Dear overseas partners,
Welcome to the July issue of the University of Bath Agents' Newsletter.
There are a number of important updates detailed below, including new courses, a virtual reality tour and the latest on admissions and visa processes. We also have a new video containing information for international students arriving to study in Bath.
Please look at the table of contents below to make sure you don't miss an important update.
As always please share this information among your agents and with all those involved in counselling prospective students.
If you have any questions, please email j.m.vittles@bath.ac.uk.
Arrival information for International students^
As part of our Postgraduate Virtual Open Day last month, we held a live session on arriving in the UK as an international students.
That video is now available to watch back here.
Faculty of Science^
Choosing between our Undergraduate Pharmacology or Pharmaceutical Sciences courses
Learn to develop more effective treatments for diseases and discover how chemicals may modify living systems. This course will provide students with an integrated view of drug action linked to normal and disease-related functions of the major organ systems.
As a pharmacologist, they can go on to work on the development of new treatments for both human and animal diseases.
Pharmaceutical Sciences and Drug Development
Learn about the entire process of turning a drug molecule into a medicine. This course will expose students to all stages of the drug development process, including how drugs are discovered, tested and turned into a suitable medicine which patients can take. They’ll also learn about medicines manufacturing and control, clinical trials and the regulatory assessments which a medicine must undergo before being released to the public.
Both courses have been designed with experts from the pharmaceutical industry to give students the skills and knowledge for a career in the pharmaceutical sciences and other related sectors, such as clinical research, regulatory affairs or the cosmetics industry.
Watch the video about the new course with Senior Lecturer, Dr Paul De Bank.
School of Management - MSc Courses^
School of Management Offer Holders Facebook Group
School of Management offer holders are invited to join our 2019 Facebook Group. This is a great way to meet other offer holders and prepare for your first weeks in Bath. Our MSc Admissions Team will also host regular Q&A sessions in the weeks leading up to induction.
The next Q&A session will be Tuesday 6 August at 11:00am (BST).
The School of Management Facebook Group is open to offer holders for our master’s courses only. If you have an offer for a School of Management master’s course starting in September 2019 and you have not received an invitation to join the group, please email msc-mn@bath.ac.uk. We will send you a registration link.
Pre-arrival and Welcome Week Information
We are looking forward to welcoming our new MSc students in September. To help students prepare, we will soon launch our MSc Pre-arrival and Welcome Week website. This will provide students with a Welcome Week timetable, guidance on preparing for their studies and much more. We will notify Offer Holders by email when the Pre-arrival site is available.
In the meantime, please send any questions to msc-mn@bath.ac.uk
Faculty of Engineering and Design^
Virtual Reality Tour
We have been working with a research associate in our Department of Mechanical Engineering to scan our 4 East South Building and create a virtual reality model.
You can view the full model here.
Not only does this VR model give us the opportunity to show our facilities to prospective students who aren’t able to attend open days, but we’ve also designed it to show how you’ll learn architecture and civil engineering in the building. Throughout the model you’ll see staff and students in tutorials, reviews, and developing their designs in the studio. If you click the extra information points you’ll get to meet some of them and find out more about what they are doing.
New course videos - Chemical Engineering
We are excited to share with you two new course videos from the Department of Chemical Engineering.
- Undergraduate: Studying chemical engineering at Bath https://vimeo.com/338223748
- Master's degree: MSc Environmental Engineering https://vimeo.com/349029808
Faculty of HSS^
Undergraduate Social & Policy Sciences – new video
We’ve created a new video that showcases our four undergraduate social & policy sciences degree courses:
- Social Policy BSc
- Sociology BSc
- Sociology and Social Policy BSc
- Social Sciences BSc
Undergraduate Psychology – new video
In our new video for BSc/MSci Psychology, current students tell us about their experiences on both the ‘with placement’ and ‘without placement’ course options.
UG Admissions Update^
We have now entered into a very busy time of year. Many international results, the International Baccalaureate and Hong Kong DSE have been released and we are processing decisions as quickly as possible. Please ensure that results, not provided by UCAS, are sent to us as quickly as possible for our consideration. The quickest way to provide these results is by uploading to the applicants Bath Tracker account or attaching them to an email through to admissions@bath.ac.uk clearly marked ‘RESULTS’
We are receiving many ‘clearing’ enquiries and have a wide range of courses available, please visit our clearing pages for vacancies:
https://www.bath.ac.uk/campaigns/clearing-and-adjustment/
In order to be considered, all applicants need to be in receipt of their qualification results, including any English test, as we are only able to accept students as ‘unconditional’ at this time. Should you have an interested student, please submit a ‘clearing’ enquiry through to admissions on admissions@bath.ac.uk. It would also be helpful to receive uploaded documents detailing the qualifications and also a copy of the passport.
The deadline for providing English test results is the 31st July, if you are aware of any students who are having difficulty in meeting this condition, please contact us as a matter of urgency so that we can advise you of any options that may be available.
Should you have any questions regarding admissions, please do not hesitate to contact us on admissions@bath.ac.uk or uginternationaladmissions@bath.ac.uk
Student Immigration Service Update^
CAS issuance
The Student Immigration Service (SIS) aims to issue a CAS within 15 working days, however this timeframe may be longer in busy times, therefore the sooner students reply to their pre-CAS questionnaire, the sooner they will be issued their CAS.
Important: SIS is currently processing CAS applications for our August and September / October cohorts, dealing with August starters as a priority.
Please remind your applicants there is no need for them to contact us regarding initiating the pre-CAS checks – we are processing those automatically once an offer becomes unconditional firm-. Please let your students know that they should keep an eye on their Applicant Tracker / emails. We will contact them if we need anything further.
Please also inform your students that contacting SIS regarding the progress of their CAS may in fact slow down the process – reassure your students that we are issuing CAS’s as quickly as we can.
Visa applications
Incoming students needing help in applying for their visa are encouraged to check the Student Immigration Service website – this provides a comprehensive source of information and advice within a user-friendly platform, easily accessible on any mobile device.
Tier 4 Extension Service for stand-alone pre-sessional students (August starters)
SIS will help stand-alone pre-sessional students apply for the Tier 4 visa covering their course of academic study once they have successfully completed their English course. SIS will ensure they provide the correct documentation as part of their new visa application. The Tier 4 Extension Service is an integral part of the work SIS does to provide international pre-sessional students with a streamlined and efficient visa application process within the UK.
Document Checking for international students
The August and September Document Checking sessions will be taking place on 8 August 2019 (August pre-sessional students), and from Sunday 22 September through to Friday 27 September 2019 (students starting on 30 September 2019).
The main Document Checking session for international students is Sunday 22 September – please encourage your students to come on that day to ensure a smoother registration process
Helpful tips for a smoother registration
Remember - to facilitate their registration process, please encourage your students to:
- Accept their offer for a place at Bath on their Applicant Tracker as soon as possible
- Upload their final Degree Certificate and transcripts on their Applicant Tracker as soon as they have been awarded their degree
- Upload their visa decision letter via Applicant Tracker
- Browse our ATAS FAQ if they are applying for an ATAS course
- Select the University of Bath as the collection point for their BRP (Biometric Residence Permit) – selecting a Post Office pick-up point may delay their registration!
Skills centre^
This July we have been delighted to welcome our ten-week students on to the Summer Pre-sessional Programme.
Ahead of their arrival, our students were given useful insight into what to expect here at the University of Bath, via our Student Welcome portal, this included important information about accommodation, the induction process and timetabling.
This summer we are continuing to work in partnership with our academic and student support colleagues to find new ways of increasing the interaction our students have with their future departments and support services in order to ensure their experience is well contextualised.
Our aim is always to help our students achieve a good work/life balance so through our integrated Social & Cultural Programme, every student has the opportunity to make new friends away from the classroom, relax on one of our Saturday trips to visit some of the interesting places easily accessible from Bath such as Oxford or participate in a weekly sports or arts activity.
We are now looking forward to welcoming our five-week students in August!
If you would like any further information about our 2020 courses, you can visit our website here.
Please contact us at english@bath.ac.uk should you need further information or have any specific questions.
University of Bath hosting European Championships^
Modern Pentathlon European Championships come to Bath
The road to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will pass directly through the University of Bath during August when the £35million Sports Training Village hosts the 2019 Modern Pentathlon European Championships.
More than 100 of the continent’s top all-round athletes will be competing in swimming, fencing, horse riding and the combined run-shoot at the international event, where 16 qualifying places for next year’s Olympic Games will be up for grabs.
The University of Bath has been home to Pentathlon GB’s National Training Centre for the past 20 years, with many of the British athletes – including London 2012 silver-medallist Samantha Murray and newly-crowned World Cup Final champion Joe Choong – taking the opportunity to combine study and sport, all on one campus.
It is the second time in four years that the University has hosted the European Championships and tickets for the event – taking place from August 6-11 – are available at www.teambath.com/Euro2019.
Beautiful Bath^
Our campus and city has been bathed in sunshine during the last month and this week we are set to see record temperatures across the UK.
Respond