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What is the ECS Taster Course?
On the course, you live life as a University student and enjoy a busy programme:
- Try your hand at real experiments in our state-of-the-art laboratories.
- Learn about our teaching and research from our world-renowned lecturers.
- Get to know our current students and recent graduates.
- Enjoy social events: meet fellow students with a visit to the city centre.
- Experience life on campus and in our halls of residence.
- Meet leading employers at our annual Taster Course Careers Fair.
- Just £349 for this one-week residential experience (reduced rates and full bursaries available), meals and accommodation included.
Is this course right for you? It's a great way to:
- Find out if studying Computer Science, or Electronic, Electrical, or Biomedical Engineering is right for you.
- Learn more about the careers open to you after completing your studies here.
- Experience life as a University student, and the University of Southampton in particular.
- Meet people and make friends interested in University study.
Eligibility
To be eligible to attend the Taster Course, you must:
- Have attained mostly grades of 7 or above at GCSE*.
- Be currently studying in Year 12 (English system, or equivalent) and age 16 or over on the 27th of July 2025.
- Be currently studying in the UK, or are a British citizen studying abroad.
- For the Electronics and Computer Science stream, be currently studying A-Level Mathematics and either Physics, Computer Science, Electronics, Biology, Chemistry or Further Mathematics*.
- For the Biomedical Engineering stream, be currently studying A-Level Mathematics and either Physics, Biology, Chemistry or Further Mathematics*.
* Equivalent qualifications apply if you have studied outside the UK
You are Welcome:
- No prior experience or knowledge of computer science, electronics or programming is necessary.
- There is no obligation to apply to the University of Southampton following the course.
- You may just want to explore these subjects further and have no plans to study them at university.
- We are committed to providing opportunities for all, regardless of gender. Half of our initial allocation of places are reserved to ensure a balance of genders.
Application Process
If you would like to apply to attend the Taster Course:
- Review our eligibility requirements above.
- Complete our online application form, when open.
- Your application will be reviewed by our admissions team at the end of the month, starting from January 2025.
- If we offer you a place on the course, we will contact you by email with further instructions. You will have one month to pay for the course, and return consent forms.
Please note that our course is very popular, and is usually over-subscribed.
Fees, Bursaries and Scholarships
Course Fees
The fee for attending the course is £349, which includes overnight accommodation Monday-Thursday, and all food and drink for the week.
If you would prefer to arrive on Sunday 27th July, we offer overnight accommodation and dinner on Sunday night, and breakfast on Monday for an additional charge. Overnight accommodation is not offered on Friday 1st August.
Bursaries and Reduced Fees
You may be eligible for a full bursary (covering the full course fee), or a reduced rate fee of £239.
Full bursaries are available to attendees on a first-come first-served basis, who meet at least two of the following criteria:
- Your current home postcode is in an area with low levels (IMD quintile 1) of progression to Higher Education. You can find the IMD quintile for your postcode using the checker here.
- You attend a school or college in the first quartile for higher education progression. You can find a list of eligible schools from the XLS file here.
- You are in receipt of a 16-19 Bursary or similar grant OR received Free School Meals at any point during your secondary school education.
- You grew up (or are currently living) in Local Authority care, or are estranged from your family.
- You are currently a Young Carer or Young Adult Carer.
A reduced course fee of £239 is also available to applicants who match one of the criteria above.
Please note bursaries do not cover the cost of additional accommodation and meals on Sunday night, or any travel expenses.
The Zepler Scholarship 2025
Exclusive £1000 degree scholarship for course attendees.
This exclusive scholarship from the School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) at the University of Southampton provides £1000 for all students in the first year of their degree who meet all of the following conditions:
- attended the ECS Taster Course in 2022, 2023, or 2024 - all students that attended will be considered
- enrolled on an ECS undergraduate degree course
- meet (or exceed) their offer and obtain at least A*AA at A-Level
- are eligible for UK fees
Cancellation Policy
After payment is received, the University will begin to arrange services for your attendance at the summer school. Therefore, no refunds will be possible after the 7-day 'cooling off' period. This does not affect your statutory rights. However, we accept that the course may have to change as a result of external factors outside our control. We are committed to running a safe and enjoyable course.
- If we decide to cancel the course, you will receive a full refund;
- If we decide to change to online delivery, you can choose to either 1) cancel and receive a full refund, or 2) attend the online course and receive a partial refund for the difference in course fee;
- If you are unable to attend due to government guidance at the time of the course, you will receive a full refund.
Contact us
The University of Southampton has an outstanding reputation for Electronics and Computer Science. We are a member of the prestigious Russell Group of research universities and our degrees are ranked amongst the best in the UK. Our graduates are highly regarded by leading employers and we work closely with industrial partners, both in our research and our teaching.
We are keen to hear from you should you have any queries. Please get in touch with us at ecstaster@soton.ac.uk
Contact Us
The University of Southampton has an outstanding reputation for Electronics and Computer Science. We are a member of the prestigious Russell Group of research universities and our degrees are ranked amoungst the best in the UK. Our graduates are highly regarded by leading employers and we work closely with industrial partners, both in our research and our teaching.
We are keen to hear from you should you have any queries. Please get in touch with us at ecstaster@soton.ac.uk.
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How to apply for the Enhanced Course.
To apply please click on the link above*.
If you would like to apply to attend one of our Summer Taster Courses:
1. Complete the application form.
2. We will acknowledge your application and notify you of our decision within 14 days.
3. If we offer you a place on the course, you will have a further seven days to register and pay.
Please note these courses are very popular and are usually oversubscribed. All applications are individually reviewed by our admissions team.
Eligibility
Typical requirements for our Summer Taster Courses are:*
- currently studying A-Level Maths and either Physics, Computing, Electronics, Biology, Chemistry or Further Maths
- attained mostly 7, 8 or 9 grades at GCSE
- currently in year 12 and age 16+ on 31st July 2022
- Are currently studying the UK, or are a British National studying abroad
* Equivalent qualifications apply if you have studied outside the UK
We don’t mind:
- whether you have any previous knowledge of computer science, electronics or programming: no prior experience is necessary
- where you intend to study for your degree after your A Levels: there is no obligation to apply to the University of Southampton following the course
- if you know that you want to study one of these subjects at university, or just want to explore the subject further.
About Us
We are committed to outreach and public engagement and have hosted residential courses for sixth-form students for many years. These have received very high ratings from the students who attended.
Our 2018 course is a great way to find out more about subjects which are now fundamental for the future development of society, as well as providing a strong base for making future choices.
This course is being organised and run by:
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Dr Geoff Merrett, Course Leader, started at the University of Southampton as a student in 2001. He is now associate professor of electronic and software systems, and lectures on digital electronics, computer networks and engineering skills. He is the senior admissions tutor for Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
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Dr Reena Pau, Course Coordinator, leads outreach activities in Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton, and has a personal interest in gender and STEM. She has a PhD from the University of Southampton and her research investigates how to increase the number of women in STEM.
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Dr Alex Weddell, Electronics Strand Leader, was awarded the MEng Electronic Engineering at the University of Southampton in 2005, followed by a PhD. His research interests areareas of energy harvesting, wireless sensing/internet-of-things, machine condition monitoring, and intelligent sensing for smart infrastructure. He is the senior admissions tutor for Electronics.
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Dr Jon Hare, Computer Science strand leader, Lecturer in the Vision, Learning and Control research group in Electronics and Computer Science. His research interests are novel, intelligent techniques for analysing multimedia.
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Dr Dan Spencer, Biomedical Electronic Engineering course leader. He is the module leader for the fourth year Bionanotechnology course and lectures on the Lab-on-a-chip and Biosensors modules.
The course also receives the support of Professor Bashir Al-Hashimi and Professor Paul Lewin.