General courses
For all students
Subject-specific courses
For students on these specific courses
Postgraduate research courses
For PGR students in these specific schools or related schools. Early career researchers are also welcome.
General courses
Social Conversation Skills
Duration: Nine weeks (one session per week)
Aims and objectives
The aim of this course is to develop your speaking skills and provide the opportunity to practise in an unpressured environment. It will:
- help develop your confidence in speaking
- help develop your fluency in speaking
- extend your knowledge of vocabulary related to specific topics and give you the opportunity to practise discussing these topics in English
- enable you to become aware of certain strategies used by speakers to participate in discussions
- provide you with the language necessary to communicate in different situations on and off campus
Possible topics
- Getting to know each other
- Travel advice
- Family life
- Gender and stereotyping
- Customs and habits
- Idioms and common phrases
- Restaurants and food
- Superstitions and proverbs
- Work
- Extreme sports and risk taking
- Final session quiz
Academic Writing: Revising Academic Papers
Duration: Two weeks (two sessions per week)
Aims and objectives
The aim of this course is to help you with developing an eye for elements in your writing that would benefit from revision. With practical examples and from the perspective of the reader, the course will illustrate common issues and how to address them.
Syllabus
| Week 1 |
Structure and connection |
| Week 2 |
Logic and flow |
| Week 3 |
Academic integrity |
| Week 4 |
Language accuracy |
Subject-specific courses
Postgraduate Health Sciences Dissertation - for students registered on postgraduate taught courses in the School of Health Sciences
Duration: Two weeks (two sessions per week)
Aims and objectives
This course will consider the expectations of a master's dissertation in the School of Health Sciences, and the function, structure and language of the separate sections.
Syllabus
| Session 1 |
Expectations, types of dissertation and introductions |
| Session 2 |
Narrative summaries (systematic review) and discussions |
| Session 3 |
Background, methodology and conclusions |
| Session 4 |
Abstracts, plus special nature of physiotherapy dissertations |
Postgraduate Geography Report - for students registered on postgraduate taught courses in the School of Geography
Duration: One week (two sessions)
Aims and objectives
This course will consider the expectations, structure and language of a master's dissertation in the School of Geography.
Syllabus
| Session 1 |
Expectations and overall structure, and functions of the discussion section |
| Session 2 |
Language: academic writing style and paraphrase |
Postgraduate Economics Dissertation - for students registered on postgraduate courses in the School of Economics
Duration: Two weeks (two sessions per week)
Aims and objectives
The course will consider the expectations of a master's dissertation in the School of Economics, and the function, structure and language of the separate sections
Syllabus
| Session 1 |
Expectations and literature review |
| Session 2 |
Methodology |
| Session 3 |
Results, discussion and conclusion |
| Session 4 |
Introduction and abstract |
Postgraduate Psychology Report for student registered on postgraduate taught courses in the School of Psychology
Duration: Four weeks (one session per week)
Aims and objectives
This course considers the expectations of a master's report in the School of Psychology and the function, structure and language of the separate sections.
Syllabus
| Session 1 |
Project report overview and introduction |
| Session 2 |
Literature review |
| Session 3 |
Methods and results |
| Session 4 |
Discussion, conclusion and abstract |
Postgraduate Chemical and Environmental Engineering Report - for students registered on postgraduate taught courses in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering
Duration: Two weeks (two sessions per week)
Aims and objectives
This course considers the expectations of a master's report in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, and the function, structure and language of the separate sections.
Syllabus
| Session 1 |
Expectations and introductions |
| Session 2 |
Use of literature |
| Session 3 |
Results, discussion and conclusion |
| Session 4 |
Methodology and executive summary |
Postgraduate Biosciences Report - for students registered on postgraduate taught courses in the School of Biosciences
Duration: Two weeks (two sessions per week)
Aims and objectives
This course considers the expectations of a master's report in the School of Bioscienes, and the function, structure and language of the separate sections.
Syllabus
| Session 1 |
Expectations, structure and introduction |
| Session 2 |
Methodology |
| Session 3 |
Results and discussion |
| Session 4 |
Conclusion and abstract |
Postgraduate research courses
PGR Life Sciences Report Writing - for students registered on research courses in the School of Life Sciences and related schools.
Duration: Two weeks (two sessions per week)
Aims and objectives
The course covers the main organisational and language aspects of a first-year report for PhD students, including common language patterns/usages.
Syllabus
| Week 1 |
Overview of structure and content |
| Week 2 |
Literature review |
| Week 3 |
Materials and methods |
| Week 4 |
Discussion |
Booking a consultation
We have a limited number of in-person consultations, with the majority offered on MS Teams.
Consultations information and booking