Summer Schools

2027 Summer School for international students

University College Birmingham will be hosting three Summer Schools from 14 June 2027 to 25 June 2027 for international students, organised by our academic schools and depaertments. You can find out more about these wonderful opportunities below.

2027 Summer School courses:

Hospitality and Culinary Creators (Food and hospitality)
Future AI and Business Leaders (Business, Computing and Engineering)
Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds (Health and Wellbeing)

View course programmes How to apply

What's included

As well as a tailored academic schedule which includes a day spent with UCB’s CASE (Centre for Academic Skills and English) team working on group projects, students will take part in a social curriculum that allows them to explore Birmingham, England’s second city, and experience UCB’s world-class facilities. Students will also visit London on a day trip, taking in the key sites through a guided tour of the capital, as well as an opportunity to visit other popular city destinations.

UCB will offer an airport transfer service from Birmingham Airport to UCB on Saturday 12 June and Sunday 13 June at pre-specified times. There will be no transport service to UCB outside these times and dates, or from other airports.

Students will need to cover expenses that include, but are not limited to, any food purchased outside of the 2 meals a day, spending money for items such as gifts, and airfare/costs associated with travelling to Birmingham.

Course fee inclusive of:

Teaching and learning
Cultural activities
Accommodation
Airport coach transfers* and other transport as part of the programme
Breakfast and lunch meal vouchers

Course fee: £1,250

Summer School Testimonials

Hear directly from our summer school students. Select a student to discover their experiences and find out what makes our summer school special.

Arshit Sharma
Summer School 2026 attendee

On his main reason for joining the Summer School:

“I really wanted to get some international top tier culinary experience and here at UCB it is the best.”

On whether anything surprised him about the Summer School

“I really was expecting standard kitchen classes, but here at UCB the classes are next level, the facilities and faculties, everything!”

His words to describe the Summer School:

“Next level, inspiring and unforgettable.”

Divjot Kaur and Arshdeep Kaur Lubana
Summer School 2026 attendee

Divjot on what impact the Summer School has had on her:

“I’m a type of girl who is very introvert and can be insecure about herself. But this course has helped me to grow a lot as a person and my skills also.”

Arshdeep on her programme highlights:

“There were two sessions that were really interesting for me. One was HOTS, which is the Hotel Operations, Tactics and Strategy Simulation that we did, it was something really new for us because we’ve never done it in our college as well and it was really fun to do. We got to learn so much about how revenue management works. And the second session would be the CASE (Centre for Academic Skills and English) project that we did. It related to how studying in the UK works but also specifically at UCB. We got to present a topic that we researched, and we had lot of fun researching for it as well.”

Divjot on her favourite day trip:

“Stratford! Because it is my type, I really like the village style, the weather was too good, and the markets were too good! So, I really loved Stratford-upon-Avon a lot.”

Subhra Sekhar Bairagi
Summer School 2026 attendee

On his main reason for joining the Summer School:

“The main reason for coming here to the UCB Summer School was to check what the atmosphere was like over here. I’m coming back this September for a master’s programme, so I wanted to see what learning here would be like.”

On his programme highlights:

“So, for me, the bakery class was very good because I was not that good in bakery after graduating from my Undergraduate programme. So, developing new skills on how gluten works, how the strands work and how the flours are. We got to work with three different types of flours, so it was a very amazing experience for me to have.”

His three words to describe the Summer School:

“Seamless, insightful and stellar.”

Course programme content

Hospitality and Culinary Creators (Food and hospitality)

Organised collaboratively by Birmingham College of Food and the Department of Hospitality and Tourism.

Gain insight into the future of food
Take part in hotel operation simulations
Practice preparing both local classics and international dishes
Learn the art of breadmaking

Future AI and Business Leaders

Organised collaboratively by the Business School and School of Computing, Engineering and Built Environment

Experience combatting a live cyber-attack in our Cyber Security Lab.
Understand how AI is revolutionising all industries
Take part in financial trading masterclasses in our Trading Suite.

Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds (Health and Wellbeing)

Organised by the School of Health, Life Sciences and Education

Exploring through practical sessions related to the physical, psychological and social aspects of health and wellbeing
Practical, hands-on sessions, opportunities to experience learning in our skills and simulation spaces
Basic life support and CPR skills
Group challenges, such as designing a community health and wellbeing campaign

Course requirements

Applicants for our summer schools must be:

18 years of age or older on 14 June 2027
If you are an international student, have a valid passport for travel to the United Kingdom, where University College Birmingham is located

Academic entry requirements

We welcome applications from students with an interest in the Summer School course they are applying for. While no formal background is required, we do expect students to have a curiosity and enthusiasm for the programme subject. Showcasing this curiosity and enthusiasm should be demonstrated in the application form.

English language requirements

To benefit from the course, we recommend that students have at least an intermediate level of English (equivalent to B1 or IELTS 4.0). You may be required to meet a member of our team to determine whether your English level is suitable for our programmes

Programme specific requirements

Students interested in attending Hospitality and Culinary Creators must provide their own chef whites, chef trousers, chef hat, kitchen safety shoes, aprons, oven cloth, tea towel, and knives. We will not be able to provide these items.

How to apply

Duration: 14 June 2027 - 25 June 2027
Course fee: £1,250

Applications will open shortly, please register your interest by clicking the link below to be the first to know when applications open. For additional information, see the FAQ section below.

Frequently asked questions

How can I find the summer school courses in the application portal?

Select the 2025/2026 academic year,
select Undergraduate as the Aim of Study and
Select Full-Time as the Type of Study.

From the course dropdown, you will see summer school courses listed with the prefix CERTHE.

What if I don’t have formal English language qualifications?

You are still welcome to apply, but you are likely to be asked to attend a Teams meeting with someone from our summer school team.

In the portal, please select your English Language Qualification Type as Other and enter the title as No Formal Qualification, and enter the Grade as No Formal Qualification.

Is Health Insurance included in the course fee?

Health insurance is not included in the course fee. We strongly recommend that all students purchase health insurance for the duration of their stay.

How can I travel with my kitchen knives to the UK?

Knives are not permitted in hand luggage but can be brought in hold luggage. Please ensure, if taking part in our Hospitality and Culinary Creators Summer School, that you package the knives appropriately and check instructions from the airline you decide to fly with. Further guidance can be found here.

Do I require a visa to enter the UK and take part in the summer school?

You may need a visa to come to the UK to take part in this study programme. Depending on your nationality, you may need to get an electronic travel authorisation (ETA). Please use the Government webpage to determine whether you need a UK visa.