Academic Skills for Business Pre-sessional (ASBP)

Academic Skills for Business Pre-sessional (ASBP) is a full-time, 14 week business pre-sessional programme perfect for you if:

• you need to develop your academic skills and English language ability in business and academic English to your required level for university entry for foundation, undergraduate, and postgraduate Business programmes or the Pre-Masters Management programme within "The College".

You can join an ASBP course in September and February. See Dates and Fees for details.

To join ASBP, you will need a minimum of IELTS 5.5 (or equivalent) to begin the course. If you are applying for an MSc pathway you must provide evidence of a first degree, three year diploma, or equivalent qualification. If you do not meet the IELTS level for ASBP, we recommend you study on our English for University Studies (EUS) pre-sessional programme before progressing to ASBP.

The Academic Skills for Business Pre-sessional (ASBP) focuses on the skills you need for successful completion of an undergraduate or post-graduate degree programme in Business. ASBP is divided into a number of modules which will help you to develop the following important academic language and study skills:

• Language Skills for Academic Business Studies
• Business Communication Studies
• Integrated Academic Skills (Academic Reading and Writing)
• Listening and Note-taking Skills for Academic Business Lectures
• Academic and Business Vocabulary
• Academic Writing
• Presentation and Academic Speaking Skills
• Using Academic Sources and Referencing Skills
• Critical Thinking
• Business Planning

Each week includes 23 hours of organised tuition. The maximum class size is 18.

During the course, you will build a portfolio of coursework which will be used as part of your final assessment. Each ASBP student has a personal tutor who will meet you regularly to help you to develop individual targets so that you are able achieve your academic goals in the field of business and management.

ASBP is excellent preparation for your future university studies in business and management.

Non-teaching dates 

The University will be closed for all UK public and statutory holidays, and ELTS classes will not be taught on these days. For a full list of ELTS non-teaching dates, please visit the Dates and Fees section of the ELTS web site. 

You will be assessed using a combination of:

• a portfolio of the work you do during your course (70%), and
• an end of course exam (30%).

The portfolio provides detailed evidence of your language level and skills, your academic skills, and your readiness to begin academic study at a UK university.