternoon, could I visit the campus at another time?
- Q: What happens if I don't achieve the grades asked for in my conditional offer?
- Q: If I'm not offered a place on the USA / Canada option, can I be considered for the standard degree?
- Q: Do you accept students with international qualifications?
- Q: Do you have any overseas agents or representatives I could consult about your programmes?
- Q: Are there any Management School graduates I could talk to about your programmes?
- Q: Can I get a general Management degree in 3 years?
- Q: English is not my first language - do I need to take an English Language test such as TOEFL or IELTS before I apply for admission?
- Q: If I do not hold one of the accepted academic qualifications, can I follow a Foundation course to qualify for admission?
Q: Do I need to apply for admission to your degree programmes through UCAS?
Wherever you are living and whatever programme you are taking, we require you to complete the UCAS application procedures. If you are from outside the UK, please look especially at the advice UCAS give to international applicants.
Q: What times of the year do you admit new students?
We have only one intake per year - in late September/early October. Deadlines for applications to be received are indicated on the UCAS website.
Q: Can I gain admission to year 2?
Lancaster does occasionally consider students for entry to year 2. This is possible only if the programme you have already followed is judged to be the equivalent standard to year 1 of our degree AND the syllabuses and assessment you have followed are very similar to ours.
We do also admit students directly to year 2 where we have an approved link programme, currently these are only in
China, with Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
India, with Welingkar Institute, Mumbai
We do NOT normally consider year 2 entry for USA / Canada degrees or for European Management.
Q: Can I gain admission to the final year?
Lancaster can consider you for year 2 entry, which means that you need a minimum of two further years of study to gain a Lancaster Honours degree, but we do NOT admit any applicants directly to the final year. 3rd year entry onto 4 year degrees is also NOT possible.
Q: Do you hold any Open Days?
The University organises annual Visit Days for those thinking of applying for admission to Lancaster, which are normally scheduled for a Wednesday in late August and a Saturday in late September each year.
There is also a University-organised campus Guided Tour service on the first and third Wednesdays in each month (except August).
LUMS organises a series of Open Days, normally from January to March on Wednesday or Saturday, for those who have already applied for admission through UCAS and have been offered a place (conditional or unconditional). Full details will be sent to you when we make you an offer.
Q: If I can't come to Lancaster for an Open Day afternoon, could I visit the campus at another time?
The University's campus guided tour service is available for those wanting to visit the campus on an informal basis. Students not based in the UK who are not able to come to Lancaster on these dates, are welcome to visit when it is convenient for them.
The International Office can arrange personal visits: the contact is Susan Lucas on e-mail: s.lucas@lancs.ac.uk
Q: What happens if I don't achieve the grades asked for in my conditional offer?
If you do not achieve the examination grades or English Language test scores we specify in our UCAS offer, then it is still possible that we will be able to accept you for the degree programme for which you have applied. Depending on your exact grades, it may be possible to accept you for your first choice or for a similar programme.
Q: If I'm not offered a place on the USA / Canada option, can I be considered for the standard degree?
When you complete your UCAS form, you do not need to enter both programmes - we will automatically consider you for the standard degree programme if you have applied for the North America / Australasia option.
Also, if you do not meet the requirements for admission to the North America / Australasia programme, then we can consider you for the standard degree.
For example if you selected N103 BSc Business Studies (with a year abroad) on your UCAS form then we could accept you for N102 BSc Business Studies if your grades are sufficient for this degree.
Q: Do you accept students with international qualifications?
Yes, we do accept students with overseas qualifications. Do look at our special web site on the acceptability of international qualifications for information and advice.
Q: Do you have any overseas agents or representatives I could consult about your programmes?
The University has a number of agents based overseas who are very willing to advise on our programmes.
Management School staff also attend the UK and a wide range of overseas recruitment fairs.
Q: Are there any Management School graduates I could talk to about your programmes?
We are very happy for you to contact former students to seek information about University life, and know applicants find this helpful.
Q: Can I get a general Management degree in 3 years?
In exceptional circumstances, students with significant previous management experience can be awarded the BBA degree in 3 years. You can also apply directly for the 3-year BSc Business Studies (N102).
Q: English is not my first language - do I need to take an English Language test such as TOEFL or IELTS before I apply for admission?
Normally we ask applicants whose first language is not English to take a test such as TOEFL or IELTS or Cambridge Proficiency. Some exceptions can include students educated entirely in the medium of English, such as those from Singapore and India.
For most programmes we currently require TOEFL 580 (237 on the computer-based test or 92-93 on the iBTOEFL) or IELTS 6.5 (with no score falling below 6.0) or Cambridge Proficiency grade C. IELTS is our preferred test.
For some programmes, students whose scores are just below our minimum requirements (for example IELTS 6.0) can qualify for admission by taking, and satisfactorily completing, the University’s 4 week pre-sessional English for Academic Purpose and Study Skills course. For a detailed FAQ on the EAP course, click here.
We accept official versions of the test scores which can be sent to the University’s Undergraduate Admissions Office: if it is a TOEFL score, it can be sent by the ETS and our institutional code is 0801.
Q: If I do not hold one of the accepted academic qualifications, can I follow a Foundation course to qualify for admission?
Lancaster University provides a number of alternative routes to our degree programmes.
In the UK, there is a new Foundation course on the Lancaster University campus and also accredited courses at Blackpool and The Fylde College and at MANCAT in Manchester.
In China, we currently offer Foundation courses in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai.
