ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS
The English language requirements for our courses are provided on individual course pages as minimum IELTS scores, however we accept many other tests and qualifications.
Please visit ourEnglish language requirements pagefor more information.
UndergraduateEntry Requirements
Applicants from Sri Lanka who have completed the following can be considered for direct entry to an undergraduate course at Birkbeck:
- International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma or Sri Lankan GCE Advanced Level/A-levels. IB requirements range from 28 to 30, depending on the course.
- National Diploma (ND) with grades of Merit and Distinction (at the discretion of the department, as this is a vocational qualification)
- Higher National Diploma (HND) with grades of Merit and Distinction (first- or second-year entry at the discretion of the department)
- A-level AAA = 144 UCAS tariff points = comparable offer AAA (descriptors and meaning: Distinction)
- A-level AAB = 136 UCAS tariff points = comparable offer AAB
- A-level ABB = 128 UCAS tariff points = comparable offer ABB
- A-level BBB = 120 UCAS tariff points = comparable offer BBB (descriptors and meaning: Very good pass)
- A-level BBC = 112 UCAS tariff points = comparable offer BBC
- A-level BCC = 104 UCAS tariff points = comparable offer BCC
- A-level CCC = 96 UCAS tariff points = comparable offer CCC (descriptors and meaning: Credit).
PostgraduateEntry Requirements
Birkbeck will consider applicants from Sri Lanka holding the following:
- first-class Bachelor general degree from a state university awarded with 70% or equivalent (comparable to UK Bachelor (Ordinary) degree and not specialised in one subject; to be considered at the discretion of the department)
- Bachelor special degree or professional degree from a state university; for programmes requiring a UK 2:1, an upper-second-class degree (60% or equivalent) is required; for programmes requiring a UK 2:2, a lower-second-class degree (55% or equivalent) is required.
All applications are considered on an individual basis and you may be admitted to a Master's programme with a lower-level degree if you have significant work experience relevant to the degree applied for.
If you do not meet these criteria, you can apply for OnCampus' Master's Foundation programme, which is available for 2- or 3-term progression onto a wide range of Master’s degrees at Birkbeck.
Sri Lankan degreeclassification:
- 75%; 4.0 GPA classification (post-2008): 3.70 (English equivalent: 1st)
- 60%; 4.0 GPA classification (post-2008): 3.30 (English equivalent: 2:1)
- 55%; 4.0 GPA classification (post-2008): 3.00 (English equivalent: 2:2).
Research degreesEntry Requirements
The usual entrance requirement for a research degree is a Master’s degree from a recognised state university with a final grade of at least 60% or equivalent. Applicants should have completed a dissertation as part of their degree.
Students with a first-class special or professional degree may also be considered at the discretion of the department.
Applicants are strongly urged to contact potential supervisors within the department before submitting a research application.
