Strategy and Business Systems

Mature Students

Access to a university education, with all the life-changing opportunities that can bring, is now within the reach of anyone who really wants to go for it. There are various stepping stones you can choose to help you reach your goal. In this article, we look at some of the routes available.

Access courses, BTECs and the other entry routes we offer are there to help you gain a university place if you lack formal qualifications or if you're planning to returning to study after a long break. They're ideal if you're a 'mature' student - that is, 21 years old or over - aiming to start studying later in life. Some 30% of all students at Portsmouth are mature students, and many of our successful graduates are in their thirties, forties, fifties - or more.

Foundation Courses

A foundation year might suit you if you have some experience or knowledge of a subject area or some academic qualifications but aren't really at a level where you can confidently begin a full degree course. In effect, they add a 'warm up' year to the three years of a normal degree course and aim to equip you to make the most of such a course. Because they prepare you for year one of a normal degree, they're often called 'year zero' courses and your degree path becomes known as an 'extended' degree. Like access and BTEC courses, your foundation year studies include studies to help you develop practical career skills. Foundation course lead mainly at Portsmouth to degree level study in science or technology subjects.

Learning at Work - the Partnership Programme

Portsmouth's learning at work programme has won national praise for being an example of a 'customer friendly' way for people to get university qualifications. It's aimed at people in work who want to improve their academic qualifications and boost their careers. At the same time, it offers positive encouragement to employers to support the scheme by getting the benefit of university input into their business as well as a better-trained and more productive employee.

Basically, we agree with you and your employer a suitable 'learning outcome' which could be a full degree, modules which count toward one or, in some cases, a postgraduate qualification. Your employer agrees to let you have time away from the workplace to attend lectures and tutorials. Many also agree to pay the course fees and other study expenses.

We then plan a study programme for you which includes a major supervised, work-based project which will contribute to your employer's business. In this way, everyone benefits.

Learning at work can be a very demanding undertaking, but the potential rewards, for both employer and employee, can be immense. Several of Britain's top companies and organisation regularly support their staff on the programme. Among them are the AA, British Aerospace, Ford, Pall Europe and DERA.

Local Study

Did you know you might be able take one of our courses nearer to home? We've a number of partnerships with other colleges in the region. These mean you can study selected University-approved courses without having to travel to Portsmouth. The courses on offer range from full degree courses - some of them specialised and available only at the college in question rather than at the University - to access, certificate and diploma courses.