International Foundation Programme for Social Sciences & Humanities
With an intake in September each year, this intensive programme provides a thorough grounding in classical and sociological concepts relating to a range of disciplines in the arts and humanities.
The overall aim of the International Foundation Programme for Social Sciences and Humanities is to provide a bridge between high school and university and to equip students with a robust intellectual and linguistic foundation appropriate for the demands of an undergraduate degree programme.
Successful students have the potential to progress onto a Single or Joint Honours degree programme.
What will I study?
There are two main elements of the programme:
- Academic Study Skills
- Academic Lecture Courses
Study Skills encompasses the language and study skills you will need to be a successful student. This part of the timetable includes academic writing, academic reading, speaking/oral presentations and listening (as well as practise in other complementary micro-skills).
In addition, through the study of novels, poetry and short stories from a variety of periods of literature, you will enhance your appreciation of literature and your ability to be an active and critical reader. You will also be introduced to a wide variety of approaches to literary criticism and will be encouraged to apply diverse strands of interpretation drawing on aspects of arts, humanities and social sciences.
The aim of the academic lecture courses is to boost your knowledge to a level appropriate for undergraduate studies. By the end of the programme you will have knowledge of the subject that you plan to study as an undergraduate and be confident when talking and writing about your subject's key points and issues.You will study courses covering a range of issues that are significant for living and studying in the UK, including politics, economics, law and the media.
These subjects provide an extremely useful basis for all academic disciplines in the Social Sciences and Humanities, and allow you to understand some of the underlying political, philosophical and economic ideas which underpin many of the subjects which you will study in terms two and three.
Core lecture courses in terms two and three are International Relations, Philosophy and Psychology with an elective subject in either Literature or Statistics.
How will I be assessed?
You will have regular coursework assignments throughout each term, and some of these will contribute towards your final grade. In addition, you will have three sets of examinations, one set at the end of each term.
We use a variety of types of assessments, to give you experience of different ways of being examined - essays, multiple choice tests, short paragraphs, interviews, presentations and so on.
What are the entrance requirements?
You need to complete high school in your own country and graduate with good grades. Because we accept students from a wide range of countries, we look at each application on an individual basis (as school systems vary greatly from country to country).
You can contact us for specific details about the grades needed from your high school system.
You may apply before your results are available and we can make you a conditional offer. We also require IELTS 6.0 or equivalent.
What about progression to a degree?
Successful completion of the International Foundation Programme for Social Sciences & Humanities will allow you to progress on to a degree. The following degrees are currently available as MA Single or Joint Honours:
- Arabic & Middle East Studies
- Art History
- Classical Studies
- Film Studies
- History
- International Relations
- Logic & Philosophy of Science
- Middle East Studies
- Modern, Mediaeval or Ancient History
- Philosophy
- Psychology
- Scottish History
- Social Anthropology
- Spanish
- Statistics
- Sustainable Development