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How to apply

Applying to Staffordshire University as an international student

If you’re planning to study in the UK, you’ll be sure of a friendly welcome at Staffordshire University. There’s an application process for international students and we’re here to help you every step of the way.

Choosing a course 

Check our course pages to find out what courses we offer in your area of interest. Once you’ve selected a course, you’re ready to start the application process.

How to apply

You can apply using one of the following routes for undergraduate and postgraduate study:

Undergraduate degrees

  • Contact one of our approved overseas education representatives in your country

  • Use the ‘apply now’ button on the undergraduate course pages to apply through UCAS. (Visit the UCAS website for more information). To do this, you'll need:

    • UCAS course code - you’ll find the four-digit code (e.g. P500) on the course page or on the UCAS website.

    • An institution code for the university – it's S72 for Staffordshire University.

Postgraduate Taught and Postgraduate Research degrees

  • Contact one of our approved overseas education representatives in your country.
  • Apply directly from the course pages using the ‘apply now’ button.

Deadlines

Below are deadlines along your application journey for our January 2024 entry courses.

Courses (excluding MSc Nursing:)

Deadline for receiving applications for courses requiring ATAS Application:

Friday 27th October 2023 

Visa Finance Check: Latest date to start maintaining your funds for 28 days

Thursday 16th November 2023 

Deadline for receiving applications (for courses not requiring ATAS)

Monday 4th December 2023 

Deposit Payment Deadline Date

Friday 8th December 2023 

MSc Nursing Courses

Last date for making offers for MSc Nursing Mental Health and Adult 

Friday 22nd September 2023 

Last date to meet RPL Conditions

Wednesday 8th November  

Visa Finance Check: Latest date to start maintaining your funds for 28 days

Wednesday 1st November 2023 

Deposit Payment Deadline Date 

Friday 10th November 2023 

Preparing your documents

It is important that you prepare the documents you need to upload as part of your application to study with us. This will enable us to swiftly make a decision about your application. It is a good idea to take a look at the course entry requirements and your country page to ensure you know what is required. 

  • Academic Documents: clear copies of all official certificates and transcripts relating to your previous academic studies.
  • Passport: Upload a clear copy of the personal details page of your passport.
  • English Language: provide evidence of your English Language qualification. Please refer to our English Language Requirements page for more information.
  • CV and Employment Reference: if you completed your studies some time ago, providing a CV and work history evidence would help us assess your application.
  • Previous UK visas and visa refusals: providing copies of your previous UK visas, such as those relating to previous UK study, and any visa refusals (UK and worldwide) is essential as this could impact on your offer to study and your Student Visa application.

Personal Statement guide

Your personal statement should be approximately 500 to 1000 words long and tell us about who you are and why you want to study the course. It should also tell us more about why the course will assist with your aspirations, why you have chosen to apply to study with us and why you have chosen to study a course in the United Kingdom.

Below are some questions you should consider when writing your personal statement: 

  • Why do you wish to study the course?
  • Why have you chosen to apply to Staffordshire University?
  • Why have you decided to study in the UK?
  • How will this help with your long-term career aspirations?
  • Why do you believe you are qualified to study this course?
  • What do you intend to do once you have achieved your qualification? 
  • What have you been doing since you completed your last qualification? 

Things to avoid:

  • Do not lie or exaggerate.
  • Never use an online template or another person's statement.
  • Be sure to check for spelling and grammar mistakes before submitting.

The below resources may help you with writing your Personal Statement:

Receiving an offer

Following your successful application, you’ll receive your offer letter by email. This can be conditional or unconditional. 

Conditional offer

This is an offer on condition of providing additional information – this could be missing information or subject to receiving qualifications and grades. All the conditions of your offer are listed in your offer letter. If you’re unsure about what any of your conditions mean, please contact International Admissions.  

If you don’t meet your offer conditions, don’t worry. We may be able to offer you a place on alternative programme, so it’s still important to send your results to us as soon as possible.

Unconditional offer

An unconditional offer means that you have met all the academic requirements for your course. Once you’ve accepted your unconditional offer, you can start applying for on-campus accommodation. There may be a few additional checks, which we’ll need to undertake before we send your CAS. You can find more information about the requirements in the next section.

Accepting an offer 

To accept your offer, you’ll need to log on to your application portal – either with Staffordshire University or UCAS Track, depending on how you applied. 

Your next steps

Accommodation

If you are travelling alone, our University managed accommodation offers modern accommodation on or near campus. To find out more please visit our Accommodation pages.

If you are travelling with dependents, University approved private rented accommodation is available. GreenPad lettings is a service run by Staffordshire University Students' Union and they offer a range of private houses to suit all budgets. For more information please visit our Private Landlord Accommodation page on our website.

Paying your deposit

Once you have received your Unconditional Offer, you will need to pay your deposit to secure your place. We proudly partner with Convera to offer you a simple, secure, and smart way to pay your fees online

What type of Visa do you need?

Visitor Visa

If the course you’ve applied for involves a period of study in the UK for less than six months, you can apply for a Visitor Visa. To check whether you meet the Home Office requirements please see the guidance on Visitor Visas on the UKCISA website.

Please note that your offer letter is not the same as a Visitor Visa invitation letter and you cannot use the offer letter as part of your entry clearance visa application. Your Visitor Visa invitation letter will be sent to you by email.

If you have any questions about the Visitor Visa process please email int-admissions@staffs.ac.uk

Student Visa

For courses running longer than 6 months you will require a Student Visa to study with us in the UK. To apply for a Student Visa you will require a Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies (CAS) issued by the University. If you would like to find out more about eligibility and requirements on the Student Visa route, please visit UKCISA who have lots of helpful advice and guidance. 

Meeting your pre-CAS conditions

Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS)

Some courses require ATAS clearance from the UK government. If you require ATAS clearance this will be stated in your offer letter. It’s really important that you apply for your ATAS well in advance of your course start date as processing times can take 6-8 weeks. Your ATAS certificate will be valid for six months and the CAH3 code, which you’ll need for your ATAS application, can be found at the top of your offer letter. For further instructions on how to apply for ATAS clearance, please see the Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) guidance from gov.uk.

Pre-CAS Interview

Once you have paid your deposit, you may be required to complete a Pre-CAS Interview. You will be contacted with details about how to book this at the relevant time.

Student Visa Webinar

Once you have paid your deposit you may be required to attend a Student Visa Webinar. You will be contacted with details about how to book this at the relevant time.

Visa Finance Check

Before we send your CAS, we may ask you to send us some financial information to make sure that you meet the UKVI financial requirements for a Student Visa. As you may need to hold the required funds for a minimum of 28 days you should plan carefully to ensure you will pass this in time to receive your CAS. You will be contacted with details of how to send your documents to us at the relevant time.

For more information, please visit UKCISA about financial requirements and evidence, and you can also visit Help submitting financial evidence documents.

DBS and Occupation Health

Some of our courses require you to undertake a Criminal Record Check from your home country and to complete an Occupational Health Check to ensure that you are medically fit. For more details on how to apply for a Criminal Record check, please see the criminal records check guidance on the gov.uk website. Once you’ve received the police report, please send it to int-admissions@staffs.ac.uk so that we can update your record.

The Occupational Health Check will be sent to you 12 weeks before the start of the course. Once this has been successfully verified, you will be eligible to move on to the next stage of the admissions process.

Confirming your CAS details

Once you’ve met all the pre-CAS checks, you’ll receive a pre-CAS letter, which will detail all of the information for your CAS letter. You’ll be asked to check and confirm that the information is correct. You must contact the International Admissions team immediately if any of the information is incorrect. 

Your Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies (CAS)

Once you’ve confirmed that the details in your Pre-CAS email are correct, you’ll receive an official CAS letter by email. You’ll need this document to apply for your Student Visa.

You can apply for a visa up to six months before the start of the course. Please check your visa vignette carefully to ensure you do not travel before the permitted window. 

The CAS provides details such as: 

  • The course you intend to study 
  • Course duration 
  • Annual tuition fee 
  • Deposit paid (if applicable) 
  • The campus where you’ll be studying

Informing the University of your Visa Decision

It is really important that you keep the University up to date with the progress of your visa application, visa decision outcome and your travel plans.

You will find a link to a form in the in the email sent with your CAS so that you can inform us of your visa outcome. If you need to inform us about the progress of your visa application, including any correspondence from the UKVI in relation to your application, or your travel plans, you can email visacompliance@staffs.ac.uk and the team will be happy to support you.

Please be aware that you need to arrive at the University by the latest start date stipulated on your CAS. If you are unable to make this, you should contact visacompliance@staffs.ac.uk as soon as possible to discuss your options. Please do not travel to the UK if you will arrive after this date, and if you arrive at the University after this date you will not be permitted to enrol and will be asked to leave the UK with immediate effect as your sponsorship will have been withdrawn.