Applicant Taster Day FAQs

ATDs are optional for applicants to attend. They provide a valuable opportunity for applicants to get to know the course better and in more depth than an open day. You will have the opportunity to experience real-life classes and practical activities, get familiar with the campus, get to know your future tutors better, as well as speak to students on the course.

Our Open Days are designed to introduce you to everything we offer at BCU and to help you to find the course that fits best for you. Once you have applied to BCU, our ATDs allow you to explore your course of interest in more depth, with practical sessions delivered in smaller groups. You’ll also have an opportunity to meet other applicants, who could well be your course mates in a few months. ATDs also provide another opportunity to meet our support services, tour our accommodation and ask any questions that might have occurred to you since you last visited.

You will receive an email invitation to an ATD after we have made you an offer of a place to study at Birmingham City University. If you have received an offer but have not received an invite to an ATD, please contact us.

If you have applied to BA Acting, BA Stage Management, BMus, BSc (Hons) Paramedic Science or BSc (Hons) Therapeutic Radiography, you will be invited to attend an interview/audition rather than an Applicant Taster Day.

If you haven’t received an email to confirm your booking after registering for an ATD within 48 hours, please check your junk email. If you still haven’t received it after this time, please contact CRM@bcu.ac.uk with your name, course, and date that you have booked for, and we will check your details and re-send the confirmation email to you.

If you want to change the date of your ATD, you can do this by emailing CRM@bcu.ac.uk with your name, course, and the date that you would like to change to. You can see all dates for your course via the link in your invite.

If you can no longer attend your ATD and want to cancel your booking, please email CRM@bcu.ac.uk along with your name and the date of the ATD to inform us that you are unable to attend, and we will cancel your booking.

If you cannot find your ATD email, please contact CRM@bcu.ac.uk along with your name and course, and we will re-send the email to you. We also send email reminders in the lead up to the event, so you can expect to receive more emails between booking and the event date - be sure to look out for these too.

You will be invited to an ATD for every course that you have applied for at BCU. Therefore, if you have not registered for all ATDs that you been invited to, you may continue to receive event reminders.

If you have registered for all the Applicant Taster Days that you want to attend, please ignore any additional emails inviting you to book.

If you are having trouble booking your ATD on the webpage, please contact CRM@bcu.ac.uk to report this, along with your full name, course, and preferred date to attend and we will get back to you to assist with your booking.

All available spaces for our Applicant Taster Days are listed on the website, so if your preferred date is fully booked, we suggest you book onto another date. Alternatively, you can check back at a later stage to see if any places become available.

We’re offering a range of travel discounts to make visiting us easier. You will find more information in your event confirmation email, after you have a booked a place to attend an Applicant Taster Day.

We're offering free National Express coach tickets from any UK destination for you and one guest.

Travelling within the West Midlands? You can claim a free day saver ticket for National Express buses for you and one guest on the day of your event.

If you are planning to drive to the Applicant Taster Day, free parking will be available at the following sites – depending on what campus you are visiting:

City Centre Campus

Park in Millennium Point Car Park, Howe Street, B4 7AP.

Validate your ticket at our reception desks in Curzon Building, Parkside. Building or Level 2 of Millennium Point.

City South Campus

Park in Broadway Plaza, 220 Ladywood Middleway, B16 8LP.

Validate your ticket in the Seacole Building reception.

School of Art or the School of Jewellery

Park in St Paul's Square BCU car park, 10 St Paul's Square, B3 1QU.

Please note: this car park is a 10 minute walk from both sites.

Alexander Stadium

Park at Alexander Stadium, Walsall Road, Perry Barr, B42 2LR.

You can bring a maximum of one guest with you on the day. However, please note that guests will be unable to join the practical activities at the ATD due to capacity. Your guests will be encouraged to visit the parents/carers zones available at our City Centre and City South campuses, grab a drink in our canteen spaces or explore the local area while you enjoy your ATD session.

We ask that you arrive at the start of the event to allow you to attend all sessions throughout the course of the day. Check-in is open from 12pm for each of the Wednesday events, or 10am for each of the Saturday events.

If you are running late, don’t worry – please just make your way to the check-in as stated in your email as soon as you arrive, and our check-in staff will signpost you to your session.

Each course has its own individual programme, so you are only able to attend one ATD at a time. If you have applied for multiple courses in the same subject area, some activities may be shared. Otherwise, if you wish to attend an ATD for more than one course, please book separate dates for each course.