Entry requirements and application information

At Birkbeck, we encourage applications from students without traditional qualifications.

Entry requirements

You can apply for most of our certificate and short courses without previous study experience.

Where entry requirements or tests do apply, you will find the relevant information in the course listings (always under the heading 'Entry requirements').

Please note: you must be 18 years of age (or over) at the point of enrolment. And, to benefit fully from your studies, you should be able to read, write and speak English fluently. If you feel that you need to improve your written or oral skills in English, we recommend that you enrol on one of our English language courses.

Application and enrolment

The majority of our certificate and short course modules are marked with one of the following symbols, which tells you the kind of enrolment that applies:

• ME (modular enrolment): there are usually no selection processes or interview for these modules; you can normally enrol immediately by paying the module fee in full.
• ME(A) (modular enrolment after authorisation): these modules require students to obtain authorisation from the relevant department before enrolling. These are marked ME(A) in the prospectus – modular enrolment after authorisation. You can enrol online or in person for these after receiving permission from the department.
• PA (programme application): these programmes are Certificates of Higher Education that have a selection process; you will need to complete an application for these programmes and will be able to enrol later if your application is successful.

If the course you are interested in does not have one of these symbols (e.g. some of our IT courses and our language courses), then you should follow the enrolment instructions on the course description.

For more information

If you have any questions about modular enrolment, please contact the My Birkbeck Helpdesk.