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.

UCAS have decided to extend the 15 January ‘equal consideration’ deadline to 18:00 on 29 January 2021 to relieve the pressure on applicants, teachers and advisers who may need this additional time. All applications received by 18:00 (UK time) on 29 January 2021 will be treated as ‘on-time’ and considered equally.

We would advise not to leave submitting your application to the last minute and continue to submit this as soon as you are able.

You can find more information about UCAS undergraduate deadlines here.

Please be reassured that whatever the assessment system in 2021, we will be as fair and flexible as possible to ensure that students across the UK 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. More information about our accommodation can be found here.

Unfortunately, the pandemic continues to affect daily life in the United Kingdom and the Government has now asked universities to take action in light of the evolving Covid-19 pandemic. The Government guidance has changed our previous plans regarding the delivery of in-person teaching.

All teaching and assessment will be entirely online until at least 19 March 2021, which is the end of our second term.  Our plan at the moment is that you will be able to continue your studies in person at the University when our next term begins on 12 April 2021.   
 
International students 

• We are aware that the availability of flights continues to be affected for students travelling from overseas. You can begin your course online from outside the UK. We will be constantly reviewing the situation and will provide timely updates as circumstances change; and will give you good notice so that you can make plans to travel to the UK during our Easter break.
• If you have already begun to travel to the University or have pre-booked travel that is non-adjustable, we have lots of support available for you including our Meet and Greet service and accommodation, and will enrol you in our Covid-19 testing programme upon arrival.If you have not yet booked flights or have booked flights and are able to change your travel plans, the Government guidance is that you should stay at home for now and commence your studies online. 

If you are already in the UK and you have a student visa that is for a different course, or for study at another institution you must contact the University of Southampton Visa & Immigration Student Advice Service for further guidance before you start your course. 
 
UK students 

If you are a UK student, the Government guidance is that you should stay at home for now and commence your studies online.  
 
We will communicate when we expect to be able to welcome students to return to campus, so please continue to check your e-mails for further updates. Please be assured we will keep the situation under constant review as guidance from the government and public health authorities evolve.

If you already have an offer of accommodation with the University, your accommodation contract will automatically be amended to start on 6 April 2021.

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

You are able to begin your course in February 2021 as planned online, so you may not need to defer your place to September 2021.  If you are considering deferring your place, please contact the Admissions office (admissions@soton.ac.uk).  
  
Please also note the following important information when considering deferring your place:

• If your English language test will expire (i.e. be older than two years on the first day of your course), your deferred offer will be made conditional upon submitting a new English language test or other accepted evidence   
• If you paid a deposit, this will be automatically transferred to the new 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 
• In some specific cases, a change to start date may affect your tuition fee status 
• If you are an international student requiring a visa to study, deferring your studies may have visa implications.

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 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 start. Accommodation applications for September 2021 will open soon. You can find more information here.

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 been issued your Student visa you must continue to engage with your studies by:

• Attending all scheduled study activities such as: lectures, exams, meetings with your tutor or supervisor 
• Submitting all assessed work
• Using the University electronic systems which are monitored for attendance. 

The online systems that can be used when you study online are:

• Blackboard 
• e-Assignment 
• PGR Tracker (postgraduate research students only) 
• Remote study link during data collection/fieldwork/placement 

If you are unable to study as you are unwell/have a family emergency, please complete a compassionate leave authorised absence form.

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.