What opportunities will this course give me?

This course is full time requiring attendance at College up to 15 hours per week. The rationale of an Access Social Sciences Diploma is to enable mature students to gain entrance to university to study any healthcare degree. In the autumn term you complete your UCAS application. Your personal tutor will guide you through this and support you in working on your personal statement. Offers of places at university are made via the UCAS system. Each year around 95% of our Access students take up a place at university. Subjects are diverse and include: Psychology, Sociology, Economics, Health Management, Sports Psychology, Political Science, Human Geography, Demography, Anthropology, Ancient and Modern Languages, Literature, Philosophy, Religion, and Art.

What will I be learning?

Within this diploma pathway you will study four subjects, one of which is Study Skills, including an Independent Academic Study unit. You will also study Psychology and Sociology and choose one other subject from either Health Studies or Maths.

Note: subjects will run according to demand. We cannot guarantee to offer you your first choice of subject if demand is high; places in classes are allocated in a first come first served basis.

Why is this course for me?

Each Access subject involves about three hours per week class time, plus about three hours per subject each week for private study, assignments and preparation for examinations.

There will be lectures, class discussions, small group work and individual research and you will be expected to attend all sessions. Some subjects will involve practical work. Your weekly Study Skills session will help you understand how to learn more efficiently and how to produce your work professionally, so that you will be prepared for your course at university. All students are allocated a personal tutor to support them during the course and to advise on applications to higher education.

You will be assessed by a mixture of methods: coursework, projects, examinations, assessed practicals (in Science). Each subject tutor will explain to you in detail the dates of your assessment and what you can do in order to prepare.
If you achieve sufficient credits, throughout the course you will be awarded an Access to HE diploma from LASER. You need 60 in total to pass, 45 of which are graded.

What do I need to sign up?

The workload on the Access course is high and as some university courses require you to have GCSEs in English, Maths or Science at grade C or above, you need to have completed these prior to starting your Access course.
If you are planning to progress from Access to a course that requires practical work it is important that you have appropriate work experience before applying to university in the autumn term. It is your responsibility to find out what is required and organise this.

Course Code

ACHEC3/SOC

Need some further advice?

If you require further advice and guidance about any course costs and/or the funding options available to you, the College has a dedicated Information, Advice and Guidance team who can be contacted on telephone 023 8091 1299.