GCE A Level students listening intently during a face-to-face session with a Centre for Pre-U Studies Chemistry Lecturer

KUCHING: A common question asked by parents and students when deciding on which path to take after SPM is where a Cambridge GCE A Level qualification will take a student. The GCE A Level qualification is your international ticket to universities worldwide. It is your path to success in education at universities as thousands of students with Cambridge GCE A Levels win places at good universities in Malaysia and overseas. The Cambridge International A-Levels are accepted at grades A-E in lieu of UK GCE A levels. This way students can stay on in Malaysia to do GCE A Levels before proceeding onto Malaysian or overseas universities. Employers recognize good GCE A Level grades as well when recruiting new employees. This qualification is provided by the University of Cambridge International Examinations, a part of the University of Cambridge, one of the world’s top universities with its reputation for excellence in education. 

Prospective students who are intent on taking up professional degrees such as Medicine, Pharmacy and Nursing are encouraged to take up the 18/15-month A-Level programme at the Centre for Pre-U Studies, UCSI University, which would also qualify them to pursue degrees in applied sciences and engineering. Local students have the advantage of doing an international qualification close to home and in doing so have time to mature before heading off to university. One major advantage students have is that they are thrust into a university environment immediately since the Centre for Pre-U Studies is located on the same premises as the university. Students are coached to be independent learners during their studies at the centre and to take part in extracurricular activities to hone important skills sought after by today’s employers. Tutors and administrators from all over the world laud the A-Level qualification as preparing a student well for university study who demonstrates two essentials for winning a place at university: academic excellence and independent thinking. Best A-Level students are known to display a very robust depth of knowledge equipped with innovative skills to face new challenges. 

A choice of 4 science subjects is available for students to choose from: Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics. The subjects are well-resourced with science labs equipped fully to deliver the syllabuses and reference books housed in the university campus library. 

Students at all UCSI University campuses are taught by highly qualified, resourceful and dedicated staff active in providing international standards of education using innovative learning and teaching pedagogies that meet the demands of today's tech-savvy youth generation. The academic staff, majority of them qualified with masters degrees, also consistently take part in Cambridge training programmes to equip themselves with up-to-date knowledge about the syllabuses and teaching of the subjects. They work closely with the Cambridge trainers to ensure best practices are adopted in teaching the content of the syllabuses. 

Besides GCE A-Levels, the programmes offered at the Centre for Pre-U Studies at UCSI University, Sarawak Campus are the Foundation Studies, Arts and Science Streams and English Enrichment Programme for international students lacking English requirements for their chosen degree programmes at UCSI.