Transitioning to higher education course

The idea of starting university might be a bit daunting at first. To help you to prepare and make your transition as smooth as possible, we have worked with current first year students to create an online pre-arrival course called ‘Transition to Higher Education’.

We’ve worked to incorporate loads of useful information and resources for you to get an idea of everything that Durham University has to offer. This includes curated information we think is key to helping you during your transition into university including resources about:

• Student life: colleges, societies, sports and getting around the university and city
• Learning at university: an introduction to lectures, reading lists, seminars and labs and practical activities
• Skills for studying: critical thinking, time management and using digital tools
• Looking after yourself: this focusses on the skills needed to make the transition easier for you
• Next steps: getting ready for Welcome and Orientation Week (WOW week), guidance for international students and support to make the transition

The Transition to Higher Education course is a great starting point to get you ready for the coming academic year and is available to you as soon as you accept an offer from Durham and have a username and email address. It’s accessed via our Virtual Learning Environment Blackboard.

If you’ve already accepted your place and you want to get stuck in, you can access the Transition to HE course by logging into Blackboard Learn Ultra. You’ll find the pre-arrival course by selecting the ‘Activity Stream’ or ‘Courses’ links on the left-hand side. This course will remain available for you to revisit throughout the first year.