Other qualifications and experience

There are over 12,000 vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) offered in the UK. Many of these directly qualify students for the workplace and are not intended to prepare someone for higher education. However, a large number of VTQs can be considered under our entry requirements. The most common are BTECs which are widely accepted for all our courses. From 2022 entry we will also accept the new T-level qualifications onto specific courses that best match the curriculum studied by T-level students.

Many VTQs carry UCAS tariff points; you can check this using the UCAS tariff calculator. Even if yours does not, we may still accept it. Contact us to check, our enquiries team would be happy to help.

Relevant professional, commercial or Open University credits may be acknowledged as equivalent to sections of a course which then do not need to be repeated. Applicants must be able to provide evidence of some A-level equivalent study – and may still be advised to undertake a preparatory course.

Admissions tutors may accept other qualifications which give access to higher education. Applicants offering work-based qualifications such as NVQs, should be able to provide evidence of relevant background knowledge and ability to study at university level. Whilst individual course requirements vary, all qualifications – UK and international – are considered.

Overseas qualifications

For information on how to find out the English equivalent of your qualification, visit our international equivalency guides.

UK ENIC, the UK National Information Centre for the recognition and evaluation of international qualifications and skills, also has lots of information available about comparing your academic qualifications.