The ncl+ Award

What activities can I use for the Award?

Your 40 hours of activity must be completed by 20th March 2026. You can do any combination of activities you do outside your degree.

The list of activities that go towards your ncl+ Award is quite extensive. It can include almost everything you do outside of your degree:

• Part-time work (at the Student's Union, University, or externally)
• Volunteering work (at the University, Student's Union, or beyond)
• Club & society committee work
• Student rep work (course reps, school reps, liberation officers, chairs, etc)
• Entrepreneurial activities
• Learning a language through the University wide language programme 
• Playing organised sport, either in the University or externally

This isn't everything though, we are happy for you to evidence anything that you have taken an active role in and which developed your graduate skills. This may include attending society events, getting involved in team sports, etc.

You can combine activities

Although you can complete the Award with just one type of activity, try to take part in more to develop a range of skills in different settings. Taking part in different activities will help you reflect on skills gained from a range of experiences and will help you to complete the competency-based questions used to assess the Award. Employers also prefer it when candidates demonstrate their skills through a range of different activities – it makes your interview answers much more interesting!  

If you're undertaking the Career Development Module, any hours you do above the required 50 for the module can be used towards the ncl+ Award. 

What's involved

Step 1 - Register

To start your ncl+ Award journey you can register using this link NCL+ Registration Form  -  then follow the instructions to Canvas where you can begin your award.  

As you can see from the choices below, you have the option to learn in-person (with discussion & interaction) or achieve the award independently online (solo in your own time). If you have questions about the ncl+ Award before registering, please get in touch with careers@ncl.ac.uk.

Step 2 - Complete Part One 

Information about part one of the ncl+ Award will be listed on Canvas once you register. Part one needs to be completed by 31 January 2026.

You can complete part one online by watching the videos or come along to an in-person workshop. 

Workshops dates can be found on Canvas once you register. If you cannot attend in-person, you can work your way through the video & tasks in your own time.

Step 3 - Complete & Log 40 Hours of Activity

To complete the ncl+ Award, you will need to complete 40 hours of activity. This may be logging activities you’re already doing through part-time work, voluntary hours as part of a committee, or time spent as a Student Rep.

You must complete 40+ hours of extra-curricular activity between 15 Sept 2025 - 20 March 2026, and make a note of them in your Activity Log. You can download an Activity Log from Canvas and keep track of your hours throughout the year. 

Step 4 - Complete Part Two 

The next stage of the process is to complete Part Two of the ncl+ Award. Again, you can attend one of the in-person workshops, or work through the videos on Canvas. You must complete these units by 1 April 2025. 

Step 5 - Final Submission & Assessment

Once you've completed your 40 hours of activity and attended the workshops OR completed the work on Canvas, you submit your Activity Log and have the option to either write down your answers to three competency-based questions, OR record yourself answering them, like a real online interview.

These need to be completed by 20th March 2026.

The ncl+ Award team will let you know whether you have achieved the Award. If you’ve passed, you’ll be sent an ncl+ Award e-certificate. You will also receive an electronic badge to display on your LinkedIn profile. Undergraduate and PGT students will also have the Award recorded on your HEAR/degree transcript.   

If you haven't passed the Award, you will receive feedback and will be encouraged to resubmit once, with some guidance to help you pass.  

Although you don't gain academic credit for participation in the ncl+ Award, you do need to complete the learning units and reach the required standard in your competency answers to achieve the Award. Please see the ncl+ Award Canvas course for further details.  

If you fail to complete a learning unit or submit work for assessment by the deadline due to a personal extenuating circumstance, you must make an appeal to the ncl+ Award team 

How to register for the ncl+ award

Registrations for the 2025/26 Award are open until 31st January 2026.

You can register by filling in this Microsoft Form - ncl+ registration form

Eligibility

All currently enrolled Newcastle University students are eligible to register for the ncl+ Award, within the registration deadline.

ncl+ Advanced Awards

Unfortunately, no Advanced Awards are running for the 25/26 academic year. If you haven't already completed the standard ncl+ award, you can sign up from Monday 15th September. Please see above for more information. 

If you have already completed the ncl+ award, have a look at our Gain Skills and Experience | Newcastle University. page to see what else you can do to gain skills and experience. 

Contact us

We're always happy to answer your questions. 

All general enquiries regarding the Award should be sent to award@ncl.ac.uk. You can expect a response within a maximum of 5 working days.