The Birmingham Award – information for postgraduates

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. 

The Birmingham Award with Distinction - Postgraduate is open to Postgraduate taught students:

To demonstrate an advanced level of reflection and commitment to skills development, postgraduate students are encouraged to complete The Birmingham Award with Distinction – Postgraduate.

Important:
To achieve The Birmingham Award with Distinction – Postgraduate, you must complete the requirements of The Birmingham Award as well as the additional Distinction requirements below. These can be completed in any order.

1. Self-enrol on The Birmingham Award with Distinction - Postgraduate pathway on Careers Connect and explore the introductory resources.

2.  Work through the pathway content at your own pace, focussing on the elements that are relevant to your development needs and career stage.

3.  Attend at least 3 sessions from our programme of Masterclasses - a series of workshops exclusively for postgraduates to support you with your next steps after your studies. You can choose the most relevant sessions for you.

 4. Complete your assessment on The Birmingham Award with Distinction - Postgraduate pathway on Careers Connect

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.

You can explore our activities database as a useful tool and reference to help you find suitable activities for your own award.

Your award cannot be wholly based on passive and/or duplicated activities (e.g. attending four workshops). CPD can contribute towards your activities if it does not form part of your course, but the activities need to be varied in content and include an element of active participation.

For further guidance please visit our logging activities page.

PGT Masterclasses

If you are a PGT student completing The Birmingham Award with Distinction - Postgraduate, Masterclasses are an integral part of completing the award and you can find the latest events listed below:

If you are a PGR student, attending Careers Network events or events featured as part of the PGR Career Development Programme can count towards The Birmingham Award.

The Birmingham Award events

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 2026/27

The Birmingham Award is flexible, and you can complete it anytime in the year, however we have deadlines to ensure your award can be added to your transcript.

• PGT students completing The Birmingham Award with Distinction - Postgraduate must submit all components of the award by Monday 15 March 2027 (23:59)

• PGT and PGR students completing The Birmingham Award will need to complete four attribute reflections before your normally registered status is up.

• Develop your transferable employability skills in a completely flexible way, aligned to your own interests and goals
• Gain support and feedback in articulating your skills to graduate recruiters
• Network with employer supporters and find out what attributes they look for in students and graduates when recruiting
• Receive formal recognition on your degree transcript, plus a digital certificate for your CV and LinkedIn profile

I am a Postgraduate Taught student, how can I complete the award? 

You can declare your participation in four extra-curricular activities as instructed in the above section ‘How to complete The Birmingham Award’. Alongside this, you can complete The Birmingham Award with Distinction – Postgraduate. See the above section for further information.

What if I completed The Birmingham Award as an undergraduate?

You will be able to complete The Birmingham Award with Distinction – Postgraduate, but you will need to submit four new activity reflections that you undertake as a postgraduate.

If I completed The Birmingham Award with Distinction as an undergraduate, can I do it again as a postgraduate?'

You will be able to complete The Birmingham Award with Distinction – Postgraduate, but you will need to submit four new activity reflections that you undertake as a postgraduate and avoid self-plagiarism in the with Distinction assessment by using new examples in your response to your chosen competency-based question. 

How and when do I receive my certificate?

Once you have successfully completed all the requirements of The Birmingham Award with Distinction, your achievement will be confirmed following an exam board process and a personalised digital certificate will be sent to your University email address. For The Birmingham Award, your digital certificate will be issued automatically once you have successfully completed and passed your four attribute reflections.

I am a PGT student, what happens if I cannot attend a Masterclass?

Masterclasses are recorded and you can access online materials on Canvas.

I am a Postgraduate Researcher, how can I complete the award?

You can declare your participation in four activities as instructed in the above section ‘How to complete The Birmingham Award’. As a Postgraduate Researcher you may be involved in many professional development opportunities which support you in developing your transferable skills and attributes, which can be recognised through The Birmingham Award. The activities you declare through the award must be non-mandatory elements of your research programme, some examples include:

• Development opportunities through the Doctoral School
• A range of training and development related to research skills, skills for the thesis and more, such as PGR group coaching, all outlined here
• Careers events for Postgraduates through Careers Network
• Career mentoring as a mentee or mentor
• Being a Postgraduate Teaching Assistant (if not a requirement of your funding).

Alternatively you may be involved in off campus external activities such as sports, music or have an external job role – all of which can contribute towards the award. 

For a full list of The Birmingham Award FAQ's, please refer to Student Help - The Birmingham Award.