The Academic Professional Apprenticeship (APA) is an opportunity for suitably qualified staff to enhance their academic profile through an apprenticeship focused on research.


Key dates

Your Course team will contact you with key dates for your course.

Apprenticeships offer a great way to balance learning in the workplace with studying for a qualification.

Even though your university studies account for only part of your apprenticeship, you’ll be able to access the same services and support as students on a full-time course. Much of this can be accessed remotely, including:

  • our library services – digital resources range from e-books, online journals and video streaming platforms to research materials, digital newspapers and more.
  • our Learning Skills Hub, which includes modules on a wide range of study topics such as managing your assignments, essay writing, and referencing.
  • Blackboard, our virtual learning environment, where you’ll find all your course learning materials. This includes a schedule of assessment activities and submission dates to help you plan. (Additionally, you can find an overview of the assessment periods for each Academic Calendar.)
  • Student peer mentors who can give you the benefit of their first-hand experience, in-person or online.
  • If you have a disability and/or long-term or serious medical or psychological condition or you experience a medium- or long-term personal difficulty, our Student Wellbeing team can advise you. You can speak to someone at one of their virtual drop-ins, Monday- Friday, 12 noon-1pm, via Blackboard – no appointment necessary.
  • IT support - whether you need to connect to Wi-Fi, find an on-campus computer, charge your laptop or print your documents we have the latest technology in place to help.
  • And if you’re unsure about anything, the i-zone – our student information help desk – contactable by email or Live Chat; if they don’t know the answer to your question, they will know who to ask.
  • And while no two apprenticeships are the same, you might find it helpful to hear from some of our former apprentices, who share why an apprenticeship was right for them, how the university has supported them and what they wish they’d known when starting their studies.

Welcome and induction

Your Course team will contact you over the summer about your welcome and induction. 

Getting started

Make your arrival the best it can be by visiting our Welcome Hub and explore how to get study ready, access support, make friends, and get involved.

Get ready to study in a digital world but taking the digital capabilities questionnaire through Jisc to reflect on your confidence and skills across a range of online capabilities.

Course timetable

Your Course team will contact you over the summer about your timetable.