The Birmingham Award – information for undergraduates

1. Access MyAttributes: Go to the MyAttributes section on Careers Connect
   
2. Complete the Attributes Assessment: A self-audit tool to help you reflect on your attributes and skills. Please note, this part is not marked in the evaluation of your award.
3. Reflect on Activities: Complete four reflections on extra-curricular activities that helped you develop graduate attributes. Adding activities:

• On the ‘My Attributes: Review, Develop and Reward’ page, click on the ‘Attribute Statements’ tab
• Click ‘Add New’ to add each of the four activities.
• Tag them as ‘The Birmingham Award’ on the 'Custom labels' field and click ‘Create!’.
• Each reflection must be at least 1000 characters long (which is approximately a minimum of 150-250 words)
• Guidance: For detailed instructions, refer to the Birmingham Award activities guidance.

Advancing your award by completing The Birmingham Award with Distinction (for undergraduates).

We recognise over 200 activities on the award and you can include activities such as; part-time work, fundraising, volunteering, sports participation, content creating, parenting/caring or being part of a society committee.

Explore our activities database for ideas.

Your award cannot be wholly based on passive activities (e.g. attending workshops).

For further guidance please visit our logging activities page. 

The Birmingham Award with Distinction will be available again at the beginning of Academic Year 2025/26.

Undergraduate students who have completed The Birmingham Award will be invited to complete The Birmingham Award with Distinction to demonstrate an advanced level of reflection and commitment to skills development.

1. Self-enrol on The Birmingham Award with Distinction Pathway on Careers Connect (coming soon) and explore the introductory resources. Dubai students can access the pathway here. 
2. Build your own route through the pathway content, according to your development needs
3. Complete your assessment on The Birmingham Award with Distinction Pathway on Careers Connect (coming soon)

The Birmingham Award is proud to be endorsed by our employer supporters. The employers who support The Birmingham Award have been selected to reflect the diverse range of students who participate in the award.

• Employer supporters 2024/25

You can complete your award in any year as a student. The Birmingham Award is flexible, and you can complete this anytime in the year, however we do have a deadline to ensure your award can be added to your end of year transcript as a finalist. 

For final year undergraduates, the deadline this academic year is: 

• Monday 16 February 2026

Submissions after this date by continuing students will be counted against the next academic year.

• Gain support and feedback in articulating your skills to graduate recruiters
• Develop your transferable employability skills in a completely flexible way, aligned to your own interests 
• Find out what you can get involved in on campus outside of your degree
• Improve your confidence by gaining new skills and meeting new people
• Gain formal recognition of activities you already undertake outside of your degree
• The Birmingham Award is a certificated award that appears on your final degree transcript and can enhance your CV and LinkedIn profile
• Network with employer supporters and find out what attributes they look for in students and graduates when recruiting
• Gain personalised feedback on your application form or interview answer as part of our flexible and authentic assessment process
• Access an enriched programme of practical hints and tips on how to be successful in a recruitment process 
• Receive a digital certificate upon completion of The Birmingham Award and a letter of completion for The Birmingham Award with Distinction

Students who complete The Birmingham Award with Distinction will have the opportunity to submit a video to nominate themselves as The Birmingham Award Student of the Year.

Students can nominate themselves in categories which will be aligned to The Birmingham Graduate Attributes. 

The Birmingham Award Team will create a shortlist for each category and winners for each category will be selected by a panel of The Birmingham Award Team and our employer supporters.

A winner will be selected for each category and they will each receive: 

• A £100 voucher
• A Student of the Year digital certificate  
• A personal LinkedIn recommendation from a member of the judging panel 
• Personal feedback from the employer supporters 

Details and submission information will be available through with Distinction Pathways in 2025/26.

I am an Undergraduate student, how can I complete the award? 

As an undergraduate student you have the opportunity to complete both The Birmingham Award and The Birmingham Award with Distinction. You can complete the award in any undergraduate year, though if you are a final year student you would need to complete the award before the completion deadline (in February). If you’re new to the award, the first step would be to undertake The Birmingham Award, by declaring your participation in four extra-curricular activities and then progressing on to The Birmingham Award with Distinction. See the above sections for further information on what this would entail.