Access to HE Diplomas are well established, national qualifications which allow students without traditional qualifications to apply for degree courses and enter university. Our Access to Humanities course runs over one year and is ideal for students wishing to progress to university, to study on a wide-range of humanities or social science degree courses. The Diploma may also be a beneficial qualification for students looking to go directly into employment, where Level 3 qualifications are required. You need to be self-motivated and committed, with an aptitude to study academic subjects at advanced level. The Humanities programme will help you to develop critical thinking, reflection, analysis and of course the academic skills - all of which will prepare you for independent study at university. It is an intensive programme run over 3 days and students must be completely committed to hard work and to maintaining 100% attendance in all classes. Students are expected to self-study for a minimum of 10 extra hours a week in order to manage strict work deadlines and to cope with the work load. Most universities will require students to have a GCSE (A-C) or equivalent in maths and English, in addition to a Level 3 qualification. Should you wish to take the full GCSE, you may want to sign up for additional study during your time at the College. More details will be made available at our induction but you can also find information about GCSEs on our website. Is the course right for me? You need to carefully consider your long-term career goals and consider what skills you have already gained outside of education. Many universities will be asking you for high grades in your work and you need to be sure these are achievable. You should research university courses very carefully to make sure you have what they are looking for: you are likely to want to apply for a university place within a few weeks of starting the Access course! You should be aged 19yrs or over.

The Access to Humanities course can lead to university study. Past students have gone on to study at Greenwich, Kent, Sussex, York, Southampton and East Anglia universities. It is the responsibility of the student to secure places at university.