Access to Bath

An online programme that can lead to an alternative offer for eligible students

Bath values having students from a diverse range of backgrounds and is keen to admit those students who have the greatest potential to succeed on our courses. We are committed to supporting our applicants and believe that preparation for university study can be extremely beneficial to success. Access to Bath is an on-line course to help students from under-represented groups transition into higher education and due to the valued skills and knowledge you will gain, receive an alternative offer from the University of Bath.

What is Access to Bath?

Access to Bath is an online course that will prepare you for study and life at Bath. The transition to university can be a challenging time for any student, and we want to help support this process. Through this programme you’ll find out what being a student at Bath is like and you will develop your skills, confidence and knowledge to help you make a smooth transition to the University.

You’ll follow the programme in manageable sections in your own time and in a way that suits you. Information is provided in a variety of ways and there is an opportunity to interact with other offer-holders to develop and share your knowledge and skills.

The sessions will take you through different aspects of the transition to life as a university student from getting ready to go to university and meeting your flatmates for the first time to starting your course and being set your first assignment. You’ll hear from some current students and staff and learn about their experience of life at Bath.

Alternative offer

In addition to helping you prepare for life at Bath if you complete and pass Access to Bath by 31 July you will then be eligible for an alternative offer. This will be a one-grade drop in the standard A level offer for the course.

You can find more details about the alternative offer below and you can find a complete list of our alternative offers for each of our courses listed on the entry requirements section of our online prospectus.

How do I take part?

If you meet the below criteria then you don’t need to do anything more. You should apply to your chosen course(s) at Bath through UCAS and we will identify you using contextual data that we receive with your UCAS application.

If your application is successful you’ll receive a standard offer and an alternative offer dependent upon you completing Access to Bath. Details of how to access Access to Bath will be included in your offer to study at Bath.

Who is eligible?

To be eligible for Access to Bath you must:

be studying at a UK school or college
be studying the required A-Levels for the course you apply for
be academically able to meet the alternative offer
have applied to study an undergraduate course at the University of Bath

And you must meet at least one of the following:

your home address is in an area where there is a low participation of young people progressing to higher education*
your home address is in an area of disadvantage according to Indices of Multiple Deprivation*
you are a care leaver*
you are a refugee or asylum seeker*
you are irreconcilably estranged** from your parents or guardians
you are a Young Carer**

*We receive this information from UCAS when you apply to Bath, so there is nothing more for you to do.

**We don’t receive this information directly from UCAS so we will not find out unless we hear from you. When you apply to Bath if you are a young carer or estranged student please send a short paragraph of no more than 200 words to give us an overview of your circumstances to careleavers@bath.ac.uk.

Additional information about the alternative offer

If you meet the criteria above for Access to Bath you will be given two offers (standard and alternative) for your course at Bath.

If you complete and pass Access to Bath our Undergraduate Admissions Team will be notified.
If you meet the conditions of the alternative offer in August and you have chosen Bath as your Firm or Insurance option, then this will guarantee that you secure your place with us.
If you’re fortunate enough to be studying other additional qualifications that would make you eligible for more than one of our alternative offers, any offer you receive will include each of them. However, these alternative offers do not stack: we won’t reduce our typical offer by more than one grade if you achieve multiple extras.
You may be eligible to receive our alternative offer if you are studying a combination of 2 A levels or Pre-U subjects plus BTEC study, such as a BTEC Extended Certificate.
If you already passed Access to Bath during the 2021 admissions cycle and are reapplying for 2022 entry with resits, you do not need to complete Access to Bath for a second time. We will have your pass grade on record from last year.

For more details of our alternative offers see the dedicated page.

Explore the courses available at Bath for 2022

Undergraduate prospectus