How you'll be taught
At Portsmouth, our teaching is designed so you have everything you need to help you reach your academic potential.
We want to ensure you benefit from excellent teaching and get everything you need to succeed on your course, and thrive in your career – wherever it takes you.
Blended and Connected Learning
Through our blended and connected learning approach, our goal is to create a more flexible and engaging learning environment that allows you to learn at your own pace and in your own way – our learning and teaching is in a blended (mix of online and face-to-face) format. However we also maximise the opportunities for you to interact face-to-face with each other and with staff, both in the context of your course and the wider university experience.
Below, you’ll find out more about how we do this at Portsmouth and discover how you’ll study.
1. Teaching
Our 'blended and connected approach' helps to create a sense of belonging, by helping you connect with your peers, staff and community. It combines face-to-face teaching with online learning and other technologies. This approach will vary from module to module and may vary with time.
You'll be taught by our expert lecturers, who have years of experience – in teaching, industry and frequently both. Many remain active in their professions, and because they're continuously developing their knowledge, they'll teach you all the relevant, most-recent things you need to know, so you can hit the ground running in your career.
And because much of our research is carried out by the same people who'll be teaching you, the breakthroughs and discoveries we make will feed directly into our courses – so you'll be exploring the latest theories and developing original ideas as part of your studies.
You'll also get all the resources you need through our virtual learning environment, Moodle – including reading lists, learning activities and recorded teaching sessions to catch up on whenever suits you. Entire teaching sessions are not recorded, but you’ll have access to review the core elements of what was covered. Core content may also be provided by other means such as narrated powerpoints, key takeaways on a padlet, or a short interview.
We want you to have every opportunity to engage in practical, studio and workshop work on-campus, and field and lab-based activities.
At Portsmouth, you can apply what you learn in our outstanding simulated work environments and learning spaces.
Law students practise their skills in our replica court, while students from disciplines such as criminology and social work can experience being an expert witness in a simulated legal case.
Other simulated environments include:
- a 25-seat newsroom for journalism students
- the Bloomberg Suite, which gives you access to the same data and analytics software that city traders use
- the Centre for Simulation in Health and Care, which includes a simulated GP surgery, care home, 1-bedroom flat, ambulance and 2 acute hospital training wards
You can apply your skills in the local community too, like our dental students, who treat NHS patients in our Dental Academy; and our sport and exercise science students, who run coaching courses at local schools.
We involve employers and professional bodies in developing course content, so everything you learn will be relevant to your career when you graduate.
Many of our courses are accredited or validated by professional organisations, who make sure that these courses teach you the relevant skills and abilities to work in the industry right away.
2. Support
You'll be able to access all the support you need online or face-to-face. You can talk in person or online with your personal tutor, and our guidance and support teams.
- Personal tutor: your key point of contact for academic, personal and professional development support throughout your time at university
- Doctoral College: your main support network to help you get the most out of your postgraduate research studies
- Academic skills support: confidential, personalised support and one-to-one tutorials to help you develop your academic skills
- Faculty learning support and development: each faculty has a team of staff and Student Engagement Officers with the knowledge and expertise to give you the right support when you need it
- Additional support and disability advice: confidential advice from disability professionals, including support with medical conditions or learning differences such as dyslexia
- Laboratory support: most of our labs and practical spaces have qualified laboratory support staff who can help you in scheduled lab sessions and can give you one-to-one support during practical research projects
- Maths help: daily drop-in sessions to develop your maths skills at a workshop or by using our online resources
- IT and computing help: support with all your computer issues face-to-face at the IT help centre in the Library, and by phone, email and online chat
- LinkedIn Learning: access more than 15,000 courses and develop your study skills or transferable skills to enhance your CV
- MyPort Hubs: your central core information service for in-person and online course support, and guidance on how to access our other university services
Learning and academic support
Everyone needs a little help with their studies from time to time. Find out what learning and academic support you get when you study here.
Guidance and support
Find out about the guidance and support you'll get if you need a helping hand with academic life – or life in general – when you study with us at Portsmouth.
3. Remote software access
You can download most of the software you need for your course – for free at any time – from our University Apps Anywhere store.
If you need to use a high-spec lab computer or a computer on campus with specialist software, you can log in to these computers remotely from home. Our Information Services department can help you set up remote access when you join us.
4. Using the library
The University library is full of resources to help you with your studies - both in person and remotely. As well as physical books and resources, you can access over 900,000 ebooks and hundreds of online journals. You can also speak to the librarians to help with finding the materials you need, in person, by email or live chat via the library website.
5. Exams and assessments
Exams and assessments take place on campus or online. Your course leader will let you know about the plans for the assessment on your course. You'll know in plenty of time if assessment plans change so you won’t be disadvantaged.
If you can't complete an assessment on time, you can apply for extenuating circumstances so you’re assessed fairly.
Please get in touch with us if you have specific questions about how your course will be delivered.
6. Placements and exchanges
Employers in the UK are looking forward to welcoming you into one of the placement roles available. We'll make sure you get all the support you need to find a placement in the UK.
International placement and study abroad years are available on many of our courses. Take a look at our course pages to see what opportunities you have to travel during your studies
Find out more
Student life
Explore our island city and its many attractions, and find out what student life is really like at the University.
Student accommodation
Take a look at where you'll stay when you study at Portsmouth, how much it'll cost, and what you'll get for your money – plus where to get housing support and how to get a guaranteed room in our halls.
Education Matters blog
On our Education Matters blog, you'll find academic and professional staff discussing learning and teaching, the student experience and how we're putting the University strategy into action at Portsmouth.
