1. Faculty of Social Sciences
  2. Admissions guidance

Admissions guidance

This information applies to courses offered by the following academic schools for 2025 entry:

  • School of Education
  • School of Politics and International Studies
  • School of Sociology and Social Policy

All applications received by 29 January 2025 will receive equal consideration. Applications received between 30 January and 30 June 2025 will be considered at our discretion and subject to places remaining available. 

UCAS terms explained

The UCAS glossary of terms will help you to understand the application process.

Personal statements

The personal statement of the application form helps us to assess the nature of interest in the academic subject and is an important part of the selection process. It is essential that applicants take this opportunity to demonstrate their enthusiasm and aptitude for the academic subject. We wish to hear about:

  • Interest in the field
  • Any relevant work or other experience
  • Details of any particular skills, interests or attributes that will demonstrate aptitude, motivation and interested in the subject area
  • Social and cultural awareness
  • Responsibility
  • Career aspirations

Where applications show similar academic achievements and predicted grades, we may use the personal statement and reference in order to differentiate between applicants. 

Personal statement guidelines

The personal statement is an important part of your application, which means accurate spelling and grammar are of paramount importance. You must be able to demonstrate your excitement for and suitability to the academic subject, in addition to your potential to contribute more widely to the School. This assessment will form part of the basis on which decisions are made.

  • Interest in and commitment to the subject  
  • Social and cultural awareness  
  • Any work or voluntary activities relevant to the programme  
  • Responsibility 
  • Non-academic interests and activities   

UCAS also gives advice about writing a personal statement.

Interviews

Successful applicants for the BA Social Science (foundation degree) may be invited for an interview and will be contacted with details of the arrangements.

For all other programmes in the Faculty of Social Sciences interviews do not form part of our standard admissions process; however, in some cases, an applicant may be invited for an interview if it will help inform whether an offer should be made.

Will I receive an offer?

Courses in the Faculty of Social Sciences receive a high volume of applications relative to the places available. This means that we cannot extend an offer to all applicants. Offer decisions are made based on an overall review of applications including predicted grades, breadth of knowledge demonstrated through qualifications, personal statement, and contextual information.

Applications may be unsuccessful based on an overall assessment or for specific reasons such as:

  • An incomplete UCAS form
  • Failure to respond to a request for more information before the given deadline (where information is missing from the application form or additional clarification is needed, an email request for this information will be sent to the email address provided in the UCAS application)
  • Low predicted or achieved grades
  • Poor personal statement (see personal statement guidance on what to include). 

Please note that meeting, or being predicted to meet, the academic entry criteria does not automatically result in an offer being made.

Application decisions

We typically receive a high number of applications to our courses in the Faculty of Social Sciences. In some Schools the number of applicants exceeds the number of places available and so, to ensure that we treat all applications fairly and equitably, we may review applications after the UCAS deadline before making a final decision.

This is a normal part of our process for these courses and may mean applicants have to wait longer than usual to hear from us and we will let you know if your application is to be processed in this way.

Offer decisions are made based on an overall review of applications including predicted grades, breadth of knowledge demonstrated through qualifications, personal statement, extra-curricular and work experience, and contextual information.

Qualifications taken early

We recognise that some applicants may have studied a more flexible curriculum, where applicants have been able to progress through their educational development at an appropriate rate according to ability. Where a Level 2 (for example, GCSE) or Level 3 (for example, A Level) qualification has been taken ‘early’ the academic reference should include the reasons for this so that it can be taken into consideration by the admissions team. 

Resits

We will consider applications from those who are re-taking examinations prior to entering the University.

Deferral requests 

For 2025 entry we will consider applications for entry deferred to September 2026.

Advanced entry

We will consider applications from those who are seeking entry to the second year.  *with the exception of BA Economics and Politics.  

All such applications must be made through UCAS, by 30 June. To be eligible the applicant must demonstrate that they meet the following criteria:  

  • Meet first year requirements, as detailed on Coursefinder
  • Have met the learning outcomes of year 1 of the relevant programme 
  • Have achieved a minimum 2:1 or equivalent in the first year of study 

Decisions on such applications are made by the Academic Admissions Director (or other academic lead).  

Entry onto Level 3 within the Faculty of Social Sciences is not permitted.  

Internal transfers 

We will consider applications from those who wish to transfer internally from other programmes at the University of Leeds, providing places are available. Current students enquiring about a potential change of programme will be required to complete this Change of Programme Initial Enquiry Form in the first instance.  

Applicant assessment

Academic grades normally form only one part of the final decision and Appendix I gives examples of how applicants through their personal statement, may demonstrate that they have the skills, knowledge and attributes that we consider will enable them to become successful students on our degree courses.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) information

If you hope to gain any experience working with children or vulnerable adults during your time with Leeds, you’ll need to be apply for a DBS check in order to do so.

If you are an international student, you will need to bring a police check from your home country with you. This document will need to be presented to any potential employers within the UK.

A DBS check is required to enrol onto some of our courses in the School of Education. Please see individual course pages for further information.

You can find guidance on DBS checks and equivalent checks for international applicants on the DBS website.

Admissions policy

The University of Leeds Taught Admissions Policy can be found here.

Useful contacts

School of Politics and International Studies- email ugpolis@leeds.ac.uk

School of Sociology and Social Policy – email ugssp@leeds.ac.uk

BA Social Science (foundation year) – email SocialScienceFY@leeds.ac.uk

School of Education – email ugeducation@leeds.ac.uk