Admissions FAQs

Part 1: Postgraduate degrees and “direct” applications

1. Why is my course not showing on the application form?

Courses will only show on the application form search if they are available to apply for. So if the deadline has passed or the course is now full, it will not be available to apply to. Please see the individual course page for more information. Applications for the next academic year usually will open in October.

2. What does Pre-registration and Post-registration mean?

A Pre-Registration course is a course that leads to professional registration in a particular setting. For example, with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) or the Health and Care Professional Council (HCPC). These postgraduate courses are designed for people who hold a degree in another subject who are looking to transfer their career into this specific area. They are often very popular courses with limited spaces and can be competitive to get into.

Post-registration courses are designed for professionals who are already registered in their area to expand their skills and improve their CPD or academic qualifications to Master’s level study. In most cases you must already hold registration in this area.

3. I don’t have all my documents, should I submit an application?

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 your course has a deadline and you do not have the required documents, we recommend that you submit your application anyway otherwise it will not be considered, however in most cases we recommend that you only submit once the application is complete. If you are currently studying a qualification, evidence can be provided once complete and Admissions would be able to issue a conditional offer in the meantime. 

If you have to provide further documents or we ask you to provide documents to be included with your application, we would normally expect these to be copies sent by e-mail. Ideally, please scan them and send through as a PDF or JPEG file no larger than 2MB. Alternatively, you can take a good-quality photo (with your phone for example) and we can include them as well.

Please e-mail these through to admissions@qmu.ac.uk. You must include your student number, name and course title when you e-mail them to us.

4. How do I apply for one module?

Associate (single) modules and Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

While some of our CPD courses have direct applications, many of them are provided through a single (or “Associate”) module as part of a larger degree. So, we will ask you to apply for an “Associate module – MSc/MA degree title”. Many of the Person Centred Practice or Nursing courses are offered this way.

 As part of the application we will ask you to enter the module title that you are interested in in the last page of the application.

5. What documents do I have to provide?

Some of our courses have very specific requirements, however the most common documents that we need to see are listed below.

Academic Documents

Please see this page for more information.

References

Please see this page for more information.

English language

If you are not from an English speaking country (as recognised by the UKVI list here) we will need to see evidence of your ability to study

The usual request is to see an English language test result, such as IELTS, TOEFL or Pearson. The minimum requirement for is usually overall IELTS equivalent score of 6.0 with no component less than 5.5 however many courses ask for more than this, so please check your individual course page for requirements. Every test must have been taken within two years of the course start date.

If you have completed degree level studies in English language in countries not from this list, we may be able to accept this as evidence of your English language ability. You will need to provide a letter from your university stating that the degree was taught and assessed/examined in English. This is sometimes called a certificate of English proficiency. Under certain circumstances, such as if you require a CAS for a visa to study in the UK, we will also have to ask you to complete an interview over the phone. Any degree completed in English, must have been successfully completed within five years of the course start date.

We may be able to consider other evidence of English language, so please get in touch with Admissions to discuss. However, please note some of the courses we offer have professional registration requirements where this is not permitted and usually an IELTS test is the only evidence that can be accepted.

More information on English language can be found on the International pages of the website.

Other documents we may need

Criminal Record Check

Applicants for certain courses of study must declare all criminal convictions at the point of application, and in these cases, the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 does not apply. As a condition of entry, candidates for these courses will be required to provide a satisfactory Enhanced Disclosure from the Criminal Records Bureau, Disclosure Scotland or an appropriate equivalent.

In line with mandatory requirements for Scottish Universities, applicants to all courses must disclose relevant unspent criminal convictions and relevant live criminal procedures (charges) at the post-offer stage as well as annually on re-enrolment.  If an applicant has any doubt as to the effect a criminal conviction or charge may have on their application, they must contact the Head of Admissions who will be able to advise accordingly. For more information on how we collect, store and use data relating to criminal convictions and charges please see our Privacy Notice for Prospective Students here.

The courses include: Person Centred Practice: Health Visiting, Person Centred Practice: District Nursing, Person Centred Practice: School Nursing, DipHE in Hearing Aid Audiology and the Aptitude Test in Hearing Aid Dispensing

Evidence of name change

If your degree or academic certificate is in another name than the one you have applied with, we will need to see evidence of your change of name, such as a marriage certificate or deed poll document.

Translations

Similarly to the degree certificate and transcript, if any of your documents are not in English, we must see an officially translated version of these documents before we can make an assessment. An official translation will include the signed and stamped details of the translator and cannot be provided as translated by yourself.

Evidence of HCPC or NMC registration

Some courses are offered for applicants who are already registered professional in their field. In these cases, we may ask for evidence of your HCPC or NMC registration.

Collaborative courses

If you are applying to QMU for a course that also run by a collaborative partner (such as NHS Lothian, NHS Fife or NHS Borders) please note! We do our best to ensure that copies of documents are handed to us from interviews, however some things do not passed across as quickly as needed. If you are asked to provide these documents by Admissions, please send copies to us directly.

6. Now I have submitted my application, what happens next?

For our Undergraduate full time courses, applications are submitted via UCAS and you will receive a decision by the UCAS Reply by Date. Some of our courses (including MSc Physiotherapy and MSc Dietetics) have deadlines and your application will not be assessed until after this deadline. You should expect to receive a decision around one month after the deadline date.

Many of our postgraduate courses (with or without deadlines) are assessed by the course tutors, so once Admissions have checked your documents we will pass your application across to them. Sometimes this can take some time, so we appreciate your patience while you wait. We aim to get back to applicants with a decision within 4 weeks of receiving a “completed” application. If you have applied for a course that holds interviews, this decision may be an invitation to attend an interview.

Please contact Admissions with any questions that are not answered below.

I’ve applied, what should I do next?

Once you have applied, you will be able to track your application through UCAS Hub. The status of your application will be updated, once a decision has been made on your application.

Most of the information that we send to you will be by email, so please let us know if you change your contact details. If we make you an offer, make sure that you respond by the deadline given. 

What does my offer mean?

Once your application has been considered by QMU you will be given one of the following decisions:

• an unconditional place: the offer of a firm place
• a conditional place: the offer of a place, subject to the achievement/verification of specific entry requirements prior to entry
• unsuccessful: we will give feedback on why your application has been unsuccessful when we communicate the decision

How do I accept my offer? 

When you have received decisions from all your UCAS choices, or if you are sure you want to go ahead and accept our offer, you do so via UCAS Hub. Please check UCAS for ‘important dates’ which will let you know the date by which you need to reply to your offers.

If you have an ‘unconditional’ offer that you wish to make your firm choice you cannot then have an ‘insurance’ choice as well. If you have a ‘conditional’ offer you can make a ‘firm’ choice and an ‘insurance’ choice as a backup in case you do not meet the conditions of your firm choice.

I’ve accepted my offer, what do I do now?

Read the important information in your offer letter. Once you have accepted your offer we will email you with further joining information.

If you are an international applicant, we will support your application for a Student visa. We will send further information and guidance to all unconditional firm offer holders.

Our Healthcare courses and some of our other degree programmes require a PVG (Protecting Vulnerable Groups) Scheme criminal conviction check. Applicants from outside the UK will also be required to provide the Admissions Office with a satisfactory police check from their home country. If your course requires you to provide us with a satisfactory criminal record check, you will be contacted by Admissions with further information once you have received your offer.

I want to change my undergraduate acceptance from Insurance to Firm.

Contact the Admissions Office admissions@qmu.ac.uk or 0131 474 0000 (and ask for Admissions) to discuss whether this might be possible.

What should I do when I get my results?  

If you are taking Scottish Highers, A levels, or ILC exams then the results are sent automatically to UCAS who pass these to us so that we may confirm your offer conditions. For all other examinations, e.g., HNC, HND, BTEC, IELTS, Access courses or Degree courses, you need to scan and email, or post the results to us as soon as possible.

Once your conditions are met, your offer will update from ‘conditional’ to ‘unconditional’ on UCAS track and we will also contact you.

What should I do if I don’t meet my conditions?

We may already have received your results and posted the decision on UCAS track, so check that first. If you need to send us your results do so as soon as possible so that we can check them against the application and we will post our decision onto UCAS Hub. If you do not meet the conditions for your offer then your application will move to your ‘insurance’ choice for their decision (if appropriate) or released into UCAS Clearing. This will also show on UCAS Hub.

Can I defer my place?  

Please check with Admissions. It may not be possible to offer a deferred place for all courses, so contact us as soon as possible to discuss your requirements.

Is there an application fee?

No, we don’t charge a fee for you to submit an application.

What documents do you need in support of my application?

This may vary slightly by course but the Admissions team will notify you if there are any documents which we need before we can assess your application. You will have the chance to upload supporting documents as part of your application. This is an important part of the admissions process. Without supporting documents tutors will not have enough information to make a decision on your application.

The usual documents required are:

• Completed application form
• Academic Transcript
• Degree certificate (if appropriate)
• One or two letters of reference, depending on the course.
• English language results (if appropriate)

What is an academic transcript?

An academic transcript is a document that indicates your performance for the modules you have studied, showing the number of credits you have achieved and the level at which you have studied.

What if I don’t have my final degree certificate yet?

If you have completed your degree but do not receive your final degree certificate until a later date you can request an official letter from your University to submit with your application. This must state your eligibility to graduate and degree classification. We will then require a copy of your degree certificate once this has been issued, prior to the course start.

What if I don’t graduate until the summer before term starts?

In the application form, complete the section ‘Education and Qualifications’ detailing your degree, start/end dates and information of any honours project. Once you have submitted the application please send in copies of your academic transcripts to date. Any offer made would then be conditional on completion of your degree with a certain classification or G.P.A.

What if my documents are not in English?

Where your original degree certificate, academic transcript, or other relevant documents are not in English you must provide an officially certified translation.

What does my offer mean?

Once your application has been considered by QMU you will be given one of the following decisions:

• an unconditional place: the offer of a firm place
• a conditional place: the offer of a place, subject to the achievement/verification of specific entry requirements prior to entry
• waiting list: on occasion, a course is in high demand and may become fully subscribed so a waiting list is started. Places may subsequently become available
• unsuccessful: we will give feedback on why your application has been unsuccessful when we communicate the decision. We are always able to give further individual advice and feedback to applicants

How do I accept my offer?  

You can email your acceptance to admissions@qmu.ac.uk . Our automatic email system will confirm that we have received your email and we will record your acceptance.

I’ve accepted my offer, what do I do now?

Read the important information in your offer letter. Once you have accepted your offer we will email you with further joining information.

If you are an international applicant, we will support your application for a Student visa. We will send further information and guidance to all unconditional firm offer holders.

Our Healthcare courses and some of our other degree programmes require a PVG (Protecting Vulnerable Groups) Scheme criminal conviction check. Applicants from outside the UK will also be required to provide the Admissions Office with a satisfactory police check from their home country. If your course requires you to provide us with a satisfactory criminal record check, you will be contacted by Admissions with further information once you have received your offer.

Can I defer my place?  

Please check with Admissions at admissions@qmu.ac.uk. It may not be possible to offer a deferred place for all courses, so contact us as soon as possible to discuss your requirements.

Does submitting an application mean I am automatically considered for funding/scholarships?

No, you will need to make separate applications for any available funding. Deadlines for funding/scholarship applications may be different to application deadlines. Please check our Fees and Funding pages  for details of available awards.

When can I apply for accommodation?

You can apply online for your place in the Halls of Residence when you receive your CONDITIONAL or UNCONDITIONAL offer. Places are allocated on a first come first served basis. Please see our accommodation pages for more information.

I didn’t attend an Open Day but now I want to have a look at the university before the start of term.

Please contact our Student Recruitment team studentrecruitment@qmu.ac.uk who will let you know the dates of forthcoming campus tours, or see our website for details of opportunities to visit us.

What is matriculation?

Once you have accepted your unconditional offer you will be asked to formally register with Queen Margaret University; this registration process is referred to as matriculation. At QMU, matriculation is an online process. Once you have matriculated, you are entitled to pursue the programme of study to which you have been admitted and to access student services and facilities in the University.

When can I matriculate?

You will be emailed with further information regarding matriculation prior to the start of your course. This is typically within the month prior to the course start date.

What is Induction?

Induction is an important part of the student admissions programme and provides an opportunity to meet your fellow students, learn about IT and Library resources, and join in some of our social events. Details of your induction will be available on our website once you have completed the matriculation process.

Induction usually takes place the week prior to the start of your course. There will be a dedicated induction programme run over two weeks for all direct entrants who will be entering a degree in years 2 or 3.

I'm taking a health course which involves placements - what will happen?

Programmes in the School of Health Sciences that lead to professional registration have clinical placements. The timing and type of these placements varies considerably depending on the programme. For most of the programmes students can be placed anywhere in Scotland and sometimes further afield. This is to ensure that we give students the most appropriate placements in a wide range of settings. More information relating to your placements will be given during the induction for your course.

When do I get my timetable?

You will have access to your timetable once you have completed online matriculation. During induction you will be shown how to use the online timetable and how to choose modules online.

The timetables are subject to change up until the first week of teaching and may also depend on your options, module selection and work placements. You can find general information on the University's dates through the academic calendar.

Should I undertake any advanced reading for my course?

This is not normally required, but any relevant information will be given on the course induction webpages. Reading lists for the year will be issued during the induction week and at the beginning of the semester.

Can I apply for a parking permit?

QMU operates a green travel policy to encourage sustainable travel choices and decrease single occupancy car use across the university community. As part of this policy, Students living off-campus can apply for a permit to use the campus car park. You can find further information on travel options, including details on public transport and parking permits, on our website.

Who can I talk to about funding support?

The University offers a funding advice service which exists to provide information and guidance for all students regarding the funding available to them. If you require further advice then please contact our Student Funding Adviser studentfunding@qmu.ac.uk.

Visit the Disability Service webpages