Pre-sessional English courses
The University of Essex International College offers a range of pre-sessional English courses which you may choose to take, before you start your main course of study. These programmes aim to support applicants to achieve the English language conditions of their offer and/or improve academic study skills commonly used in the UK.
These programmes are available to take either on campus in the UK or online from your home country.
If you need to improve your English you will need to hold a Secure English Language Test (SELT) if you wish to study the Pre-Sessional programme on campus, in the UK.
If you meet the eligibility criteria, we will issue you a single CAS to cover both your pre-sessional English course and your main course of study. Where we are not able to issue you with a single CAS to cover both your pre-sessional English course and main course, you will be considered for a CAS for your pre-sessional English course only. Once you have successfully completed your pre-sessional programme, we will issue a CAS to cover your degree course, if eligible, and you will need to make a new Student route application to cover this period of study. You will be able to make this application inside the UK provided you are eligible.
If you study your pre-sessional programme online we will issue you a CAS for your main course programme once we receive confirmation that you have successfully completed your pre-sessional programme and your offer is unconditional.
When can I expect to receive my CAS?
Once we have received your completed questionnaire and any additional information we may request from you, it can take up to 4 weeks to issue CAS. This time allows us to check the information thoroughly to ensure you are eligible for our sponsorship and avoid problems occurring with your Student route application.
If you haven't been issued your CAS within 4 weeks, it is likely that we are double-checking part of your application or waiting for additional information from you. If you have any concerns, please contact us with your applicant number and we will reply within a week to report the progress of your CAS.
Once we have issued your CAS, you will receive an email to let you know that your CAS statement is available to view in your myEssex portal.
As a sponsored student (immigration), you will have many responsibilities both to us and the Home Office. Please ensure you are aware of what your responsibilities are and keep up to date with changes to the Immigration Rules and guidance as they occur.