Prepare for entry to a doctoral degree at a great university

If you’ve completed a master’s degree, or a bachelor’s degree with a good grade, you might want to consider gaining a doctoral degree. A doctorate can open many doors in your future career, and will give you a powerful, internationally recognised degree.

Our partner institutions can help you gain access to a research degree at a UK university. By taking a Pre-Doctorate — a doctorate preparation course — you’ll be making sure you’re ready to present your research proposal to a university admissions panel, and to tackle the rigours of doctoral-level study. If you successfully complete your course, you’ll be guaranteed an interview at one of the partner universities, provided your research interests match theirs.

Pre-Doctorate course in London

Shape your future with a Pre-Doctorate course at one of our partner institutions. This dynamic course is the perfect preparation for a prestigious UK doctoral degree.

The Pre-Doctorate is specially designed around the needs of a doctoral-level international student, and will help guide you through the process of applying for a UK doctoral degree. Once you have successfully completed your Pre-Doctorate, you are guaranteed an interview at one of our prestigious partner universities where your research areas match.

The doctoral degree application process in the UK can be very complex. The Pre-Doctorate course helps students to navigate the process of applying for a UK doctoral degree, and to adjust to studying in the UK in a supportive and developmental environment.

This is not an academic preparation course — instead, the focus is to equip you with key skills and knowledge, which will allow you to best present yourself and your research ideas to UK universities. The Pre-Doctorate also aims to give you an opportunity to engage with research supervisors, and with both current and former PhD students.

What content is covered on the course?

The Pre-Doctorate course is designed to introduce to students key elements of doctoral-level study, and develop key transferable skills. It will build on your existing academic knowledge and competencies, and help you adapt to specialised study, particularly with regard to critical analysis and expression.

Because of the varied nature of students’ research interests, the course has a large amount of individual help. The tutors help you shape and refine your research proposal, often in collaboration with the universities themselves.

The Pre-Doctorate consists of 3 core modules:

• Research Proposal Design: develop a research topic, understand data collection methods and plan a viable proposal for your doctorate
• The Doctoral Candidate: explore the key skills required for doctoral study, learn what makes a successful application and consider your future career
• Academic Skills and Communication: become familiar with key terminology, develop your written and spoken critical thinking and understand your subject specialism

Course details

English requirement: minimum IELTS 6.0 in all skills for a 1-term course, or minimum IELTS 5.5 with no less than 5.0 in any skill for courses with extra Preparatory English. We can accept alternatives to UKVI IELTS — visit this page for more details.

Course length: 1, 2 or 3 terms of 12 weeks each (depending on your English language level)

Start dates: Autumn (September–November), Spring (January–April) or Summer (May–July)

Entry to university: typically September or January following your start date, depending on your course length and chosen university

Tuition fees: 1 term from £5,100; 2 terms from £7,850; 3 terms from £9,960. Fees are for the 2021–22 academic year. Please contact us for more information

Academic Entry Requirements:

It depends on the individual University entry requirements. Please contact our research programme admission specialist at study@itbritz.uk

English Requirements:

It depends on the individual University entry requirements. Please contact our research programme admission specialist at

Tuition fees: £10,000 to £18,500 per year