Study Online

The University of Liverpool is globally recognised as a leading provider of online education, with thousands of happy students benefitting from the flexibility of online postgraduate programmes.

With the success of our 2021 Online International Summer School, we are delighted to be able to bring the programme back for summer 2022. 

We appreciate that things are still uncertain, and we want to make sure you can still get the summer school experience without travelling half way around the world. 

Getting the Full Experience

You may not physically be in Liverpool, but you will have a strong connection through our interactive lectures, tutorials and informal sessions, library and email access, wellbeing services, as well as tours of the city and cultural highlights, guest speakers, and opportunities to meet the team before the course begins.

The Liverpool connection doesn't stop there either! Just like our on-campus modules, your online modules are ECTS compatible, so they can contribute to your main academic programme at home. When you graduate, you will do so with membership to the University of Liverpool Alumni Network, which qualifies you for discounts on tuition fees should you decide to return to study at postgraduate level with us.

When you graduate from the programme, we will host an online End of Programme Event, and you can opt to receive your certificate digitally or we can post it to you or your home institution (if you are transferring credits). At this stage, we will introduce you to the Alumni Network so you can begin your journey as a University of Liverpool alumni.

Studying online gives you the flexibility you need, and is provided by an institution that is not only a member of the prestigious Russell Group, but a world leader in online education.

You can now download the 2022 International Summer School Module Guide, with information on all our programmes and modules available.

Back to: International Summer School

A Typical Day Online

Contact Hours

Each module offers 8-12 tuition hours per week. To take advantage of the flexibility offered by online delivery, and to facilitate participation of students across the world, the contact hours in each module will be split between synchronous and asynchronous.

‘Seminar hours’ may actually consist of a variety of synchronous and asynchronous contact hours, including a minimum of 4-6 hours of synchronous online classroom seminars and the remainder split across other online options eg quizzes, recorded lecture clips, mediated discussion boards or lecturer supported learning activities.

Care will be taken to ensure that the timetable is delivered in a 'time zone-friendly' way. Lower live contact hours will help to reduce 'Zoom Fatigue' and allows you to be more flexible in how you structure your studies.

We offer a range of clubs and activities online where you can meet and socialise with your classmates and other ISS students. These are offered at different times of the day, to be time-zone friendly.

Self-Directed Hours

It is expected that you will spend between 38-42 study hours per week outside of the virtual classroom contact hours on activities including assigned reading, optional reading of areas of personal interest, homework tasks, web research and preparation for assessment.

ISS Example Timetable

Within your pre-arrival information you will receive the document ‘ISS schedule for live sessions 2021’, providing you the BST for the live sessions. Classes in the first week of each 3-week block will take place Tuesday to Friday and in weeks two and three classes will take place Monday to Thursday.

A typical online ISS timetable might look like this:

MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFriday
Watch pre-recorded lecture clips. Answer quiz and prepare questions Pair Work: Research a specific question and prepare to present Independent study time: Work through learning activity on CANVAS. Virtual museum tour with learning activity Office/tutorial hours - Students can book a short 1:1 meeting
Live interactive class with lecturer. Live interactive class with lecturer. Student presentations. Live interactive class with lecturer. Live interactive class with lecturer. Flipgrid presentations moderated by lecturer
Independent study time: Suggested reading Watch tour video clips and prepare questions Group work: online discussion board posts Independent study time: Assessment preparation. Group work: Assessment Preparation
Social: Film club Social: Games club Social: pub quiz Social: conversation club Social: Virtual guided city walk

Technology Requirements

The ISS Online is delivered through the University of Liverpool's own Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), Canvas, supported by Microsoft Teams and apps that integrate with these programmes. You will be a fully registered student with a University of Liverpool email address and access to university apps.

On occasion we will ask you to download an app or access external services such as YouTube, but nothing will ever incur a cost. You should make sure you have a reasonable internet connection.

We strongly recommend that you use a laptop or computer and not a mobile device.

Further information regarding your online learning will be sent to you after your application is complete.