Your future at Southampton

You can still apply for most of our courses through the main UCAS cycle. You can check course availability on our course pages or UCAS.

Please be reassured that whatever the assessment system in 2021, we will be as fair and flexible as possible to ensure that applicants are not disadvantaged.

We are continuing to assess applications and make offers. If you have already received an offer, we encourage you to respond in line with the UCAS guidance and deadlines. If you are due to attend a virtual interview, please make sure you book it soon to ensure we can meet with you and make you an offer.

Contact us at admissions@southampton.ac.uk if you have any questions about your application.

It’s important for you to remember that places are not decided on grades alone. Information in your personal statement and references are part of our decision-making process, along with your interview, portfolio, audition and any other information that’s relevant to your potential to succeed on your chosen course.

We are working closely with the UK Government, UCAS and exam boards, and will update you as soon as possible with the latest information. Please check in to this page on a regular basis for updates. 

If your grades are marginally below the conditions of your offer, we may be able to confirm your place at Southampton if there are places available on your chosen programme.

We very much welcome you to join our residential community and live in University Accommodation. If you are interested in applying for University Accommodation, you can apply as soon as you've accepted a study offer from the University.

Apply before 1 August to be covered by our accommodation guarantee. If you are not covered by the terms of the guarantee, we still welcome your application for accommodation.

Find more information about our accommodation.

If you are arriving from outside of the UK (and not from a country on the red-list) and have an offer for University accommodation, we will also be able to offer you accommodation for your period of quarantine.

On arrival, we will provide you with a welcome food parcel, bedding, towels and a kitchen utensil pack.

During your period of quarantine, we will ensure you are able to access more food and grocery deliveries, post and parcels and other essentials you may require.

We are happy to confirm that all new University of Southampton students who live in red list countries travelling to the UK for the 2021/22 academic year will have their mandatory hotel quarantine costs of up to £2,285 covered by the University.

This support applies to countries on the red list as of 30 August 2021. Countries added to the red list after this date will be reviewed on an on-going basis. Students should not transit via red list countries unless their original departure point is also a red list country.

Payments will be made to qualifying students following receipt of proof of payment to the UK Government for hotel quarantine and full enrolment at the University of Southampton. These payments will be restricted to students only.

Any costs associated with dependents including spouses and children will not be covered by the University. Further details on how to claim this support will be provided shortly.

For Undergraduate courses, we only have one intake a year so If you wish to defer you would be starting in September 2022.

To be able to defer, you need to hold an unconditional accepted offer with us, if you are cyrrently holding a conditional offer, we are waiting for your academic and/or English results, we are not able to defer you, you would need to reapply in the next cycle.

To request a deferral please email admissions@southampton.ac.uk with your UCAS Personal Id and the word 'Deferral' in the subject line and the following information in the body of the email: Full name, Date of Birth, Programme of study and reason for the deferral request.

We are not planning for a curriculum that can be taken wholly through distance-learning; our expectation is that our students will be available for campus-based activity to the full extent that such activity is possible.

We are aiming to provide as much in person teaching as prevailing conditions allow, blended with online activities that will develop active independent and group online learning.

We expect that as the public health situation evolves, the balance between in person and online education will evolve in response. We are planning for that. Our commitment to you is that whatever the balance, you will be supported as you learn, giving you the best possible opportunities to enjoy and benefit from your experience as a Southampton student.

It is expected that most of our courses will return to in-person teaching, as allowed by the UK Government. A few specific programmes will remain on-line, where they were designed to be taught on-line and are supported by high quality digital content.

You are advised to get here in good time for the start of term, which for most students is 30 September 2021.

If travel and quarantine arrangements prevent this, we will do our best to support you with your studies for a limited period at the start of term. However, you are strongly advised to be in a position to have arrived (and where necessary completed quarantine) and are ready to join in person, on-campus activities by 25 October 2021.

If you have been advised of a different start date from 30 September, please check with your Programme Leader/School regarding the latest date by which you should join face-to-face, on campus activities.

You may be eligible for a refund, please check your offer letter and the terms and conditions regarding the payment of your tuition fee deposit.

As per the terms and conditions of the tuition fee deposit, this is non-refundable.

We are happy to confirm that all new University of Southampton students who live in red list countries travelling to the UK for the 2021/22 academic year will have their mandatory hotel quarantine costs of up to £2,285 covered by the University.

This support applies to countries on the red list as of 30 August 2021. Countries added to the red list after this date will be reviewed on an on-going basis. Students should not transit via red list countries unless their original departure point is also a red list country.

Payments will be made to qualifying students following receipt of proof of payment to the UK Government for hotel quarantine and full enrolment at the University of Southampton. These payments will be restricted to students only.

Any costs associated with dependents including spouses and children will not be covered by the University. Further details on how to claim this support will be provided shortly.

It is expected that most of our courses will return to in-person teaching, as allowed by the UK Government. A few specific programmes will remain on-line, where they were designed to be taught on-line and are supported by high quality digital content.

You are advised to get here in good time for the start of term, which for most students is 30 September 2021. If travel and quarantine arrangements prevent this, we will do our best to support you with your studies for a limited period at the start of term.

However, you are strongly advised to be in a position to have arrived (and where necessary completed quarantine) and are ready to join in person, on-campus activities by 25 October 2021.

If you have been advised of a different start date from 30 September, please check with your Programme Leader/School regarding the latest date by which you should join face-to-face, on campus activities.

We are not planning for a curriculum that can be taken wholly through distance-learning; our expectation is that our students will be available for campus-based activity to the full extent that such activity is possible

We are aiming to provide as much in person teaching as prevailing conditions allow, blended with online activities that will develop active independent and group online learning. We expect that as the public health situation evolves, the balance between in person and online education will evolve in response.

We are planning for that. Our commitment to you is that whatever the balance, you will be supported as you learn, giving you the best possible opportunities to enjoy and benefit from your experience as a Southampton student.

If you have an unconditionally accepted offer, you will have been sent a CAS questionnaire to complete.  Please ensure you return this to casapp@southampton.ac.uk. We aim to raise your CAS within 7 days of receiving your questionnaire, but this can take longer at exceptionally busy times of the year. Further guidance, including a copy of the CAS questionnaire, can be found here.

You can find specific advice about how the Covid-19 pandemic may impact your visa on our visa information page. It is recommended that any students who have questions around their visa should contact the VISAS team either by email or during the visa drop-in live chat.

Please note that the best way to get answers is to contact this team directly. Find out more about the VISAS and immigration advice service. 

For specific advice for students about how the Covid-19 pandemic impacts your visa you can find further information on our visa information page.

It is recommended that any students who have questions around their visa should contact the VISAS team either by email or during the visa drop in live chat.

Please note that the best way to get answers is to contact this team directly. Find out more about the VISAS and immigration advice service.

If your 90 day vignette has expired, you will need to apply for a replacement by completing the online form. The cost of replacing an expired 90-day vignette is £154 and you will need to make an appointment to resubmit your biometric information.

For more information about what documents you need to provide at International Registration, please see our Welcome Website.

You may have visited our Welcome website before and it has now been updated due to the current restrictions. We would like to encourage you to visit the website here and go through the Welcome Steps.

The University offers a free (no charge) Meet & Greet airport collection service to our international students.

The Meet and Greet service will be available from London Heathrow (LHR,) London Gatwick (LGW) and Southampton International (SOU) airports, which will take you directly to your University or private accommodation.

You will be able to book a seat from 10th August via the Welcome website.

Please book early so that you have time to self isolate for 10 days (if required) before the start of teaching or Freshers Week.

If you are self isolating from a Red list country and are quarantined in an airport hotel we will also make arrangements to pick you up after your self isolation. If you have selected University accommodation and you are using the Meet and Greet Service your accommodation will be available on your arrival.

If you have any questions please email meetandgreet@soton.ac.uk.

If you already have an offer of accommodation with the University, your offer will not be carried over. You will need to decline this offer and apply again for a September 2022 start.

Accommodation applications for September 2022 will open soon. Find out more.

If you have accepted and paid for your accommodation we are not able to carry over the pre-payment. You will be refunded and then required to make a pre-payment when you apply again.

If you have accepted and paid for your quarantine accommodation, you will get a refund, it will be credited to your student account.

We are not currently planning for there to be a January 2022 intake.

We know that we are in exceptional times and because of this, we are considering requests from applicants who have met their academic conditions and wish to defer their place with us until September 2022.

To request a deferral please email admissions@soton.ac.uk with ‘Deferral request’ and the name of the programme you have applied for in the subject line. In the body of the email, please let us know your student ID (on your offer letter), full name, date of birth and the reason why you would like to defer.

If your English language test expires before the start of your course (i.e. be older than two years on the first day of your course), your deferred offer will be made conditional until you submit a new English language test or other acceptable evidence.

Students who defer their place will pay the tuition fees set for the academic year they start their studies.

If you have already enrolled and remain enrolled on 4 October, you will be charged 25% tuition fees. It is therefore important that you request to defer as soon as possible.

If your deferral is approved, any tuition fee deposit you have already paid, will automatically be transferred to the next academic year.

If you hold a University Merit Scholarship, this will be automatically transferred to the new academic year. It may not be possible to transfer other types of scholarships. Please contact admissions@soton.ac.uk for more information.

It may not be possible to transfer external scholarships to the next academic year. We would recommend that you contact your funder for advice before you request to defer your place.

In some specific cases, a change to your start date may affect your tuition fee status and the amount you will need to pay. If your status changes due to deferring your place, you will be informed and asked if you still want to defer.