International Orientation January 2026

In-session English - ISE - at the University of Portsmouth 

What is In-Sessional English? 

Designed to support students for whom English is an additional language, we offer a range of modules to help you develop your academic English language skills.

Available throughout the year in 5 week periods.

Free of charge for all students.

On-campus and online modules available.

Make friends from around the University.

Develop your skills in:

• Academic writing 
• Critical reading 
• Dissertation and final report writing 
• English for communication 
• Academic style 
• Grammar and vocabulary 

Experience expert teaching by the School of Languages and Applied Linguistics. 

For more information and to register search MyPort for ‘ISE’ or email ise@port.ac.uk.

The University Library is a busy and lively building which reflects the multicultural nature of the University and Portsmouth as a whole. Please remember your student card to scan in and out when you visit the Library. The Library is an essential source of information for staff and students. We hold an extensive range of books and other printed materials, and our online holdings of electronic resources, including ebooks, ejournals and specialist databases are more expansive still! You can use your mobile phone or our touchscreen information kiosks to find books and look up all manner of other useful information about what is happening on campus. 

By searching the Discovery Service, you can quickly find useful, high quality academic journal articles on any subject. The subject pages on the Library website offer almost everything you need for your studies in one place.

The Library is open 24/7 during term time, our electronic resources are available around the clock, and all our borrowing and return services are self-service so you can study where and when suits you best. You can borrow laptops from the lockers on the ground floor to use in the Library and book group study rooms up to two weeks in advance, where you can work in groups and practice presentations. You can also bring in your own laptop or mobile devices, plug into our power sockets and connect to the fast and secure university wireless network.  You can even connect your laptop or tablet to a large curved desktop monitor and work from your mobile device while enjoying all the comforts of using a desktop computer.

You can borrow and return books and other materials using the self-service kiosks. The library catalogue shows you where to find books within the library. If you need any help, please ask a friendly member of staff. You can also request books be picked off the shelves by library staff and moved to the collection point using our Click & Collect service for added convenience.

If you need help with anything from finding a book to research for your thesis, pop into the Library Skills Drop-in office off the atrium, or click the chat button on the library website 24/7, and chat to a librarian. We look forward to seeing you soon!