Mature entry offer scheme

For the purposes of our offer scheme, a mature student is a person returning to study after being out of formal education for 3 years or more. This usually means students who are over 21 when they begin their undergraduate degree.

We take pride in the support we offer to mature students at York St John. Life and work experience are important to learning, and bring diversity and strength to our community.

Our Mature Student Entry scheme looks at non-traditional qualifications and experience as well as your grades. We look for students who have a passion for learning and are determined to succeed on one of our courses.

If you apply for this entry scheme, you will need a Grade C or 4 in English Language GCSE or equivalent. Please be aware that we cannot accept Functional Skills in lieu of our English Language requirements. If you do not have the GCSE, we do accept some approved equivalencies. Please contact our Admissions team at admissions@yorksj.ac.uk to enquire about our accepted English Language qualifications.

Applying to the Mature Student Entry scheme

What you need to do

• Check if your course of interest is eligible. More details about our courses are available below.
• Complete a short application form. The form includes your contact details, any partial or complete qualifications you hold, and a 250-500 word personal statement. The personal statement should describe why you want to study with us, why you think that you would be suitable for the course, and the skills and experience you will bring.
• Click submit.

Mature entry offer scheme application form

What we’ll do

• We will assess your application quickly.
• If you meet the entry requirements, we will ask you to produce a piece of work relevant to your chosen subject. For some subjects, we may also invite you in for an interview. For Art and Design courses you will be asked to bring in a portfolio of work.
• We will ask you to send us a photo of your GCSE English Language certificate.
• If successful, we will make you an offer – yes, it's that easy!
• We will set up a quick process for you to make a formal application through UCAS. We can do this without you making a full application or paying a fee.
• We will help you to make a student funding application.
• We will make sure that you are supported during your studies. You will have a personal tutor, small tutorial class sizes, and additional support available outside of class time.
• We will be honest with you. If we think you will be capable of university study in the future but are not ready for a full degree at this time, we will offer you a foundation year to help you get back into the swing of study, or recommend you take an access course.

Eligible courses

You can apply for most of our courses through this entry scheme. However, the below courses are not part of the scheme:

• Applied Biosciences
• Biomedical Science
• Nursing (Adult and Mental Health)
• Occupational Therapy
• Physiotherapy
• ITE Primary Teaching

All of these courses have specific requirements or are accredited courses with specific statutory entry requirements.