After You Apply

The Applicant Portal helps you keep track of your application, as it moves through all the stages of the applicant journey. On the portal you can undertake actions such as:

• View the decision on your application
• Accept your offer (not for UCAS courses)
• Update your personal details if they change
• Select an Interview Date (if applicable)
• Upload documents
• Apply for your CAS (if applicable)

You will have received your user details and password by email after you submitted your application. If you do not have this please check your junk mail on a device other than a phone. Please also do a search in your mailbox for emails from noreplyadmissions@northumbria.ac.uk

You will be prompted to update your password when you first login to the Applicant portal

The system won’t accept a password you’ve already used and you shouldn’t use your name within your password.

Your password must be at least 12 characters long and should contain 1 of each of the below:

+ Uppercase characters (A through to Z)

+ Numerical digits (0 through to 9)

+ Non-alphabetical characters (e.g.! $ # % @ +)

If the problem persists please contact IT Service desk on +44 191 227 4242 or by using IT Chat

A new Password Reset Service has been launched, giving you the opportunity to reset your own password if you forget it. 

To register for the service, visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/passwordsecurity where you can create a unique PIN and register a mobile.

If you forget your password you can visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/passwordreset and enter your PIN to receive a temporary password and create your new password immediately.

Further help can be found on the IT Support 365 page

·  Please check your junk mail on a device other than a phone. Log in details are sent out when we receive your application

·  If you are using a school email address it may have gone into their junk/they may be blocking our NU address. Contact bc.applicantservices@northumbria.ac.uk to update to a personal email address. Please include your UCAS ID or email address that you applied with so that we can trace the record

·  Please contact bc.applicantservices@northumbria.ac.uk if you need your log in details to be sent again

1. I can’t login

• Please use Chrome as the browser
• Do you have the correct login information? Follow the link provided in the email to the Applicant portal         
• Always copy and paste user name and password from the information on the email (but remove any spaces at the trailing end)
  

  You will be prompted to update your password when you first login.(This is not an email address)

   

  The system won’t accept a password you’ve already used and you shouldn’t use your name within your password.

  Your password must be at least 12 characters long and should contain 1 of each of the below:

  + Uppercase characters (A through to Z)

  + Numerical digits (0 through to 9)

  + Non-alphabetical characters (e.g.! $ # % @ +)

  If the problem persists please contact IT Service desk on +44 191 227 4242 or by using IT Chat

2. Invalid ISS message

• Clear cache to wipe old passwords stored:

            - Chrome: https://clear-my-cache.com/windows/google-chrome.html

            - Edge: https://clear-my-cache.com/en/windows/microsoft-edge.html

            - Firefox: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-clear-firefox-cache

            - Internet Explorer 11: https://clear-my-cache.com/en/windows/internet-explorer-11.html

            - Safari: https://clear-my-cache.com/apple-mac-os/safari.html

3. No active containers

• This means you have logged in with an incorrect username. The system will merge records and revert to the original user ID if you have made an application to us before.

4. Current Students

• Current students can access their applications through their Student portal by clicking on 'My Info' and then ‘My Applications’. Click on the highlighted course to access the information.  Or by accessing the Applicant portal 

If you have a disability such as a visual, sensory or mobility impairment, a long term medical condition, mental health difficulties or a Specific Learning difficulty, you should contact the Accessibility Support team to discuss support you may require during your studies, including examination arrangements. Please email sv.disability@northumbria.ac.uk and an appointment will be made for you to speak with a Disabilities Adviser.

When we have made a decision on your application you will receive an email directing you to your applicant portal, where you can view details of your offer. UCAS applicants will also be able to view decision on UCAS Track

For legal reasons, your formal name must be used during application and at enrolment, which is completed on confirming your identity on first collection of your student smartcard which will display your legal name. 

You can use a preferred first name on systems and smartcards to replace your legal first name, for example as an international student you may wish to use an anglicised name whilst in the UK, or as a student who does not identify themselves with their sex at birth and would prefer to be known by a different name from that on a birth certificate. 

You may then collect a smartcard in your preferred name from an Ask4Help service point free of charge, you must present your existing smartcard. Your preferred first name will be used consistently across the University’s IT systems, with individuals addressed with the same name regardless of which system accessed.

For formal documents such as the award certificate and transcript, your official legal name will continue to be used.   Any changes to your official name must have identity documentation as evidence (e.g. passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate, change of name deed).  No changes will be accepted after the award has been made.  Please contact the Ask4Help team in Student Central for further support and guidance.

You can use the 'Respond to your offer' button on the applicant portal to accept your offer.

If you are a UCAS applicant however, you should accept your offer via UCAS Track. 

Northumbria recognises a wide range of English Language Tests and exemptions in lieu of GCSE/IELTS.  You can find details of the tests that we currently accept, here. For certain courses we may only be able to consider certain tests to meet UKVI requirements if you require a visa or if their are professional body requirements. 

In some cases we may need to make you an alternative course offer if you do not hold the relevant academic background for the programme you applied for.  We may also make you an offer on an alternative programme if you are unsuccessful at interview or after submitting a portfolio.

If you have been made a Dual Offer, this means that if you do not receive the tariff points for the degree programme, but receive the points for the relevant foundation year programme, we will automatically make you a change course offer to the foundation at confirmation.  This means that you will begin a foundation year at Northumbria and move to the degree programme after completion of the foundation year. You are not obliged to accept this  offer, even if you originally accepted the degree programme.  Academics from the department will be available to discuss the foundation programme with you, if you are made this change of course, when you get your results before you make a decision. You can find out more about our foundation year programmes, here. 

We accept all tariff points from all level 3 qualifications in the UCAS tariff and these can be used towards your offer. If your course stipulates a specific grade in a particular subject you will still need to achieve that grade, but the remainder of the points can be made up from other level 3 qualifications. To find out what tariff points your qualifications you can use the UCAS tariff calculator

Details on how to declare any relevant criminal convictions will be provided in your offer letter.  You can find out more about our criminal conviction policy here. 

Northumbria University is committed to supporting aspirations and recruiting high quality students, regardless of background. We want Northumbria to be an inclusive, accessible option for applicants.

A contextual offer approach means that when reviewing your application, we consider both academic information alongside contextual information to allow our admissions team to fully understand an applicant's true potential.

Please visit our Entry Criteria Essential Information page for details on the various offer schemes we offer at Northumbria.

If you wish to request to defer your place, your request will be considered by the Applicant Services team, and we will notify you of the decision.

You can request this by submitting a Request a change form.

If you are due to begin your programme in January 2025 and decide to defer your application, you should request to defer your application as soon as possible to let us know you do not intend to start in January 2025. 

Please note that we only allow applicants to defer their place once.  If you have previously deferred, you must submit a new application.

Please note that we do not accept deferral requests for our BA (Hons) Primary Education or PGCE programmes. You will have to submit a new application in the next academic year.

If you wish to request to change your course, your request will be considered by the Applicant Services team, and we will notify you of the decision. 

We may not be able to consider requests to change to courses that require an interview or have other additional requirements, or restricted capacity. 

UCAS

If you wish to request to change your course, you should complete our Request a change form. 

UCAS- Conditional firm or insurance offer holders wishing to switch replies

If you wish to switch your replies, you can change your replies directly with UCAS if it is within 14 days of you replying to your offer. 

If the 14 days lapsed, Northumbria University has opted into “pre approved reply swaps” so you may be able to see this option on your UCAS Hub or you can contact UCAS directly to ask to change the response to your offer, without the need to contact Northumbria for permission.*

If this option is not on your UCAS Hub, it may mean that your other university choices have not opted in and you need to contact them to gain their permission to swap your replies.

In this case, please complete our Request a Change form as soon as possible and select "I wish to change the response I have made to my offer". You will also need to contact the UCAS Customer Experience team on 0371 468 0468 (or +44 330 3330 230 from outside of the UK) as all 3 parties need to agree to your request.

*The pre-approval process for the 2025 cycle will operate from week beginning 3 February until the final date for amended decisions, 24 July 2025.

No changes are permitted after the 24 July 2025.

Direct applications (including London, Pathway, Degree Apprenticeship, Continuing Workforce Development etc)

You can request a change of course by submitting a request a change form

If you have a deferred place, and you wish to bring your starting year forward, your request will be considered by the Applicant Services team, and we will notify you of the decision. It will only be possible to bring your application forward if there are places still available on the programme. 

Please complete our Request a change form.

In many cases we may be able to consider this request, but it will depend on the course you have applied for, when we receive your request and if there are any spaces available on the programme. 

Some of our programmes require an Enhanced DBS check.  If you are made an offer on a programme our DBS team will be in touch at a later point in the cycle to advise you on your next steps and help you to apply for the programme. You can find out more about the DBS policy here

Applicants who are outside the UK may be required to produce a Police Clearance Certificate from their country of residence and then complete the DBS process when they arrive in the UK. 

With regards to the Occupational Health Clearance, a member of our Occupational Health and Hygiene Team will be in touch in due course – they will basically be asking for a letter from your doctor, covering your vaccinations and providing you with a questionnaire to cover any health or mobility issues a student may present. In the rare instance the Team need to see a student, an appointment will be arranged nearer the start of the course, with a UK based NHS practitioner.

Please note that your doctor may charge you for a statement relating to your vaccinations.

You may be aware that universities charge two levels of fee - a lower 'home' fee and a higher 'overseas' fee. The University has been unable to confirm your fee status from the information supplied in your application and we therefore need some further information from you in order to determine this.

The decision to class a student as a Home or an Overseas student, is determined by government legislation as set out in The Student Fees (Qualifying Courses and Persons) (England) Regulations (as amended). The regulations governing the fee status of students can be found on the government legislation website.

The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) publishes information on its website explaining the conditions you need to meet to be entitled to pay tuition fees at the 'home' rate for study on a higher education (HE) course in England. You can find a link to this information here.

As your fee status may influence the type of financial support available to you, it is important that you are classified correctly

Please log onto your Applicant Portal to complete the Fee Status Questionnaire. If you have applied for more than once course, you only need to fill in the questionnaire once.  You may be required to upload supporting documentation so please ensure that you upload good quality copies of relevant documentation to avoid delays

Any requests that you receive to provide additional supporting documentation, you will need to ensure you that upload the document, via the ‘Documents – Action Required’ tile. Specific details of the information that is required will be contained in the email you receive

In order to upload your documents please follow these steps:

1. Please ensure you sign into the applicant portal

2. You should now see your personal/contact details and a black bar below where your outstanding applications are. Click on your course title and you will see the main details of your application.

3. Underneath you should see a box saying “Documents”, please click on this.

4. You should now see a list of the documents the team have requested and a link to upload the documents.

5. If specific documents have not been requested, you will see 'If you have any additional relevant documents that have not been requested above or previously supplied, please upload them here' at the bottom of the screen. Please click on the link in order to upload any additional documents.

The Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) applies to all international students (apart from exempt nationalities) who are subject to UK immigration control and are intending to study at postgraduate level in certain sensitive subjects. The subjects are those where students’ knowledge could be used in programmes to develop Advanced Conventional Military Technology (ACMT), weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) or their means of delivery. These students must apply for an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate before they can study in the UK.

Students who are nationals of EU countries, the European Economic Area (EEA), Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland or the United States of America do not need an ATAS certificate.

The requirement for an ATAS certificate applies to all other students irrespective of the country of residence when they apply.

You need an ATAS certificate if you are an international student applying to study at postgraduate level in the UK.

If you need this requirement this will be indicated in your offer letter, along with further information on how to get this.

Details of ATAS scheme can be found here.

Some courses require an ATAS certificate prior to enrolment. If you are required to provide this information, this will be indicated in your offer letter and you will receive a request to upload your ATAS Certificate via the Applicant Portal as soon as you receive it

Any requests that you receive to provide additional supporting documentation, you will need to ensure you that upload the document, via the ‘Documents – Action Required’ tile. Specific details of the information that is required will be contained in the email you receive

Information on how to pay can be found at the following link

Once you have an unconditional offer, you will be prompted to provide confirmation that you have paid your deposit

You should upload evidence of your qualifications to the applicant portal as soon as they become available.

In order to upload your documents please follow these steps:

1. Please ensure you sign into the applicant portal
2. You should now see your personal/contact details and a black bar below where your outstanding applications are. Click on your course title and you will see the main details of your application.
3. Underneath you should see a box saying “Documents”, please click on this.
4. You should now see a list of the documents the team have requested and a link to upload the documents.
5. If specific documents have not been requested, you will see 'If you have any additional relevant documents that have not been requested above or previously supplied, please upload them here' at the bottom of the screen. Please click on the link in order to upload any additional documents.

We do receive a number of Level 3 qualifications directly via UCAS if you are completing these in the current academic cycle, so you may not need to send evidence of these in most cases.

We still recommend that you submit your results as we may be able to offer you an alternative programme. This may be an alternative degree, a foundation programme or English language programme.