Access to Humanities

Prepare for higher education study in a wide range of humanities subjects with our Access to Humanities programme.

It’s a broad-ranging course for students over 19 and covers English literature, sociology, psychology, law and politics.

You study all of the following modules:
• English Literature
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Law
• Politics

To gain an Access Diploma you must achieve 60 credits. 45 must be at Level 3.

Assessments are a mixture of essays, structured questions, presentations and examinations.

The majority of your learning time is classroom based and in class there is a wide range of learning activities. This will include lectures, discussions, reading, classroom activities and use of modern learning technologies.

A strong emphasis is placed on working and learning with others and you are regularly set tasks to complete in partnership with other students. You also need to be able to work independently and take responsibility for your own learning.

Your learning will be supported and enhanced by a virtual learning environment site dedicated to the course.

Students complete assignments for all their main subjects, including some exams. An assignment might be, writing an essay or a set of answers, analyzing a text or an idea. Or an assignment could be giving a talk or presentation.

If you study GCSE English you will need to sit an exam at the end of the year. Individual learning targets are set each term and you receive regular feedback on your progress in meeting these targets.

The course develops the skills you need for further academic study such as strong report writing essay writing and study skills including presentation skills. You will also improve the wider skills vital for success in further study or employment including self-confidence independence speaking in front of others working with others taking responsibility and managing your time.

The course is designed for mature students over the age of 19 who have been out of full-time education for one or more years would like to go to university but lack the formal qualifications required.

To be accepted onto any one of the Access to HE courses you have to go through an interview process and complete an initial assessment. The interview is a chance for you to discover whether the course is the right one for you and for us to discover whether we feel you can cope with the demands of the course. We are not looking for formal academic qualifications but we do need to know that you are motivated and able to express ideas orally and on paper. The course is exciting and fun but it is challenging and at interview you will need to demonstrate that you have the potential to develop and be successful on a Level 3 programme of study.

The interview process is designed to be informative and take place in a relaxed manner. Although the access course is only one year you are planning to embark on a further three years of university study. We advise that you have a clear idea of what this entails both academically and financially.

We also advise that you have made some initial decisions about what you would like to study at university before applying for the Access to Humanities course. Individual university offers and entry requirements vary. If possible you will have researched different universities and courses and checked that the Access to HE Diploma is an appropriate pathway for you.

Higher education courses in humanities are the obvious next step for successful students. Our students have gone on to excellent universities both near (Oxford Brookes, Ruskin College Oxford, Northampton, Coventry, Warwick and Birmingham) and far. Others have used their qualification and skills to move back into employment.

If you are 24 or older you are able to take out a loan to cover these fees. You do not have to pay the loan back until you are earning a minimum of £21,000.

If you get a loan to cover tuition fees for an Access to HE course and then go on to complete a higher education course, you do not have to repay the loan for the Access course.