International Foundation Courses

These are designed for international students, whose school leaving qualifications gained in their home country are not sufficient for direct entry to a British university. Our Foundation Courses were developed with the University of Nottingham, and are validated by the University.

In China, our International Foundation Programmes are marketed by our Chinese Partner under the brand name “University First”. Chinese students will apply through the University First Asia Office (e-mail: sherry.shang@originsight.com).

The International Foundation Programmes are available at 3 points throughout the year in up to 6 subjects. Our forthcoming intakes are:

 What you will study and how you can progress

The modules you will study on each Foundation Course are detailed below, along with some ideas on the type of undergraduate degree you might progress to on completion:

All classes are taught between the hours of 9.00am and 5.00pm from Monday to Friday.

Entry requirements

As a guide, you will usually need to have completed Year 12 of high school with good a good overall grade and high grades in Maths and other relevant subjects (e.g. for Engineering you would need high grades in Physics and Chemistry). Please contact the International Office to find out the exact grades required from your country.

You will also need an English Language qualification recognised by the UK Border Agency as a Secure English Language Test (e.g. IELTS; TOEFL, Pearson PTE). The entry requirements in terms of IELTS are:

For Accounting; Architecture; Business; Engineering; Science:

• Students applying for May 2013 are required to have an IELTS 4.5 overall with no less than 4.0 in any element.
• Students applying for September 2013 are required to have an IELTS 5.0 overall, with no less than 5.0 in Reading and Writing, 4.5 in Listening and 4.0 in Speaking
• Students applying for January 2014 are required to have an IELTS 5.5 overall, with no less than 5.5 in Reading and Writing, 5.0 in Listening and 4.5 in Speaking

For Management and Economics:

• Students applying for May 2013 are required to have an IELTS 4.5 overall with no less than 4.0 in any element.
• Students applying for September 2013 intake are required to have an IELTS 5.5 overall, with no less than 5.5 in Reading and Writing, 5.0 in Listening and 4.5 in Speaking.
• Students applying for January 2014 intake are required to have an IELTS 6.0 overall, with no less than 6.0 in Reading and Writing, 5.5 in Listening and 5.0 in Speaking

Students applying for Architecture are required to submit a portfolio as part of their application - please click on the document below for full details of what should be included in the portfolio.

Architecture Portfolio Information

Assessment and grading

Assessment is on-going throughout the course, through a combination of coursework and examinations. At the end of the course you will receive a grade as an overall percentage, which is categorised as Pass, Merit or Distinction (60% + is a Distinction). Most of the highly ranked universities such as the University of Nottingham will require a Distinction for progression to their degree programmes.

The College also holds 2 IELTS Tests per year, in February and May. Students can enter for either, or both, of these tests for an additional examination fee of approximately £135 per test.

Progression

The Foundation Programmes are validated by the University of Nottingham, and most students who successfully complete their course choose to progress to Nottingham, however we also have other University Partners which formally recognise the Foundation Programmes for progression to their degrees. These are: Aston, Bath, Leeds, Loughborough, Nottingham Trent, Oxford Brookes, Sheffield Hallam and York. Students can also apply to any British university of their choice, and are likely to be made offers - for example, last year our students progressed to 28 different British universities.