Student resource: try university courses before you apply

Did you know that you can try university classes before you apply for them? 

If you are thinking of studying in the UK, a platform created by Ucas and Springpod provides the opportunity to sample lectures and seminars in a range of subjects before applying. 

Courses are available in a range of subject areas including finance, computer science, engineering, medicine and history. 

The courses are arranged into Subject Spotlights, allowing students to browse all courses within a specific discipline. Each spotlight features seminars and lectures. Students can take classes across all Subject Spotlights. 

Students with a login to the Ucas Hub will be able to access all of these courses for free. 

Courses are provided by a range of universities including the University of Birmingham, Durham University, University of Surrey and UCL. 

Since the launch of virtual work experiences and subject tasters on Ucas last year, more than 200,000 students have engaged with Springpod learning experiences to explore university subjects, courses and work experience. Some 91 per cent of students rated their understanding of the course as good to excellent after doing a subject taster. 

As well as taking courses, students are also able to access work experience opportunities on the platform. There are virtual experience opportunities with companies including the NHS, Network and Airbus. These programmes include real work activities as well as the chance to speak to industry professionals.