Admissions Policy
1. Aims
1.1 Brunel University aims to:- create a student body that is balanced and diverse in terms of cultural background and experience;
- recruit students who have the ability to successfully complete their chosen course, whatever their background
- encouraging applications from all those with the motivation and academic ability to succeed at Brunel;
- assessing each application on an individual basis;
- offering places to applicants who have the potential to successfully complete their programme at Brunel;
- transparency in the admissions process.
2. Entry Requirements
2.1 It is the policy of Brunel University to admit students who are able to demonstrate the potential to benefit from, and the ability to successfully complete its programmes.2.2 The minimum entry standard for the University is set by Senate and reviewed annually.
2.3 Senate devolves, to Heads of School, the power to set the minimum entrance requirements for undergraduate programmes. These are reviewed annually.
2.4 Details of entry requirements for each programme of study are provided in the University’s prospectuses and on the University’s website.
2.5 The minimum entry requirement for admission to a Postgraduate course or a research degree, set by Senate, is normally a UK first or second class honours degree or international equivalent. Candidates with other qualifications and/or experience will be considered on an individual basis.
2.6 An appropriate level of English Language competence is required for all applicants whose first language is not English. The Learning and Teaching Committee sets the required standard, and guidelines are provided on the University International Admissions website.
2.7 Applications from candidates without the normal, formal qualifications will be considered on an individual basis and all aspects of an application will be taken into account when making a decision i.e. qualifications, work experience, personal statement, references. Where applications are based on prior experience, the following will apply:
- an applicant’s prior uncertificated learning will be assessed for entry to any programme at whatever level by the relevant School. The previous study or work experience must be directly cognate with a specific Brunel course;
- responsibility rests with the applicant for making a claim to have acquired knowledge and skills and for supporting the claim with the appropriate evidence;
- the learning derived from experience must be identified by the applicant in order to be assessed;
- the identification of prior learning comes through systematic reflection on experience, the writing of clear statements about what has been learned and the collection and collation of evidence to support those statements;
- where it is proposed to allow entry with specific credit, the methods of assessment shall be such as to allow due consideration by external examiners and boards of examiners;
- the academic function of assisting the applicant to prepare evidence of learning shall be separate from that of assessing the learning.
2.9 Applicants who are offered a place to study at Brunel and subsequently defer their place, will be admitted on the basis of the entry criteria of the year they applied, except in the case of undergraduate “clearing” applicants. An offer made in Clearing is valid for the current year only, unless the applicant has met the standard entry requirement for the following year. Applicants will normally be allowed to defer entry for one year only.
2.10 The University reserves the right to refuse admission to applicants who have not met academic entry requirements or where there is evidence that they are unable to meet the academic, professional or vocational requirements of the course.
2.11 Any information on the UCAS application form which is given to provide a fuller picture of an applicant’s background, or any additional contextual data provided, will be used for monitoring purposes only and will have no bearing on the decision-making process.
2.12 Applicants who do not abide by the rules and regulations of the University, or who make fraudulent applications, including non-disclosure of information relevant to the application, will have their offer of a place withdrawn. Registrations based on fraudulent applications will normally be declared null and void.
2.13 Applicants who have been notified to the University under the UCAS similarity detection service will be considered equally with all other applicants. However, they will receive a warning letter explaining that a note will remain on their record and that the University views plagiarism as a serious offence which will not be tolerated once they become a student. GTTR applicants identified as plagiarising their personal statements will automatically be rejected.
2.14 Students making an application for a course, for which they have previously been registered at Brunel University and have subsequently failed, will not normally be considered for re-acceptance until a minimum period of one year has passed.
3. Discrimination
3.1 The University is committed to eliminating unfair discrimination and to promoting equal opportunities.3.2 The University reserves the right to refuse (or to withdraw) admission to applicants whom it judges may constitute a present or future risk to staff, students or others.
