University of Gloucestershire - Francis Close Hall

Three courses at the University of Gloucestershire’s Francis Close Hall campus lead to Qualified Teacher Status, the licence to teach in an English state school. They are also the courses most likely to disappoint an international applicant who has not asked the right question first.

QTS routes carry eligibility conditions that ordinary degrees do not. Placements must be secured in English schools, enhanced background checks apply, and universities sometimes restrict these programmes in ways they do not advertise on the course page. Ask about international eligibility before you apply, not after you hold an offer.

That is the sort of detail this guide is built around.

Francis Close Hall is the university’s campus in Cheltenham for education, humanities, psychology, environmental science and design. It opened as a teacher training college in the nineteenth century, which is why teaching still sits at its centre. It offers 65 courses to international students: 41 bachelor degrees, 17 masters, five postgraduate diplomas, one doctorate and one English language course.

Fees run from GBP 2,900 to GBP 20,190. The entry bar is 65 percent on 37 of the 65 courses, and five foundation routes drop it to 50.

Two campus-wide facts are worth knowing before you compare Gloucestershire with anywhere else.

The Duolingo English Test is refused here. Not on some courses, on all 65, and the same applies across the university’s other campuses. Applicants who have already sat Duolingo find this out late, because competing pages list IELTS, TOEFL and PTE requirements and simply leave Duolingo unmentioned.

And Indian applicants are eligible for a scholarship worth GBP 4,000 to GBP 5,000, awarded automatically without a separate application form. Most coverage of this university quotes the general GBP 1,500 award instead, which is a third of the value.

We checked all 65 courses individually. The numbers below come from the full list rather than a sample.

What this guide covers

1. About Francis Close Hall
2. The three QTS teaching degrees
3. Why your Duolingo score will not work
4. English requirements and the MOI route
5. The India Scholarship
6. Postgraduate diplomas: the same teaching for less
7. Regulated courses and protected titles
8. Professional Policing: read this first
9. The online doctorate and the visa question
10. All 65 courses by level
11. What this campus actually teaches
12. Fees and where the money goes
13. Admission requirements
14. Intakes and deadlines
15. The Graduate Route
16. Cost of living in Cheltenham
17. Francis Close Hall or Park?
18. What competing pages miss
19. How to apply
20. Is this campus right for you?
21. FAQs

1. About Francis Close Hall

The university has roots in a Cheltenham teacher training college founded in the 1840s. It became the Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education in 1990 and gained university status in 2001. Francis Close Hall is the oldest of its sites and remains the education and humanities campus.

2. The Three QTS Teaching Degrees

All three cost GBP 16,600 and ask 65 percent.

3. Why Your Duolingo Score Will Not Work

Duolingo has become the default for many Indian applicants because it is inexpensive, quick and sat at home. That makes this a costly assumption rather than a minor detail. Book IELTS Academic, TOEFL iBT or PTE Academic, and leave enough time in your plan for a retake.

4. English Requirements and the MOI Route

The great majority of courses sit at IELTS 6.0 with nothing below 5.5, which is a reachable standard. The Social Work masters is the odd one: it wants a 7.0 overall but allows individual bands as low as 5.5, so a strong reading score can carry a weaker speaking one.

5. The India Scholarship

6. Postgraduate Diplomas: The Same Teaching for Less

7. Regulated Courses and Protected Titles

8. Professional Policing: Read This First

If the subject genuinely interests you, the academic content transfers into corporate investigation, fraud analysis and private security, which have no such restrictions. Go in knowing that, rather than discovering it in your final year.

9. The Online Doctorate and the Visa Question

That does not make it a bad programme. A distance doctorate suits someone who intends to stay in their own country, keep working and study alongside it. It is simply a different proposition from relocating to Britain, and it should not be compared with an on campus PhD as though the two were interchangeable. Confirm the delivery mode and the visa position with the university and UKVI in writing.

10. All 65 Courses by Level

Browse every course with its fee and entry requirement on our Francis Close Hall courses and fees page.

11. What This Campus Actually Teaches

Eight courses include a placement year, four include a foundation year, four are research masters, and two geography degrees run in an accelerated format that compresses three years into a shorter period.

12. Fees and Where the Money Goes

13. Admission Requirements for Indian Students

No application fee, and no GMAT or GRE on any course. A tuition deposit follows an offer, so confirm the amount and whether it is refundable before transferring money.

14. Intakes and Deadlines

The most flexible starts are the four research masters, each with five entry windows, which makes them practical for anyone who has missed a main intake.

15. The Graduate Route

Britain does not restrict post-study work by subject. Unlike Canada, where eligibility turns on a published list of fields, the UK asks only whether you completed a degree at a licensed institution. Every degree here qualifies, from the GBP 14,680 sociology route to the GBP 20,190 construction masters.

16. Cost of Living in Cheltenham

Cheltenham is a Regency spa town in the west of England, smaller and quieter than the big student cities and correspondingly cheaper. Bristol is about an hour away and Birmingham a little further, so larger centres remain reachable for work and weekends.

17. Francis Close Hall or Park?

Choose on subject rather than on campus. They are a short distance apart in the same town, and the university treats them as one institution for fees, scholarships and admission.

18. What Competing Pages Miss

19. How to Apply to Francis Close Hall

Applying through Apply Study Visa is free, and Gloucestershire charges no application fee, so the application itself costs nothing.

1. Do not sit a Duolingo test. It is accepted on none of the 65 courses here.
2. Check your MOI eligibility. A top 100 NIRF degree completed within ten years may remove the language test entirely.
3. If you want QTS, ask about international eligibility in writing before anything else.
4. If you want psychology, ask whether the specific course carries BPS accreditation.
5. We prepare the CAS request, the financial evidence and the visa submission with you as a single process.

The three mistakes that cost applicants most here are arriving with a Duolingo result, choosing a QTS or policing route without checking eligibility, and treating the online doctorate as equivalent to an on campus one. Check your eligibility free, or read our UK student visa guide.

20. Is Francis Close Hall Right for You?

For the right subject this campus offers real value. Thirty seven courses ask 65 percent, the English bar sits at IELTS 6.0 on 56 of the 65, there is no application fee, the India Scholarship is automatic, and Cheltenham costs less to live in than any large British city. Every degree carries the full two year Graduate Route.

The limits are specific rather than general: Duolingo is refused, dependants are barred on all 64 taught courses, the doctorate is online, and September dominates the calendar so heavily that missing it costs a year.

It suits you if

• You want education, humanities, psychology or environmental science, the strengths of this campus.
• Your marks sit around 65 percent, or 50 with a foundation year.
• You hold an MOI letter from a top 100 NIRF institution.
• You want a postgraduate diploma and can accept a lower credential for roughly GBP 6,000 less.
• You want lower living costs than London, Manchester or Birmingham.

It does not suit you if

• Your English result is a Duolingo score and you cannot sit another test.
• You need to bring a spouse or child.
• You want to join a British police force after graduating.
• You need a January start. Only one course offers it.
• You want computing, games or media. Those are at the Park campus.

21. Common Questions About Francis Close Hall