A

Academic: A term often used to refer to a tutor or lecturer at your university. 

Academic Year: This is the university year; it typically starts in late September/early October and ends in June/July. Some courses or universities may have different start and end dates so it’s good to check this with your chosen institution. 

Access Course: When students don’t have the traditional qualifications to gain entry to university or higher education, an access course is an alternative route to university.

Admissions Tutor: Each department/faculty at your university will have an admissions tutor who is responsible for handling the admissions process.  

Alumni: This is the term for people who attended or graduated from a particular college or university.  

B

Bachelor's Degree: An undergraduate degree awarded by a university to a person that has completed their studies.  

Bachelor of Arts (BA): This is a qualification associated with arts, humanities, and some social science undergraduate degrees.  

Bachelor of Engineering (BEng): This is an undergraduate qualification associated with the subject of engineering.  

Bachelor of Laws (LLB): This is an undergraduate qualification associated with Law that enables students to progress into further professional training within Law.  

Bachelor of Science (BSc): This is an undergraduate degree associated with subject areas such as science and some social sciences.  

Bursary: Financial grant awarded to someone who fulfils specific criteria. Unlike loans, these do not need to be repaid.  

C

Campus: A campus is the environment where the university buildings and grounds are located. Sometimes universities may have a few different campuses.

CAS: This stands for Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies and is a compulsory requirement to support student visa applications for international students. Students need to request this from the university before they start the visa application process.

Clearing: If a student finds themselves without a university place, whether it’s because they didn’t get offers, the correct grades or because they declined any offers they had, Clearing is the system operated by UCAS that allows students to apply for other courses that still have vacancies across the United Kingdom.

Conditional Offer: This offer means an applicant has a place on a university course through UCAS which is dependent on achieving certain conditions (exam results).

Conditional Firm: This is when a conditional offer has been firmly accepted by an applicant. If the conditions are then met, it becomes an Unconditional Firm offer.

Core modules: Core modules will be outlined in the course information and are compulsory for the study programme. If a student wants to progress to the next level of the course, they must pass all core modules.

CPD: Continuing Professional Development – the process of continuing to develop skills beyond any initial training.

Credits: A student needs 120 credits to pass each academic year – meaning 360 are required to achieve their undergraduate degree. Each module passed earns credits. A credit simply serves as proof that the student met all learning objectives and requirements for that module.

D

Dean: The Dean is a senior member of the university staff who is responsible for the operation of a faculty.

Deferred Entry: A student can apply to university but request to start the following year. Students wanting to take a gap year to travel or gain work experience will often defer their entry to ensure they have a place at university the following year.

Degree: This is the academic course and qualification studied for and attained at university – this could be a bachelor's or a master’s degree.

Degree Classification: A degree classification is the final grade achieved after studying a course. Degrees are classified out of 100:

3rd – 40-49

2:2 – 50-59

2:1 – 60-69

1st – 70+

Dissertation: In the final year of university students will complete a dissertation which can be described as a long essay on a subject chosen by the student. Dissertations are typically a significant part of the final degree classification.

E

Enrolment: When a student formally registers for university and is given essential information such as timetables, student cards, and additional student documents.

Entry Requirements: The grades/requirements specified by the university for being accepted onto a course – every course and university will have different entry requirements.

F

Foundation Degree: A two-year course with the opportunity to work up to an honour’s degree over a further year or two depending on the course.

Foundation Year: Year-long programme providing students with an alternative route to a university degree.

Fresher: Coined from the American phrase ‘freshman’, a fresher is a first-year undergraduate student.

Freshers’ Week: The first week at university is known as ‘freshers’ week’ which typically includes registration, induction, and social events for new students – universities may also refer to this as a ‘welcome week’ or ‘freshers’ fair’.

G

Gap Year: Students may opt to take a Gap Year before going to university and during this time, they may choose to work and gain experience or travel abroad.

Graduate: Individuals who have completed their degree and received their qualification.

Graduation: The formal ceremony whereby students are presented with their degree classifications.

H

Halls of Residence: University-owned accommodation where students can live while studying.

Higher Education: Education and training for students over 18, leading to a qualification at level 4 or above. This could be a Higher National Diploma (HND), Foundation Degree, Degree Apprenticeship, Undergraduate Degree, Master’s Degree or PhD.

Home Students: Students based in the UK when they apply to university and meet residence requirements are typically referred to as home students.

Honours Degree: A first course of higher education study undertaken at university typically lasting three or four years.

I

Insurance Choice: This is typically an applicant’s second choice for university – a reserve choice in case they do not meet the requirements to get into their first (firm) choice.

International Students: Students who undertake all or part of their studies in a country other than their own.

J

Joint Honours: This is an undergraduate degree combined with two subjects and the split is typically split 50:50. Often you spend more time studying one subject (your major field) than the other.

L

LEA: Local Education Authorities (LEA) are those responsible for education within their jurisdiction.

Lecture/Lecturer: A lesson given by an academic member of staff (also known as a lecturer) usually to a large number of students.

N

NUS: The National Union of Students (NUS) supports and represents the interests of students in the UK.

O

Open Days: Open days are an opportunity for prospective students and their parents/guardians to look around the university facilities, speak to staff and students, attend subject talks and take part in accommodation and/or campus tours.

Online Learning: This is when teaching takes place over a platform like Microsoft Teams or Zoom.

P

Personal Statement: An undergraduate personal statement is part of the UCAS application process whereby students detail the unique talents and experiences they have, as well as talk about themselves outside of grades.

PhD: Also known as a doctorate research degree, it is the highest level of academic qualification you can achieve.

Placement: A year during the university course where students gain work experience – typically the penultimate year of the course.

Plagiarism: Deliberately or inadvertently presenting another person’s work as your own. At Queen’s, plagiarism is an academic offence and if a student is found to be plagiarising they will be subject to disciplinary procedures.

Postgraduate Study: Advanced study for students who have completed their bachelor’s degree. Postgraduate study can come in the form of a postgraduate certificate or diploma, master's degree, or PhD (doctorate).

Professor: Academic member of staff who has achieved the highest academic level.

Prospectus: The publication produced by universities every year that provides information on degree courses, the university and student life.

R

Russell Group: The Russell Group represents 24 UK universities that are long-established and rank high in university league tables. These universities typically focus on research and may have high entry requirements.

S

Sandwich course: A course that offers a placement year in a relevant industry for one year to gain work experience.

Scholarships: A non-repayable financial award based on certain criteria. Read more on Queen’s scholarships here.

School: A department representing a certain subject area. For example, at Queen’s, we have a School of Law and a Management School.

Semester: The academic year is divided into two semesters which are 14-week blocks.

Seminar: Smaller teaching sessions where students can engage with other students as well as a lecturer. These discussions usually follow the content that has been delivered in the lecture.

Single Honours: An undergraduate degree that covers one subject.

Societies: Groups of students that share interests – clubs and societies at Queen’s can be found here.

Student Loan: This is money borrowed from the Student Loans Company to cover tuition fees as well as living costs throughout the university. The loan is then paid back when a student has graduated and earns above the yearly threshold.

Student Union (SU): A student union is a student-run group that dedicates time and resources to support and give advice to the student community. As well as that, the student union will put together social events, sports, and societies for a wide range of different hobbies and interests. At Queen’s, we have the largest single-campus SU in Ireland.

T

Tariff Points: Points system that gives a numerical value to post-16 qualifications for university course acceptance.

Tuition Fees: Universities set out the tuition fees students must pay if they want to join a course. Fees vary depending on the subject, where a student is based etc. Students are not expected to pay these fees upfront and can opt to take a student loan that they later repay when graduated. Find out more information on Queen’s tuition fees here

Turing Scheme: Replacing ERASMUS, the Turing Scheme is the UK's global programme for studying, working and living abroad.

Tutor: Members of staff at the university responsible for teaching and assisting students throughout their studies.

Tutorial: A tutorial can be on a group or individual basis and act as an opportunity to discuss any issues with a tutor.

U

UCAS: The Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS) processes applications for courses within the UK.

UCAS Extra: A service provided by UCAS that allows students to add additional choices to their university application if they have applied to five universities, received decisions, and were not accepted or declined the offers. This is different to Clearing. UCAS Extra opens early in the application process.

UCAS Track: Online service for students to track their application for university courses.

Unconditional Offer: This offer means an applicant has a definite place on a UCAS course of study.

Unconditional Firm: An unconditional offer that has been firmly accepted by the applicant.

Undergraduate: A person who is studying for their first degree.

V

Viva Voce: This is an examination which is a spoken interview rather than a written exam. Some university courses, especially languages, will test students’ knoweldge through a combination of written and oral (viva voce) examinations.

W

Withdrawal: When either the student or university/college withdraw a choice