What you need to apply

Step 1: Find your chosen course(s) on our postgraduate courses page

Step 2: Scroll down and find the 'Entry Requirements' section and ensure you meet all requirements

Step 3: At the top of the page, find and click the "Apply Now" button

Step 4: You will now be directed to our applicant portal where you will need to make an account in order to start your application. 

If you are a current student and you are applying to an eligible course, you will be redirected to our short form to register your interest.

(The applicant portal allows you to apply for courses and track your application)

Entry requirements are available on the individual course pages.  You can view them by clicking on the Entry Requirements tab. 

If you have studied EU or International qualifications you can find more information on how your qualifications compare here.

If you are not sure if you hold the correct qualifications, then please contact applicant services for further advice.

This will depend on your course and if you have additional requirements, such as needing a visa.  As standard, in most cases, you will need to provide evidence of qualifications, personal statement, references.  If you are subject to immigration permission then you may also be required to provide evidence of your passport, visas, permissions to study.  Some courses may also require other evidence such as a portfolio, evidence of RPEL, proof of ATAS clearance, DBS Clearance certificate.

While we can accept your application without all the required documents, we would not consider your application as “complete” until all of these are provided. If you are still waiting on academic qualifications, then you can submit your application without these as they are not currently available.  If however you have completed all your qualifications you should ideally provide these at the point of application where possible.

You can apply with these documents but you should also include evidence of any name change or marriage certificate etc. 

We will consider applications that have significant and relevant work experience.  We recommend that you supply an up to date CV detailing your work experience, alongside your applications.

Generally, we want to know how your current or previous studies have shaped your decision and what experiences you've gained. We also what to know about you.

What interests you about the subject area or course?

Do you have a long-term career goal? Will this course help you get there?

What are your extra-curricular activities, what you do in your spare time, any relevant work/volunteer experience, and any other achievements?

What skills and attributes you have gained from inside and outside of education? For example are you good at problem solving or have good analytical skills.

In most cases we would expect an academic referee from your current or former institutions. If however you are applying based on your work experience then references from a current or former employer may also be relevant. We do not typically accept references from family or friends. 

After you apply you will receive a confirmation email and login details to track your application via our applicant portal. You will use the applicant portal to manage your application up to the point you enrol on the programme. 

If any of your documents are not in English you should also supply a certified English translation.

The university works with a number of recognised agents/university representatives worldwide.  They are able to advise on our programmes, support you in your application journey and support you with any visa application. You can find details of representatives in your country here. 

We run Pre-sessional English Language and Summer School programmes in September, January, June and July. You can find out more about the programmes here.  

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 there are professional body requirements. 

Northumbria regularly welcomes a large number of EU and International applicants.

You can find more information on how your qualifications compare and our typical entry requirements for different countries, here.

We also accept a wide range of EU and International English Language qualifications and exemptions. They can be found here.

If you are not sure if you hold the correct qualifications, then please contact applicant services for further advice.

If you have been selected for interview, you will receive an email inviting you to select a date and time on the applicant portal.

In many cases you will find out in the following few days after your interviews if you were successful or unsuccessful. Depending on your interview performance/score we may not always be able to make a decision straightaway. We will let you know if you have received a borderline score that requires further review by the academic team and will aim to get back to you as soon as possible with a final outcome on your application.

Due to current Covid restrictions our interviews are being conducted virtually, via either Microsoft Teams or Blackboard Collaborate.  You do not need to download any specialist equipment to undertake this interview. You should however make sure you have access to a computer, tablet or other device that allows video calling. 

In most cases you can do this via your applicant portal using the cancel interview button and then selecting a new date but you should only do this if there is a genuine reason that you cannot attend the original date as there may not be any other dates available as the cycle progresses. If there are no dates available you will need to contact applicant services and we will do our best to rearrange where possible. Please contact us, in advance of cancelling if you are unsure. 

Each course that requires an interview have different formats or things to prepare.  Your interview may be individual, group or a combination of both. For some programmes there may be a video to watch in advance, a written test or a scenario to read.  You can access the details of you interview, from the events tab on the applicant portal