University of Bristol Study Abroad (General pathway)
Fact Sheet 2024-25
Centre for Study Abroad Team

Centre for Study Abroad
International Office
Global Engagement Division
University of Bristol
31 Great George Street
Bristol, BS1 5QD, UK

Head of Inbound Mobility

Samantha Finegold
Head of Inbound Mobility
samantha.finegold@bristol.ac.uk / cfsa-inbound@bristol.ac.uk+44 (0) 117 39 40207

Head of Outbound Mobility

Until 28 February 2024 please contact:
Lucy Millington
Head of Outbound Mobility
lucy.millington@bristol.ac.uk / bristol-abroad@bristol.ac.uk+44 (0) 117 39 40205
From 1 March 2024 onwards please contact:
Edith Li Ross
Head of Outbound Mobility
edith.liross@bristol.ac.uk / bristol-abroad@bristol.ac.uk+44 (0) 117 39 40205

Email address for student queries

cfsa-inbound@bristol.ac.uk

Websitehttps://www.bristol.ac.uk/centre-for-study-abroad/inbound1

Academic Calendar (2024-25)

Study Abroad (General pathway)
Programmes

Autumn Semester: 9 September 2024 – 16 December 2024
Spring Semester: 6 January 2025 – 26 May 2025
Full term dates are listed on our website.
See below additional dates for pre-sessional courses.
Pre-sessional English programme (forms part of STABEL):
10-week course
Online course: 29 May 2024 – 9 August 2024
On-campus course: 12 June 2024 – 23 August 2024
6-week course
Online course: 26 June 2024 – 9 August 2024
On-campus course: 10 July 2024 – 23 August 2024. Dates for the pre-sessional can be found on the website here.
Study Abroad (General pathway)
If the exchange agreement between our two institutions is university-wide, your students will be nominated under
the Study Abroad (General pathway) programme. Students on this pathway can choose units from across the
University to create a personalised academic programme, including combining units from different Faculties.
If your students are direct-enrol (fee-paying) students, they can choose to join either the Study Abroad (Generalpathway) programme, which will give them the most flexibility when it comes to their unit choices, or they can apply
to our Study Abroad (Subject pathway) programme if they want to focus on just one core academic area at Bristol.
Please note that this is not offered in all subject areas. If you would like to receive further information about our
Study Abroad (Subject pathway) programme, please contact the Inbound team on cfsa-inbound@bristol.ac.uk
Study Abroad with English Language: STABEL (General pathway)
For students who don’t currently meet the English language requirements for the Study Abroad (General pathway)
programme, STABEL combines Study Abroad with a pre-sessional English language course starting in June or July. Thisintensive English language course will prepare them for study in Bristol and lasts for six or ten weeks, depending on
their current English language level. If they successfully complete the pre-sessional course, they will progress onto the
Study Abroad (General pathway) programme in September. You can find out more about the pre-sessional courses on
the website here https://bristol.ac.uk/academic-language/study/pre-sessional/
Students can choose an online or on-campus option for the pre-sessional programme. The teaching is the same forboth options but the on-campus option gives students the chance to familiarise themselves with life on campus andget an introduction to living in the UK before regular teaching begins in September.
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Nomination Deadlines

STABEL (General pathway)
Autumn semester/full year – 18 March 2024
Study Abroad (General pathway)
Autumn Semester/full year – 10 May 2024
Spring Semester – 27 September 2024
Please send a list of nominated students to cfsa-inbound@bristol.ac.uk including student name(s), student email
address, duration of study and their major/main subject of study. We will follow up with information to the students(with the email from which they were nominated in cc) about how to apply.
When nominating a student, please make sure they are suitable for the programme, based on our entry requirements
and that they have all the required documents ready to be submitted before our application deadline. This will help
us and your students have a smooth application process.

Application Deadlines

STABEL (General pathway)
10-week programme: 24 March 2024
6-week programme: 31 March 2024
Study Abroad (General pathway)
Autumn Semester/full year – 19 May 2024
Spring Semester – 6 October 2024

Academic requirements

3.0 GPA (based on US 4.0 system) or equivalentStudents must have completed at least one year of study at university level at the time of their application whichshould be evidenced on their transcript. For 4-year degrees, we recommend at least 2 years of study. We have gradeconversion in place for all partners who don’t grade on the 4.0 GPA system. If you are unsure how the academic
requirement is converted to the marking system at your institution, please contact us on cfsa-inbound@bristol.ac.uk

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English language requirements

IELTS 6.5 with minimum 5.5 in all skills
All inbound students, including year-long and single-semester students, are required to provide evidence that theymeet our English Language requirements as part of their application. A full list of accepted English language
certificates for the 2024-25 academic year can be found on our Study Abroad Language Profile.
Please note the length of validity of each accepted certificate as noted on the profile.
If your institution fully teaches and assesses in English and can evidence that your English language entry
requirements are equivalent to those required to come to Bristol, we may be able to put a Medium of Instruction
letter in place for your students which would exempt them from the English language requirements. Please contact
the Inbound team on cfsa-inbound@bristol.ac.uk for further information about this prior to nominating the students.
Students who fall below our English language requirements may wish to consider the STABEL (Study Abroad withEnglish language) programme. The English Language requirements for STABEL vary depending on the length of the
pre-sessional course. We can only accept IELTS Academic for UKVI from authorised test centres for entry to the
STABEL programme as follows:• STABEL with 6-week pre-sessional course: IELTS Academic for UKVI 6.0 overall with 5.5 in all skills• STABEL with 10-week pre-sessional course: IELTS Academic for UKVI 5.5 overall with 5.0 in all skills
Please note that the STABEL programme has additional tuition fees for the pre-sessional course.

Duration of study

We accept Study Abroad students both for semester-long and year-long exchanges. Please note that due to thechanges to the structure of the academic year, we anticipate being able to offer more semester-long units in subjects
where we previously offered mostly year-long units. Study Guides will be published on the Centre for Study Abroad(Inbound) website with a list of available units in April 2024.

Restrictions for Study Abroad
students

Departments not open to Study Abroad students
Schools of Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Science.
Most postgraduate level units, except for selected ones from our Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Science which
form part of a 4-year integrated Masters programme. Masters students should only be nominated if they can takeundergraduate units as part of their placement at Bristol and Undergraduate students are only permitted to take
Masters level units where they have significant, relevant academic experience.
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The restrictions below are accurate as of November 2023 but further updates and any changes will be highlighted on
our website.
Engineering
Please note that Computer Science units are only available at third and fourth year level and therefore are only
suitable for students who have already completed 2 or 3 years of a Computer Science degree. Due to the change ofthe structure of the academic year, we anticipate to be able to offer more semester-long units within Engineering,which previously offered mostly year-long units. We strongly advise that students review our Study and Subject
guides before submitting their application.
Psychological Science
Psychology is taught as an experimental science rather than a social science at Bristol. Students taking Psychology
units are generally required to have a strong background in Chemistry, Biology and Neuroscience. Please note that
the School of Psychological Science recommends that students only undertake one 3 rd year unit per semester. If
students are able to come to Bristol for the full academic year this would give them a wider range of unit choices as
the school does not offer a large number of 2nd or 3rd year units in each semester.

Unit levels and credits

General guidance
Study Guides will be published on the Centre for Study Abroad (Inbound) website with a list of available units in April
2024. Please note that unit choices cannot be guaranteed in advance and that unit registration for Study Abroad
students will be finalised when they arrive in Bristol. Please also see below the guidance about unit levels andsuitability for students.
Undergraduate degrees in the UK are three-year programmes. Inbound Study Abroad students can choose units fromall three years. For subjects that students haven’t studied at their home institution, we recommend first-year units.
Second-year units are most common for students taking their major/minor abroad, and third-year units are suitable
for students in their major subject if they are close to graduation. Second and third year units may be subject to prerequisite checks with the academic department at the start of the semester.
A full credit load at Bristol is 60 credits (30 ECTS) per semester or 120 credits (60 ECTS) for a full academic year.
Students cannot exceed this credit load and must take a minimum of 50 Bristol credits per semester (100 per year) tobe considered a full-time student and to meet the conditions of their visa. Student must engage with classes andassessments for all units regardless of which units they plan to transfer for credit at their home university.
5Supporting documents required tobe submitted with application

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Online application form (signed by the student)
Official academic transcript (electronic copy/scanned copy) in English
Evidence of English language proficiency
A clear, colour copy of passport personal information pageThe application pages of our website are updated in February each year after we have welcomed our January entry
students. Please advise students that submitting the online application alone is not considered a complete
application. All supporting documents must be submitted via email by the application deadline.
Please note that we cannot guarantee to accept applications from students after the deadline, including
applications which have been partially submitted or are missing some supporting documents.
Visa Information

Non-UK/Irish passport holders coming for more than 6 months must apply for a Student visa.
Students coming for less than 6 months must obtain a Standard Visitor visa. Some nationalities can obtain a Standard
Visitor visa at the border and others must apply in advance. As of October 2023, Qatari nationals, who wish to travelto the UK on or after 15 November 2023 and from 1 February 2024 Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, United ArabEmirates and Saudi Arabia nationals who wish to travel to the UK on or after 22 February 2024 will be able to apply
for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA).
More information is available on our website and further guidance is sent to students after they have accepted theiroffer.
Please ensure that students have a valid passport at the point of application or are due to receive one very soon if
they have applied for a new/renewed passport.

Accommodation

September entry
Exchange students from institutions outside of Europe and all non-exchange students are guaranteed an offer of aplace in University accommodation, if they apply by the deadline. Exchange students from institutions within Europe
are not guaranteed an offer but are still welcome to apply and are given support to find private accommodation.
January entry
Non-exchange students are guaranteed an offer of a place in University accommodation, if they apply by thedeadline. We cannot offer an accommodation guarantee to exchange students, but we make every effort to place as
many students as possible in a University residence or help them find private accommodation. Accommodation costs
vary. More information can be found on our website.
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Health and Insurance

Please note:
If students are successful in their application for University accommodation, they are typically given a 48-hour
window to accept their offer and must do so within this timeframe to secure their accommodation. If they do not
accept their offer by the deadline, the offer of accommodation will be withdrawn and they are unlikely to be able toreapply.
Students studying with us for less than six months on a Standard visitor visa will not be covered by the National
Health Service (NHS) and should therefore make sure that they obtain adequate medical insurance that covers themwhile they are abroad. Students studying with us for a full academic year travelling on a Student visa, and those witha valid UK/Irish passport, will be covered by the National Health Service and therefore do not require medical
insurance but will still need to take out travel insurance for flights etc. and contents insurance for their belongings.
Student visa holders pay the NHS surcharge as part of their visa application. Please note that the University is not able
to make recommendations about insurance providers.
https://www.bristol.ac.uk/students-health/international-students/

Disability

Disability support is available to all Study Abroad students who study at the University of Bristol. We support students
with a range of disabilities, learning difficulties, and other health and mental health conditions. We strongly
encourage students to declare if they have a disability when they fill out their application so that we can prepare to
support them. The adjustments that students receive at their home university are not automatically put in place at
Bristol, so it is important they declare their disability and inform us of any requirements. Our team has a disability
coordinator that works with Study Abroad students, and our Disability Services team, to ensure study and assessment
adjustments are put in place.

Student emergencies – contact
procedureNon-life-threatening emergencies
Email: cfsa-inbound@bristol.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)117 39 40207

Process during working hours,
Monday to Friday 09:00 – 17:00(GMT/BST)

Life-threatening emergencies
Call 999 immediately or ask the student to go to the nearest hospital (if applicable)
After calling 999
If the student is on university campus call University Security Services on +44 (0)117 331 1223
Please also keep our team (Centre for Study Abroad) updated on the outcome of the emergency.
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Student emergencies – contact
procedure

Non life-threatening emergencies if the student is in university accommodation
Contact the relevant Residential Life team, the team are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Process outside of working hours,
Monday to Friday 17:00 – 09:00(GMT/BST) Saturday & Sunday
00:00-23:59 (GMT/BST)

North Residential Village
For students living in Badock Hall, Churchill Hall, Durdham Hall, Hiatt Baker Hall, University Hall or Wills Hall
Email: resilife-north@bristol.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)117 428 3300
East Residential Village
For students living in Chantry Court, No 33, Culver House, Dean Street Works, Marlborough House, New Bridwell,
Orchard Heights, Print Hall, Redland Road, Riverside, St Michaels Hill, St Michaels Park, The Courtrooms, The
Hawthorns, Unite House or Woodland Road
Email: resilife-east@bristol.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)117 428 3302
West Residential Village
For students living in Brunel House, Clifton Hill House, Deans Court, Goldney Hall, Harbour Court, Hillside Woodside,
Langford, Manor Hall, Northwell House, Queen's Road, Richmond Terrace, Winkworth House or Woodland Court
Email: resilife-west@bristol.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)117 428 3301
Non life-threatening emergencies if the student is in private accommodation
For non-medical emergencies on university campus please call University Security Services on +44 (0)117 331 1223.
Complete the Wellbeing support form if you have concerns about a student. Do not use this form for urgent, lifethreatening emergencies. You can also call Wellbeing Access on +44 (0)117 456 9860.
Life-threatening emergencies
Call 999 immediately or ask the student to go to the nearest hospital (if applicable)
After calling 999
If the student is on university campus call University Security Services on +44 (0)117 331 1223
Please also keep our team (Centre for Study Abroad) updated on the outcome of the emergency.
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