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Application assessment fee terms and conditions

For postgraduate taught programmes, the University charges an application assessment fee. The fee is payable before you can submit your online application.

The rate is £50 (GBP).

Applications for all postgraduate research degrees are free of charge.

The University will only accept payment by the following methods:

  • Debit or Credit card (Visa, MasterCard or Maestro cards). Card payments will be processed in Pounds Sterling.
  • PayPal (including support for Convera)

The application assessment fee is subject to a fourteen (14) day cancellation period. During this period, you may be entitled to receive a full refund in accordance with the terms below.

You have the right to a refund of the application assessment fee if you withdraw your application within the fourteen (14) days from the date you submit your application and unless the University has already completed its assessment during this period and found that it was unable to make you an offer of admission.

  • Should you choose to exercise this right within the stated period and the University has not completed its assessment of your application, the University will refund your application assessment fee and withdraw your application.
  • Should you choose to exercise this right within the stated period and after you have been made an offer of admission, the University will refund your application assessment fee and withdraw your application and offer.

All refunds will be made to the card/account from which the funds originated.

The application assessment fee is non-refundable in circumstances other than those described above.

Application assessment fee waiver scheme

Applicants who meet one (or more) of the following criteria are exempt from paying the application assessment. The application system will use the responses you provide to questions in the application form and if you meet one or more of the criteria, you will be able to submit your application without being asked to make a payment.

You are (and you declare this information in your application):

  • a former student of University of Southampton
  • a current student of University of Southampton
  • a serving member of the British Armed Forces where your tuition fees are paid by the Ministry of Defence - specific to the following programmes only:
    • Postgraduate Credit Education
    • MSc Education Practice & Innovation
    • PGCE Professional Development
  • applying for a healthcare or public health programme where your tuition fees are paid by NHS England - specific to the following programmes only:
    • PGCert Low Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with IAPT
    • PGDip CBT for Anxiety and Depression (IAPT)
    • PGDip (EMHP) Education Mental Health Practitioner
    • Grad Dip Education Mental Health Practitioner
    • PG Cert Advanced Health Assessment and Prescribing
    • PGDip/MSc Advanced Clinical Practice suite of programmes
    • PG Cert Advanced Supervision
    • PG Dip Advanced Clinical Practice and Supervision
    • PG Cert Professional Practice Health Sciences
    • PG Dip Professional Practice Health Sciences
  • applying for the following programmes: MSc Data Analytics for Government, MSc Demography, MSc Social Research Methods and Applied Statistics, MSc Applied Statistics
  • a Masters Research or Postgraduate Research Applicant
  • applicants to the following external scholarship schemes:
    • Said Scholarship Scheme
    • Chevening Scholarship Scheme
    • Wellcome Master's Programme Award
    • British Council Women in STEM
    • LPDP Scholarship
    • Commonwealth Scholarship Scheme
  • applicants to the following internal scholarship scheme:
    • Sanctuary Scholarship

Full terms and conditions

Contents:

  1. These terms
  2. Information about us and how to contact us
  3. Our contract with you
  4. Your rights to make changes
  5. Assessing your application
  6. Your rights to end the contract
  7. How to end the contract with us (including if you have changed your mind)
  8. Our rights to end the contract
  9. If there is a problem
  10. Price and payment
  11. Our responsibility for loss or damage suffered by you
  12. How we may use your personal information
  13. Other important terms

1. These terms

1.1 What these terms cover

These are the terms and conditions on which we assess your application for submission.

1.2 Why you should read them

Please read these terms carefully before you submit your application to us. These terms tell you who we are, how we will provide the service, how you and we may change or end the contract, what to do if there is a problem and other important information. If you think that there is a mistake in these terms, please contact us to discuss.

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2. Information about us and how to contact us

2.1 Who we are

We are the University of Southampton, a higher education institution established in England and Wales by Royal Charter. Our company registration number is RC000668 and our registered office is The Office of the President and Vice-Chancellor, George Thomas Building, University Road, Highfield, SO17 1BJ.

2.2 How to contact us

You can contact us by telephoning our admissions team at 02380 594732 or by writing to us at admissions@southampton.ac.uk.

2.3 How we may contact you

If we must contact you, we will do so by telephone, via your Applicant Home, or by writing to you at the email address you provided to us in your application.

2.4 "Writing" includes emails

When we used the words "writing" or "written" in these terms, this includes emails.

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3. Our contract with you

3.1 How we will accept your application

Our acceptance of your assessment of your application to study with us will take place when we confirm your submission and, for postgraduate taught applications, you pay the application assessment fee, at which point a contract will come into existence between you and us.

3.2 If we cannot accept your application

If we are unable to process your application, we will inform you of this in writing and will not charge you for the assessment. This might be because of unexpected limits on our resources which we could not reasonably plan for.

3.3 Your application reference

We will assign an application reference code to your application and tell you what it is when we accept your application. It will help us if you can tell us the application reference code whenever you contact us about your application.

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4. Your rights to make changes

If you wish to make a change to your application after it has been submitted, please contact us by email at admissions@southampton.ac.uk. We will let you know if the change is possible. If we cannot make the change or the consequences of making the change are unacceptable to you, you may want to end the contract (see clause 6 - Your rights to end the contract).

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5. Assessing your application

5.1 Costs

The cost of assessing your application is displayed above and on the main page of our postgraduate application website. This applies to postgraduate taught applications only. There is no fee for a postgraduate research application.

5.2 We begin our consideration of your application once your payment has been received

Whilst we aim to provide you with our decision within one month, the volume of applications fluctuate throughout the year and at peak times, or if your application is not complete, we may require longer than this to complete our consideration. If your application results in an offer of a place, we will send this offer and its terms and conditions to the email address you provided in your application. If your application is assessed and you are not eligible for an offer, we will inform you of our decision by email using the address you provided in your application.

5.3 We are not responsible for delays outside of our control

If we cannot assess your application because of an event outside our control, then we will contact you as soon as possible to let you know and we will take steps to minimise the effect of the delay. Provided we do this, we will not be liable for delays caused by the event, but if there is a risk of substantial delay you may withdraw your application via the Admissions website or contact us to withdraw your application for you, end the contract and receive a full refund where we have not assessed your application.

5.4 What will happen if you do not give all required information to us

Your application states all the required information we need from you so that we can assess your eligibility for your programme of study. We must have all this information and any supporting documentation to make our assessment. You will not be able to apply without answering these questions but when we come to review your application and there appears to be some information which is incomplete or if we require additional information for clarity, we will contact you in writing to ask for this information. If you do not give us this information within a reasonable time of us asking for it, or if you give us incomplete or incorrect information, we may end the contract (and clause 8 will apply) and withdraw your application. We will not be responsible for assessing your application late if this is caused by you not giving us the information we need within a reasonable time of us asking for it.

5.5 Reasons we may delay carrying out assessments

We may have to delay carrying out an assessment of your application to:

(a) deal with technical problems or make minor technical changes

(b) update the programme specification to reflect changes in relevant laws and regulatory requirements

(c) manage a higher than expected volume of applications received

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6. Your rights to end the contract

6.1 You can always end your contract with us

Your rights when you end the contract will depend on what you have bought, whether there is anything wrong with it, how we are performing and when you decide to end the contract:

(a) If we have misdescribed the intended programme of study or the application process, you may have a legal right to end the contract or to get some or all of your money back, see clause 9.

(b) If you want to end the contract because of something we have done or have told you we are going to do, see clause 6.2.

(c) If you have just changed your mind about your application, see clause 7.3. You may be able to get a refund if you are within the cooling-off period, but this may be subject to deductions because of transaction charges and/or currency conversion rates.

6.2 Ending the contract because of something we have done or are going to do

If you are ending a contract for a reason set out at (a) to (e) below, the contract will end immediately and we will refund you in full for the assessment which has not been provided and you may also be entitled to compensation. The reasons are:

(a) we have told you about an upcoming change to the product or these terms which you do not agree to (see clause 8.2);

(b) we have told you about an error in the price or description of the application assessment and you do not wish to proceed;

(c) there is a risk that the assessment may be significantly delayed because of events outside our control;

(d) we have delayed carrying out an assessment for technical reasons, or notify you we are going to delay it for technical reasons; or

(e) you have a legal right to end the contract because of something we have done wrong.

6.3 Exercising your right to change your mind (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013)

For most products and services bought online you have a legal right to change your mind within 14 days and receive a refund. These rights, under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, are explained in more detail in these terms.

6.4 When you don't have the right to change your mind

You do not have a right to change your mind in respect of an assessment which we have already completed even if the cancellation period is still running.

6.5 How long do I have to change my mind?

You have 14 days after the day we email you to confirm we accept your application. However, once we have completed the assessment you cannot change your mind, even if the period is till running. If you withdraw the application and cancel after the 14-day period has ended, the fee paid will not be refundable.

6.6 Ending the contract where we are not at fault and there is no right to change your mind

Even if we are not at fault and you do not have a right to change your mind (see clause 6.1), you can still end the contract before it is completed. Our contract is completed when we have finished the assessment and made you an offer or advised you that you have been unsuccessful in your application providing you have paid for it. If you want to end a contract before it is completed where we are not at fault and you have not changed your mind, just contact us to let us know.

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7. How to end the contract with us (including if you have changed your mind)

7.1 Tell us you want to end the contract and withdraw your application

To end the contract with us, go to your Applicant Home. Select the relevant application from the list of processed applications then select the ‘Withdraw Application' or 'Decline Offer’ button. This will withdraw your application and, if appropriate, trigger the process to refund the application assessment fee.

7.2 How we will refund you

We will refund you by the method you used for payment. However, we may make deductions from the price, as described below.

7.3 Refund amount if you are exercising your right to change your mind

If you are exercising your right to change your mind, we will refund the assessment fee in full in pounds sterling (GBP). If you have paid via an alternative method (i.e. not by debit card, credit card or PayPal), you may receive less than the amount you paid due to transaction processing costs and/or currency exchange rates.

7.4 When your refund will be made

We will make any refunds due to you as soon as possible. If you are exercising your right to change your mind, then your refund will be made within 14 days of your telling us you have changed your mind.

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8. Our rights to end the contract

8.1 We may end the contract if you break it

We may end the contract for a product at any time by writing to you if you do not, within a reasonable time of us asking for it, provide us with information that is necessary for us to complete the assessment, for example proof of academic qualifications, references etc.

8.2 We may withdraw a programme

We may write to you to let you know that we are going to stop providing the programme. We will let you know in advance of our stopping to offer the programme and will refund any sums you have paid for your assessment.

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9. If there is a problem

9.1 How to tell us about problems

If you have any questions or complaints about the service, please contact us. You can telephone our Admissions team at 02380 594732 or write to us by email at admissions@southampton.ac.uk.

9.2 Summary of your legal rights

We are under a legal duty to supply products that are in conformity with this contract. See the box below for a summary of your key legal rights in relation to the product. Nothing in these terms will affect your legal rights.

Summary of your key legal rights

This is a summary of your key legal rights. These are subject to certain exceptions. For detailed information please visit the Citizens Advice website www.adviceguide.org.uk or call 03454 04 05 06.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 says:

a) You can ask us to repeat or fix a service if it's not carried out with reasonable care and skill or get some money back if we can't fix it.

b) If you haven't agreed a price beforehand, what you're asked to pay must be reasonable.

c) If you haven't agreed a time beforehand, it must be carried out within a reasonable time.

See also: Exercising your right to change your mind (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013).

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10. Price and payment

10.1 Where to find the price for the product

The price of the assessment (which is not liable for VAT) will be the price indicated on our assessment application pages. We take all reasonable care to ensure that the price of the assessment advertised to you is correct. However, please see clause 10.2 for what happens if we discover an error in the price of the assessment.

10.2 What happens if we got the price wrong

We will normally check our prices before accepting your application for processing, where the assessment fee at your application date is less than our stated price at your application date, we will charge the lower amount. If the correct price at your application date is higher than the price stated to you, we will contact you for your instructions before we process your application. If we accept and process your application where a pricing error is obvious and unmistakable and could reasonably have been recognised by you as a mispricing, we may end the contract, refund you any sums you have paid.

10.3 When you must pay and how you must pay

We accept payment with debit or credit card (Visa, MasterCard or Maestro cards) and PayPal (including support for Western Union for China). You will bear any transaction costs or charges associated with currency exchange rates.

You must pay the full application fee before you can submit your online application.

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11. Our responsibility for loss or damage suffered by you

11.1 We are responsible to you for foreseeable loss and damage caused by us

If we fail to comply with these terms, we are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breaking this contract or our failing to use reasonable care and skill, but we are not responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable. Loss or damage is foreseeable if either it is obvious that it will happen or if, at the time the contract was made, both we and you knew it might happen, for example, if you discussed it with us during the application process.

11.2 We do not exclude or limit in anyway our liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so

This includes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors; for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; for breach of your legal rights in relation to the services.

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12. How we may use your personal information

We will only use your personal information as set out in our Privacy Notice.

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13. Other important terms

13.1 We may transfer this agreement to someone else

We may transfer our rights and obligations under these terms to another organisation. We will always tell you in writing if this happens and we will ensure that the transfer will not affect your rights under the contract.

13.2 You may not transfer your rights to someone else

You may not transfer your rights or your obligations under these terms to another person as your application is personal to you.

13.3 Nobody else has any rights under this contract. This contract is between you and us.

No other person shall have any rights to enforce any of its terms. Neither of us will need to get the agreement of any other person in application to end the contract or make any changes to these terms.

13.4 If a court finds part of this contract illegal, the rest will continue in force

Each of the paragraphs of these terms operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.

13.5 Even if we delay in enforcing this contract, we can still enforce it later

If we do not insist immediately that you do anything you are required to do under these terms, or if we delay in taking steps against you in respect of your breaking this contract, that will not mean that you do not have to do those things and it will not prevent us taking steps against you at a later date. For example, if you miss a payment and we do not chase you, but we continue to provide the products, we can still require you to make the payment later.

13.6 Which laws apply to this contract and where you may bring legal proceedings

These terms are governed by English law and you can bring legal proceedings in the English courts. If you live in Scotland, you can bring legal proceedings in the Scottish or the English courts. If you live in Northern Ireland, you can bring legal proceedings in the Northern Irish or the English courts.

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