Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to the Spring edition of our agent partner newsletter. This newsletter is mainly focused on information for our Postgraduate Masters applicants, but also includes new digital developments for those interested in our undergraduate programmes too. We have lots to tell you about our extended scholarship provision, revised Computer Science Masters degrees, combined pre-sessional English and Masters provision offer, and deadlines for accommodation requests for 2011 entry.
Please, as always, read the information carefully and circulate to your colleagues. Do also come back to your country manager with any questions.
We do appreciate this year is particularly challenging in terms of student recruitment with all the changes taking place and on behalf of all our team here at Bath we really do appreciate all the hard work you have already put into this recruitment cycle (and the next!) and wish you every success.
With Very Best Wishes,
Andy,Graham, Jo, Virginia and Zoe
Scholarships 2011 Update from Virginia
There are a lot of exciting developments for scholarships in 2011. In addition to our usual University of Bath International Scholarships Scheme 2011, there are scholarship programmes in all Graduate Schools plus some new funding from our alumni for key regions of the world. I have highlighted some of the main schemes below.
For all information:
http://www.bath.ac.uk/international/finance/scholarships/index.html
Please refer applicants to the email below. It is answered promptly by my colleague Millie Davis. She will also deal with queries about individual cases.
international-scholarships@bath.ac.uk
If any of you or your staff want to discuss broader issues such as the strategy, promotion and operation of the schemes, then do contact Andy, Jo or Zoe or myself.
University Scholarships (MSc/MA programmes)
I manage the following scholarships centrally. Full details and criteria are at: http://www.bath.ac.uk/international/finance/scholarships/index.html
The key things to remember for all these scholarships are:
• Separate online application.
• Applicants must have firmly accepted our offer before they apply for a scholarship. They can’t get access to the form until they are ‘FIRM’ and they need to use the same user name and password as they use for ‘applicant tracker’ to enter the form.
• Closing date is 30 June 2011. All applications received by the deadline are treated equally.
University of Bath International Scholarships Scheme 2011 (UoBISS)
Key facts for UoBISS:
• 75 for MSc applicants
• Open to applicants from any country but priority given to certain markets: Latin America, Nigeria, Russia, Pakistan, Vietnam and Jordan.
• Priority also given to applicants who come via an official partner. On the scholarship form there is a question which asks them ‘Did you apply from an official University of Bath representative?’ Make sure that you tell your students to answer YES to this question.
• We also encourage applicants who have already got a partial scholarship from another source and try to help them to match funding.
Regional Schemes
There are also some additional MSc schemes for certain markets. You can find out more below. There are two new ones for 2011: Frank Wallace and Stuart Appleton
http://www.bath.ac.uk/international/finance/scholarships/index.html
Jack Cater Scholarship (Hong Kong)
Santander MSC Scholarships (Latin America)
Steve Huckvale Scholarships (Africa)
USA Alumni Scholarships (USA)
Frank Wallace (China)
Stuart Appleton (East and South Asia and Pacific)
Faculty Schemes (MSc/MA/MRES Programmes)
For 2011, the International Office will also manage the scholarships for students from the Faculty of Engineering and Design, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and School of Management and students can apply for these in the same way as for the University of Bath and regional scholarships.
Faculty of Engineering (Elite Masters Scholarships)
The Faculty of Engineering & Design has a number of £2000 (GBP) scholarships for overseas fees status entrants to MSc programmes starting in autumn 2011. These awards are made on the basis of outstanding academic background.
School of Management (MSc Scholarships for International Students)
Scholarships for MSc applicants from:
Africa: One scholarship worth £2,500.
Central Asia: Two scholarships worth £2,500 each.
Latin America: One scholarship worth £2,500.
Greece: Two scholarships worth £2000 each.
India: One scholarship worth £5000 and a further four scholarships worth £2,500 each.
Turkey: Two scholarships worth £2,500 each.
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (MSc)
There are 10 international scholarships at £2000 for students applying for programmes in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. This Faculty scheme covers MRes applicants as well as MSc.
PHD Funding
There are several schemes. Some are offered centrally by the University and some by the Faculties and Graduate Schools. The best source of information are the Departmental funding pages. There is also some information at:
http://www.bath.ac.uk/study/pg/researchfunding/
Masters in Computer Science Update
Following feedback from agents and applicants, the Department of Computer Science has repackaged its Masters degrees to make them more attractive.
Simpler structure: there are now only three degrees, with distinctive themes aimed at different applicant groups.
Clearer descriptions: each degree has a concise description in our brochure and on the web.
Better explanation of content: each module in the degrees is also described.
Options within the degree: no need to decide before arriving at Bath.
New teaching labs: fully-equipped and in a brand-new modern building.
Fees and application procedure explained: supported by one-stop online application process.
Job market examples: a wide range of real employment opportunities described.
Simplified and visually-improved web site: radically enhanced in the last year.
Current applicants are not affected: anyone who has already applied will take exactly the same degree they applied for. They may optionally accept one of the new titles instead but it is their choice, made after they arrive here.
The new degree titles are:
MSc Software Systems
MSc Internet Systems and Security
MSc Human Computer Interaction
Full details are on our web pages:
www.bath.ac.uk/comp-sci click on Postgraduate Taught
Combined Pre-Sessional English and Masters Degree Offers of Admission
Following a successful pilot project in 2010, the University will be extending the opportunity to students in need of a small improvement in their English proficiency to undertake a combined 13 month Pre-sessional English course and Masters degree across the full range of our Masters provision this year.The combined Masters offer means that eligible students will receive an unconditional offer of admission and a single CAS that will cover the entire duration of their studies. It will not therefore be necessary for these students to renew their visa after the English course.
Further details of this initiative are as follows:- As the name suggests, this combined offer provision is for Masters students ONLY. Prospective undergraduate and PhD students who are looking to undertake a pre-sessional English course in order to improve their English will still receive a conditional offer of admission. We may extend this combined offer to undergraduates and PhD students in the future but in view of the fact that the vast majority of our pre-sessional students are looking to progress to a Masters degree and there are significant setting-up issues in extending this provision further, we are focusing for the time being on Masters students.- The combined offer is for students eligible for the 5 week pre-sessional courses PS5 and PMBS5 only. The English language Centre continues to offer a range of year-round programmes of longer duration but for these students conditionality will still apply.
- The link below gives full details of the combined offer of admission. We have to adhere to strict English proficiency requirements and this essentially means that students must be within 0.5 in the IELTS test of what would be the standard requirement for direct entry to a degree programme.
This 0.5 requirement applies both to the overall score AND the results in each of the four categories of assessment. Similar requirements apply to TOEFL and other recognised English language proficiency tests.
http://www.bath.ac.uk/elc/combined-offers
- The tuition fee for the combined offer will be detailed in the offer of admission and is simply the standard Pre-sessional English course fee plus the appropriate Masters fee. However, as this is being treated as a 13 month degree programme, the payment arrangements are as they would be for any degree student and therefore a minimum of 50% of the TOTAL tuition fee must be paid prior to commencement of studies for students considered to be self-financing (students with a scholarship from a recognised sponsor will have their sponsor invoiced as normal).
- The Combined Masters will start teaching on 22 August 2011 and allowance must be made for the need to have all the necessary arrangements in place well before this date, so that the visa application may be made. This includes the need for any academic conditions to have been fully satisfied.
Our capacity is limited and we envisage that all places will be filled well before August, so the earlier eligible students satisfy their admission requirements and accept a place on the combined Masters the better. We are looking to expand our summer English provision in future years in order to meet the rising demand. PS5 and PMBS5 will still also have some places available for suitably qualified undergraduate and PhD students this year, although as mentioned, these students who need to improve their English proficiency will NOT receive an unconditional offer of admission - the Pre-sessional English course will be treated as a separate element of their study and they will need to renew their visa afterwards.
Applying for Accommodation as a Masters student – new guidance and dates
1. New applicants should be directed to the external home page and for accommodation details they start at:
http://www.bath.ac.uk/study/pg/accommodation/
These webpages will be updated in the next 4-6 weeks with our new prices and options for 2011-12 BUT There is one significant change -
*The Accommodation guarantee deadline is being brought forward to 31 JULY from 13 August*
2. The course offer letter advises the student that once they confirm acceptance of the offer they will be able to apply for accommodation and give a link to our accommodation pages.
3. Once they have accepted their course offer and the University of Bath has acknowledged their acceptance they can apply on-line and this year we will go live with on-line applications from 4 April 2011
Just before this date the Accommodation Office email all the Masters students who have accepted offers already and invite them to now apply for their accommodation if eligible.
4. Subject to some new processes being in place in time, the Accommodation Office is hoping to send out the majority of room offers during June and July to the Masters students who have applied before the guarantee deadline –
It is VERY IMPORTANT to encourage your Masters applicants to respond by 31st July as there is a lot of pressure on room space.
5. Once they receive their room offer, they have 10 days to reply, and in order to confirm their acceptance they are requested to send us £400 pre-payment (except those getting scholarships) This will be refunded if their visa gets refused.
Rooms are offered from 24 September this year.
6. This year we are also introducing on-line application for pre-sessional students and they will be able to apply for both the summer vacation period required (in a temporary room on campus) and their permanent room preference (which is simply a preference and never guaranteed).
New – Online library of University of Bath publications in digital format
We are delighted to give you access to a new digital library of our materials to help you counsel students and provide advice and guidance in a quick, visually appealing and cost-effective way.
We hope you will find this really useful and welcome your feedback.
Here is the link to our full library of publications:
http://www.yudu.com/library/82826/The-University-of-Bath-s-Library?refid=82826
You can either send people links to the whole library, or to individual publications; just copy and paste the link that appears when you download a publication.
You and your students can also now -
Download our undergraduate prospectus for your iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch FREE - using the Universities UK app
Anyone with an iPhone/iPad or iPod touch can download our Undergraduate Prospectus in a format that's easy to read on these devices. The links on the prospectus can be clicked on to take users through to various pages of the University of Bath website.
And here's a digital version people can read on their computers or any other device that can access the internet: View the digital version of our undergraduate prospectus This also has links readers can click on to go through to our site.
A pdf version will be available to download on www.bath.ac.uk/study soon too.
And of course the most up-to-date entry requirements etc will always be at www.bath.ac.uk/study
Happy viewing!
Respond
