Thank you for applying to study in the Faculty of Arts at Bristol. We are looking forward to meeting you online. Here you can find all the information you will need to prepare.

Dates

We will be holding interviews for the Faculty of Arts on the afternoons of Wednesday, 1^st March and Wednesday 19^th April 2023.

Responding to your interview invitation

You must respond to your interview invitation within two weeks of receiving your invitation by email. We will know you have responded if you:

• register to attend an event;
• add your details to the ‘I cannot attend these dates’ option;
• or contact our Events team to discuss options if neither of the above are appropriate.

If you have not responded to your invitation within two weeks, we will assume you no longer wish to pursue your application at Bristol, and your application will be made unsuccessful.

If you can't attend the interview

If you can't come to your interview, please select 'cannot attend' on the registration form.

We only have certain dates available for interviews. We will do our best to offer you another slot but cannot guarantee this. Please note that you must attend an interview as part of the selection process.

Preparing for your interview 

Familiarise yourself with the Zoom platform 

This year’s interviews will be hosted remotely, via the platform Zoom. You will be able to join the session using your internet browser (we recommend using Google Chrome). Alternatively, you may wish to download the software to your desktop and sign up for a free account in order to get to know the system before the interview. There are some helpful tutorials available here. 

Check your internet speed in advance  

Do an internet speed test to ensure at least 1.5Mbps/1.5Mbps (up/down) for high quality video. Do this by testing your speed. If your internet speed in your preferred location is lower than advised, your interview may be at risk of disruption, so we would advise choosing a new location.  

We suggest logging onto your Zoom invitation a few minutes prior to your interview start time so you can test your audio and video. 

On the day

Structure of the interview

The formal interview will last approximately 20 minutes, in a Structured Interview Format with two assessors.

Please set up your computer in plenty of time and join the Zoom link at least 5 minutes before your interview start time. One of your assessors will admit you when they are ready to begin.

The interview will start with some internet connection and sound checks, followed by your ID check.

Please make sure you have set up in a quiet room and have informed anyone you live with not to disturb you during the interview. This includes anyone using streaming services or other activities that will impede your internet connection.

Once the interview has finished, the assessors will let you know, and the call will be ended promptly. No feedback will be given at this stage.

If there are any problems with the connection during the interview, you will not be penalised. We will make all efforts to get back in contact with you to continue the interview. If we cannot overcome these problems at the time, the interview may need to be rescheduled to a later date.

Bringing ID to your interview

You must bring photo ID with you to your interview. We will just need to see it when you join the interview to verify that you are the candidate we have invited. If you do not have photo ID, you will not be allowed to take part in the interview.

Examples of suitable photo ID include (but are not limited to):

• Passport
• Driving licence or provisional driving licence
• College photo card
• NUS photo card.

Criteria we use to assess the interview

The purpose of the interview is to ascertain you are ready for a return to education, to find out more about your academic interests and goals and to establish whether we offer the type of course you are seeking. We also hope you will want to ask us as many questions as necessary so that you can also determine whether our course caters for your intellectual needs and circumstances.

Extra time for Structured Interviews

Sufficient time is built into our Interview design so that additional extra time is not required.

Support for a disability

To discuss your disability in advance, email admissions-arts@bristol.ac.uk.

For advice on studying with a disability, contact our Disability Services team on +44 (0)117 331 0444 or disability-services@bristol.ac.uk.

After the interview

We aim to contact you with the outcome of your interview within two weeks. In some cases, this decision may take a little longer. We will endeavour to update you as soon as we can via email.

Please note that while you will likely hear from us within this time period, it is unlikely we will offer you a place on the course until all of our interviews are completed, therefore you may be placed on hold for several months before you hear our final decision. Please be reassured that we will get in touch with you with a decision as soon as we can; this process simply makes sure all applicants are considered fairly.