The University of Liverpool (UoL) is a research-active Higher Education institution located in the United Kingdom, with a position of 176 in the 2024 QS World University Rankings. In the Complete University Guide 2024 for UK universities, UoL was ranked at number 24 in the country. UoL has over 5,500 staff including 1,300 leading researchers, and is a member of the UK’s Russell Group of leading research-intensive institutions. UoL has a student body of over 22,000, awarding degrees at Undergraduate, Postgraduate Taught and Postgraduate Research (PhD) level. Just under half our international student body are undergraduates.
We welcome approximately 450 inbound students each year for short-term fee-paying and exchange programmes. One of our stated International Priorities is “to attract an increasingly diverse intake of international students” and IISMA students are a highly valued part of that intake. In 2023 we were delighted to welcome 24 IISMA students to the University of Liverpool. The University has high capacity to manage practical mobility arrangements with 13 staff in the central Global Opportunities Team, which leads on inbound mobility.
Clear information is held on our inbound website at https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/global-opportunities/inbound/, covering all the practical questions which students have about coming to the University of Liverpool. We additionally host a dedicated webinar for IISMA students applying to Liverpool, as well as being available by email, telephone and Zoom. All student applications are made online and students will study alongside Liverpool students in all courses.
To help students to prepare to arrive, we will provide IISMA students with access to our Inbound Toolkit, as well as tailored information for IISMA students. Our Toolkit covers all the essential information a student needs before arriving, whilst in Liverpool and on preparing to return home, accessible 24/7 from anywhere in the world.
Academic: GPA of 3 or above on their studies to date
English Language:
– IELTS: 6.5 with no less than 5.5 in each component
– TOEFL iBT: 88 with a minimum of 17 for reading, writing, and listening; 19 for speaking.
– Duolingo English Test: not accepted
Never had TB/TBC infection
22 September 2024 – 24 January 2025
Applicants 2022
Applicants : 766 students
GPA : 3.05-4.00
TOEFL iBT Score : 111
IELTS Score : 6-8
Duolingo English Test Score : 0-145
Awardees 2022
Awardees : 25 students
GPA : 3.44-3.92
TOEFL iBT Score : –
IELTS Score : 8
Duolingo English Test Score : 135-145
Applicants 2023
Regular Applicants : 38 students
GPA : 3.03-3.97
TOEFL iBT Score : 101-112
IELTS Score : 6.5-8.5
Duolingo English Test Score : –
Co-funding Applicants : 16 students
GPA : 3.00-3.96
TOEFL iBT Score : 101-112
IELTS Score : 7-8
Duolingo English Test Score : –
Awardees 2023
Regular Awardees : 15 students
GPA : 3.12-3.97
TOEFL iBT Score : –
IELTS Score : 7-8.5
Duolingo English Test Score : –
Co-funding Awardees : 9 students
GPA : 3.23-3.92
TOEFL iBT Score : 101-112
IELTS Score : 7-7.5
Duolingo English Test Score : –
Available Courses
Building a professional identity: appreciating Computer Science as a discipline and computing in practice; economic, historical, organisational, research, and social aspects of Computer Science; understanding the skills that define a Computer Science graduate, and articulating them through CV and social media profiles/presence.
Cyber-ethics principles and their role in the system analysis and design (SAD) cycle: understanding the contexts in which systems will operate; appreciating, evaluating and articulating Legal, Ethical, Social and Professional issues related to digital solutions, including data protection; code of conducts.
Conceptual modelling as a core activity in computational thinking, and its use in designing applications to user’s requirements. Requirement acquisition and analysis. Information gathering, interactive and unobtrusive methods. Designing inclusive systems: capturing the needs of different users by modelling user views; appreciating and preventing potential biases. The importance of formal specifications and standards in conceptual modelling: Enhanced Entity Relationships models, UML.
Designing ethical and usable systems and communicating effectively with stakeholders: a case study in Database Modelling. Phase 1 – writing and appraising a system proposal: literature search, evaluation of sources. Phase 2 – technical writing of conceptual models and system design: project management, time management and teamwork, the use of techniques from the agile philosophy as a way to produce user centred designs, mapping conceptual to logical design for relational databases, evaluating robustness, quality and scalability of the designed database model, benefits and drawbacks of normalization. Phase 3 – delivering a proof of concept, evaluating a pitch, ethical assessment of a system.
The over-arching aim of this module is to introduce students to the so-called ‘Grand Challenges’ facing society and what is being done to address them. Living with Environmental Change is a key interdisciplinary research theme currently being addressed worldwide; from tackling climate change and carbon emissions to promoting sustainable resource use and energy efficiency. This module illustrates that an interdisciplinary approach is crucial to identifying the underlying problems faced by humanity and to finding holistic and sustainable solutions.
To introduce concepts and principles of problem solving by computer, and the construction of appropriate algorithms for the solution of problems. To demonstrate the principles underlying the design of high level programming languages. To give students experience and confidence in the use of a high level programming language to implement algorithms.
This module aims to provide students with specialist skills in the linguistic analysis of language data which will enable students to identify and describe examples of linguistic variation in English. Students will develop specialist skills allowing them to select the correct phonetic symbols (from the International Phonetic Alphabet) and linguistic terminology when discussing linguistic phenomena. The module seeks to embody an approach to learning that empowers students to discuss linguistic variation in relation to relevant and appropriate scholarly work and to recognise the expressive resources of language. Students will develop subject-specific knowledge that will allow them to explain how relevant theoretical concepts (topical and ethical) apply to real language data.
The module aims to Provide an understanding and explanation of the main societal and cultural determinants of a wide range of demography and other events, including being born ; leaving home ; moving home ; partnering ; having sex ; having children ; experiencing well-being , falling ill and dying; Describe and account for how these events lead to spatial and temporal variations in population growth rates and structures Examine the relevance of the demographic and epidemiological (health) transitions to developing countries, and, Assess the future global population prospects. The module aims to move far beyond the basic population geography presented in GCSE and A-level syllabuses by providing; Greater breadth and depth of coverage, direct exposure to the population-related research of current staff, greater critical engagement with the material covered.
To introduce students to the concepts and methods of informal logic and to enable students to use these concepts and methods in assessing arguments both within and outside philosophy. To help students to think more logically themselves, and to locate and remove inconsistencies in their own thoughts. To introduce students to methods of causal, statistical and probabilistic reasoning and to enable students to identify and avoid causal, statistical and probabilistic fallacies. To enable students to think creatively about problems and to come up with rational solutions to them, and to make logical decisions in the light of available evidence.
The module introduces students to the study of Law in the School of Law and Social Justice. It uses a variety of contemporary case studies to develop students’ contextual understanding of:
• Key concepts (e.g. law, obligation, power, rights, justice, inequalities etc),
• Frameworks (e.g. court system, judicial reasoning, legislation, supra-national law etc)
• Techniques (e.g. using precedent, statutory interpretation, accessing authoritative sources of law, conducting legal research etc)
• Legal theory (e.g. the role of law in society; a range of major theories of law (e.g. natural law, legal positivism, critical legal theories)
• Skills and attributes expected of students in the School of Law and Social Justice (e.g. fluency of communication; integrity in the planning and execution of academic work; collaborative working practices; developing reflective practice as a Law student etc)
Cities and Regions is concerned with the global process of ‘urban restructuring’ that has taken place of the past decades, as well as the urbanisation process that is unfolding in developing countries. The module is organised along the following three themes, using UK and international examples: Changing Cities: we will discuss the changing physical form of cities into vast metropolitan regions. We discuss the various layers of urban analysis ranging from the nuclear city to mega city regions or megalopolises, comprising several metropolitan regions. The interaction between transport and land use receives specific attention, leading to mass regional urbanisation. The changing urban form raises questions about strategic planning and metropolitan governance. Urban and Regional Development: Cities have undergone an urban renaissance over the past decades. Globalisation is the cause both of a deep urban crisis of the 1970s and the formation of world cities in which capital and economic activity is concentrated. Social and Environmental Challenges: The current urbanisation process goes along with two fundamental challenges. Climate change has resulted in increased vulnerability and a need to mitigate its causes and adapt to an increase in extreme weather events. Urban inequality is second big challenge for cities, including issues of residential segregation and gentrification. Both challenges are particularly pertinent in developing countries
The aim of this module is to introduce students to:
1. the theoretical basis of global economic integration
2. the main economic features of the Global Environment
3. the workings and interaction of different global institutions
4. the major current policy issues.
This module aims to provide students with foundational knowledge in the field of communication and media.
The module gives students exposure to the development of communication and media from a historical perspective with a focus on the social, political, cultural and economic changes brought about by new technologies. It also provides students with an overview of the development of Media and Communication Studies as a broad academic field, including new trends.
It aims to provide students with a critical understanding of some key approaches and theories to the study of mass media communication from a wide variety of perspectives and introduces students to relevant seminal work and key debates in the field.
– To provide a conceptual basis for practical game design.
– To gain a better understanding of how existing games are crafted.
– To cultivate a stable workflow in the design of games.
– To develop the ability to articulate ideas about game design.
Topics covered in this module include:
1. The video game as a designed experience.
2. Interfaces and user interaction.
3. The design of success/failure and reward systems.
4. Structuring Flow and balance.
5. Implementation of chance.
6. Autonomous agents and AI .
– To develop students’ awareness of how historical investigation enriches important contemporary debates;
– To introduce students to a range of new ways of approaching the past, both in terms of subject matter and of approaches to history;
– To introduce students to parts of the world that they have never studied before and, equally importantly, to enable them to see the myriad connections between different parts of the world.
Topics include:
1. Gender;
2. The environment;
3. The development of nation-states, colonialism and governmentality;
4. Transnational connections and mobilities;
5. The history of ideas and ideologies.
The aims of this modules are to introduce students to the scope and breadth of the study of music as well as various academic approaches and methods employed in such study; to introduce key terms and concepts used in the study of music in relation to culture; to help students to critically examine how musical genres, forms, styles, artists, audiences, ideas, institutions, localities or industries work together in a variety of contexts; to provide a foundation for the further study of music and culture at levels two and three; and to help students to understand interdisciplinary approaches to the study of music.
Topics covered during the module may include:
1. The philosophical foundations and debates of human rights;
2. The political establishment of an international human rights regime:
– What are the origins of the Universal Declaration and how and why did an international regime on human rights evolve?
– UN Human Rights Treaty System: Why states commit and its impact
3. Human rights and foreign policy: How do states integrate human rights into their foreign policy and does it matter?
4. Human rights at the regional level: What institutions exist in Europe, the Americas and Africa to ensure the protection of human rights and do they make a difference?
5. Conflict, transitional justice and human rights: How are human rights enshrined through international humanitarian and criminal law?
6. Do transitional justice mechanisms improve human rights?
7. Nonstate actors and human rights: What nonstate actors are integral to human rights in international politics, and what roles do they serve in undermining and improving human rights?
– To introduce and explain major contemporary perspectives on corporate behaviours.
– To introduce moral perspectives as they relate to managerial decision-making and corporate structures.
– To make students familiar with a range of recurrent ethical problems arising in business.
– To improve students’ skills in identifying and analyzing ethical issues that managers and employees face.
– To give students practice in formulating, defending, and planning the implementation of action plans managing ethical dilemmas.
Students will become familiar with key concepts in ethics, both meta-ethics and normative ethics. Students will gain an acquaintance with the main approaches to moral theory such as virtue ethics, deontology, consequentialism, as well as key debates in meta-ethics. Students will tackle central questions in moral philosophy, such as ‘is a good action more about good intentions than beneficial outcomes?’, ‘does lying possess an objective property of badness?’, ‘ought different people to follow different moral codes?’ and ‘what activities lead to a good life?’.
The module gives an overview of major ethical theories, both on the normative and the meta level. After a general introduction, the module discusses topics such as consequentialism, Kantian deontology, social contract theories, virtue ethics, feminist ethics, ethical pluralism, scepticism, nihilism and moral rights theories.
– To introduce students to the history of Europe between Late Antiquity and the Enlightenment, and the relationship between Europe and other parts of the world;
– To develop empathetic understanding of the period;
– To develop an understanding of how one engages in critical evaluation of primary sources;
– To develop an ability to analyse problems, construct an argument and present it clearly in written form.
Topics include:
1. The fall of Rome and the rise of Christianity and Islam;
2. Gender in the early Middle Ages;
3. The kingdom of the Franks and the Carolingian world;
4. The Vikings;
5. The Crusades;
6. Heresy;
7. The Black Death;
8. The Reformation and Catholic Reformation.
1. Biology, the bigger picture and the parts we play, where do we fit in?
2. Themed introduction to the tree of life (microbes, plants, invertebrate and vertebrate animals)– introductory overviews of commonality in areas such as (but not limited to) genetic codes, metabolism, small molecules and translational information systems. Similarities and differences between various organisms. Major evolutionary transitions and patterns of life over earth history.
3. The flow of information: what makes everything work? – DNA, RNA, Protein; building blocks and molecular underpinnings; metabolism, energy, efficiency and inefficiency.
4. How do cells replicate? – Mitosis, meiosis, mutation; Bacterial replication, binary fission.
5. How to build an organism? – What are the different organisms and their basis; Prokaryotic, Eurokaryotic (microbes, plants, invertebrate and vertebrate animals). Introductions to microbial diversity. Development and complexity.
6. Genetics and evolution – Genetics, mutation, selection, natural and sexual selection, genetic drift, genetic diversity, AMR, adaptation and limits; micro and macro evolution. Human origins and diversity
7. Microbial diversity – Introductions to virology, parasitology, bacteriology, and the ways of life; Public and Global health.
8. General principles of pharmacology.
The majority of the world’s population can now be said to be urban and the most acute social challenges of the age to centre on cities. This module provides a comprehensive introduction to classical and contemporary social scientific studies of urban contexts. Tracing the development of theories of urban life – and the empirical studies that have accompanied them – this module is concerned with the variety of ways in which social scientists have sought to understand the complex and contested social spaces of cities.