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Guidance notes for postgraduate applications

These guidance notes outline how to submit an application for one of the postgraduate programmes offered by the University of London.

Have you applied to the University of London before?

If you have an application in progress or currently registered for a programme and simply wish to change courses, please contact the Admissions Office for advice as you may not be required to submit a new application. Our contact information is on Contact us page.

1. Making your application

Please apply as early as possible and do not wait until the application deadline date. The latest date by which your application must be received is given in the relevant course details page on our website.

2. How to use the application form

  1. Click on the Create Account button.
  2. If you are a returning applicant, enter your email address and password then login. If you have forgotten your password, click on the ‘Forgotten password?’ link.
  3. Complete the appropriate fields to create your user account. At this point an email will automatically be sent to the email address you have provided so please ensure the email address is correct and accessible. Complete and submit the application and upload your certificates and supporting documents. Your application will only be fully submitted for processing once you have clicked on the ‘Next’ button on the ‘Document upload’ page and you see the confirmation page.
  4. If the course that you are applying for has an application fee you will be taken to the payments section of the application process where you will be given the option to pay online using a credit/debit card or offline using one of the alternative payment options as detailed in How to pay your fees section.

Your application will only be fully submitted for processing once you have successfully paid your application fee on the ‘Payment page’ and you see the confirmation page.

We recommend that you pay your application fee online as this will ensure that you receive a faster decision on your application.

3. Need help with completing the application?

If you have any further questions about the application process, please complete the enquiry form via our Contact us page.

4. Acknowledgement

When you have submitted your application you will receive confirmation, by email, that your application has been received by the Admissions Office and notification of your student reference number. We allocate a student reference number to everyone who applies and it does not mean that you have been accepted onto a programme.

5. How to submit your documents

If you have your documents to hand, we recommend that you upload scanned copies of these as part of your application. For further information on how to supply documentary evidence please see Supplying evidence page.

If you do not have all your documents to hand or if you are waiting to sit an examination or if you are waiting to receive the results of an examination, we recommend that you still submit your application. We can often begin to process your application without all the evidence, although we will not be able to give you a final decision until all the necessary documentation has been received.

After you have submitted your application, you can email scanned copies of documents to documents@london.ac.uk. Please ensure that you quote your name and student reference number within the email. Your referees can also send a scan of their signed reference letter to documents@london.ac.uk

If you are unable to upload or email your documents, you can ask your awarding/examining authority to send confirmation of results by email to documents@london.ac.uk

If none of the options listed are available to you, please contact the Admissions Office for further guidance via Contact us.

Please upload the following:

A. Personal identification

Evidence of your full name and date of birth as stated on your application. This must be a scan or photocopy of either your birth certificate, or passport, or national identification card (ID). If you have changed your name from that which is on the above document or certificates, you must provide official evidence of the change, e.g. a scan or photocopy of your marriage certificate or statutory declaration.

B. Educational certificates

Scanned copies of all the qualifications that you have listed on your application.

C. Transcript

If either your degree was not awarded ‘with Honours’ or if you are applying on the basis of a professional qualification, you must also provide a scanned copy of the transcript of your qualification. The transcript must include all the subjects taken, the marks/grades obtained and the date of the final award.

D. English Language Proficiency evidence

A scanned copy of your certificate/evidence of English Language proficiency in support of the information you have provided on the application form. Or one of the following:

  • A signed letter from your employer which comments on your substantial use of English Language (18 months minimum) as part of your daily responsibilities.
  • A reference letter from the relevant educational institution, confirming that you have been taught in the medium of English Language.

E. References

If the programme for which you are applying indicates that references are required you should upload a scan of the signed reference letter. We normally require one academic reference preferably by an academic from the institution where you graduated and one employment reference from your current or most recent Line Manager, Head of Department. All references must be specifically written for your application to study this programme. Two employment references are acceptable if you have graduated several years ago and are not able to obtain an academic reference.

*If applying for the Global MBA then you should read the following: Global MBA - References and Documentary Evidence

F. Curriculum vitae

A current or up-to-date employment curriculum vitae.

Please note: It is your responsibility to arrange for all the necessary documentation to be obtained in support of your application. The University cannot undertake this on your behalf. This also applies to any translation of documents which you submit that may be required.

Offer Validity 

If your application is successful then you will receive an offer to complete registration for that session.  

If you do not take up this offer in the given session then the link to complete the registration will expire. This does not mean that your offer has expired, however, if you would like to register for a subsequent session then we will need to reset your registration link.  

The offer validity is dependent on how many intakes there are for your programme. Please see the table below. 

Number of intakes per year Offer validity  
Programmes with one intake The offer is valid for the session the offer was issued in and the subsequent session. 
Programmes with two intakes The offer is valid for the session the offer was issued in and the subsequent three sessions. 
Programmes with four intakes The offer is valid for the session the offer was issued in and the subsequent seven sessions. 

If you do not register for the session in which your offer was first issued then you should contact us for a renewed offer provided this is still valid, meaning you should not submit a new application.

If your offer has expired or you would like to be considered for an alternative programme then you should submit a new application.