How to Apply for an Undergraduate Course

This information is for those looking to apply for a full-time undergraduate course. If you are interested in applying for part-time study, visit our Applying for Part-time Courses section.

If you are a mature student, it may be useful to know that we consider a range of different qualifications and also take experience into consideration. So, if you’re thinking about returning to education but are not sure if you meet the requirements, please contact our mature student adviser, Vicki Riley, via email at v.riley@chester.ac.uk to discuss your options, or you can complete our online form and we will be in touch.

Making an Application

For starters, what is UCAS? And what key dates and information do you need to know when applying to university this year? Once that’s covered, we’ll walk you through how to get started with your UCAS application, the information you’ll need to apply to the University of Chester, and handy things to know about, like UCAS Extra.

Useful Information Before You Apply

Applications for all undergraduate full-time courses at Chester should be made through UCAS. UCAS is the central universities and colleges admissions service responsible for managing applications to higher education courses in the UK.

Key Dates

For 2023 entry, the ‘equal consideration’ deadline for applications is 25th January but you can still apply after this date.

We are open to receive applications up until 30th June, and we will still consider your application if there are places available on the course.

Check Entry Criteria

Before applying, make sure you check our entry criteria; this can be found on individual course pages. For some of our courses, an interview or audition will be required before an offer can be made. Details of courses requiring an interview or audition can be found within the entry criteria of our course pages.

Get Started

To get started with your application, go to ucas.com, click on the 'Sign in' button and register your details. Following your registration, you should log in using your username and password.

You can apply for up to five courses. The cost of an application through UCAS with the option of applying for more than one course is £26.50. Should you wish to apply for only one course, this will cost you £22.00.

CHSTR C55 – Our Institutional Code

When applying, you’ll need to know our institutional code and the course code. Our institutional code is CHSTR C55. Our course codes can be found on the UCAS website. If you wish to apply for a course based at one of the following locations, you’ll also need the campus code:

The Hammond School - H
University Centre Birkenhead – B
University Centre Reaseheath – R
University Centre Shrewsbury – S
University Centre Warrington – W

UCAS Extra

If you use all five of your choices on your original application and you’re not holding an offer, you’ll be able to add another choice using UCAS Extra. UCAS Extra is available from 23rd February.

If you did not use all your choices in your initial application, you don't need to use Extra, you can just sign into your application and add another choice, as long as it’s before 30 June, and you’ve not accepted or declined any offers.

Applications made after the end of June will automatically go into Clearing.

Replying to Offers

After you’ve completed your UCAS application, it’s good to know how university offers work. Find out how you’ll receive an offer from a university, the reply deadlines you need to know if you’d like to accept, and how to select your Firm choice and Insurance choice.

Receiving an Offer

After submitting your application to UCAS, a copy of this application is sent to our admissions team for consideration. Should your application be successful, you will receive either a conditional offer or an unconditional offer from us.

If you receive an offer from the University of Chester, you will be notified on UCAS Hub and sent an offer letter in the post. If there is anything you don’t understand about this offer, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Accepting Your Offer

Before accepting an offer, ensure you do as much research as possible and visit any universities that you are holding an offer with.

It is important that you remember to reply to your offer before the deadline. Reply deadlines are based on when you received your last decision from those universities and colleges you have applied for. You can view the 2023 reply deadlines here. To find out when your reply date is, click onto UCAS Hub.

Once you have made a decision, log in to UCAS Hub. To do this, you’ll need your Personal ID, username and password.

Select your first choice institution as your Firm (F) choice. If your Firm choice is conditional, you’ll also have the option of putting one course down as your Insurance (I) choice. Your Insurance choice acts as a back-up to your Firm choice.

Once you have selected your Firm and Insurance choices, you are required to put the other offers you have outstanding as a Decline (D).

Confirming Your Place

The next stage of the process is all about results. Here, you’ll find some advice to prepare for your results, what to do on Results Day, and what the next steps are. Remember, if everything doesn’t quite go to plan, you can access Clearing to find a university that’s right for you.

Preparing for Your Results

If you are waiting for exam results, make sure you know which exam results UCAS receive. If your exam results aren’t transmitted to us through UCAS, you’ll need to send your results to us.

On results day, we’d recommend that you have your UCAS Hub login details handy so you are able to check whether your place has been confirmed. If you need to update your contact details, you should ensure this is done before you receive your results as we may need to contact you.

Results Day

Check on UCAS Hub

To check whether the conditions of your offer have been met, we would recommend that you initially check on UCAS Hub. If your place has been confirmed, no further action is required – you’re in!

Still Showing as Conditional?

If your offer is still showing up as conditional, we’d recommend that you give us a ring as soon as possible. It might be that we are still waiting on confirmation of your results.

If your results haven’t gone quite as you planned, don’t panic. If we are unable to offer you a place on the course you have applied for, we might be able to offer you an alternative. If we are able to offer an alternative course, you will be asked by UCAS to reply to your new offer through UCAS Hub within five days.

What Next?

If you are accepted, a letter confirming this will be appear in UCAS Hub a few days after your place is confirmed.

If you have been unsuccessful in gaining a place at Chester, check to see if you have been accepted at your Insurance choice. If Chester is your Insurance choice and you have been unsuccessful, your next step would be to check the vacancies available on the UCAS website through Clearing.

If you have any questions, take a look at our Admissions FAQs, and if they don’t quite cover what you need to know, you can contact our Undergraduate Admissions team at: admissions@chester.ac.uk or 01244 511000

Applying for Part-time Courses

If you are interested in applying for a part-time undergraduate course, this application should be made directly to the University. The relevant paperwork for applying to the University of Chester for a part-time course can be found below.

Part-time Undergraduate Application Form

Personal Statement Form

Part-time Undergraduate Reference Form

Part-time Application Guidance Notes

Part Time Application Guidance Notes

Throughout your application, you might be wondering what certain words and phrases mean. For a list of UCAS terms explained, please refer to the UCAS website.

Admissions FAQs Policies and Guidance