Lay the foundations of your success
Our Degrees with Foundation Year offer an alternative route into higher education. Foundation years are offered as an integrated year of study and are specifically designed to prepare you for degree-level learning. You will learn how to study and be assessed, gain the skills needed for higher level study, get a good introduction to your subject area, get a taste of university life and receive a guaranteed place on your chosen degree once you pass.
After you successfully complete the foundation year you will progress on to Year 1 of your full degree course. You’ll be well on your way to gaining a full honours degree, ready to start your career.
Why study a Foundation year?
There may be lots of reasons why you may not feel ready to start your degree-level study right now. In September 2020, over 500 students started a Degree with Foundation Year here at the University of Westminster.
- You may not have the right qualifications for your chosen degree
- Perhaps your interests have changed, and you want to switch to a different subject
- You might be nervous about returning to study after taking a break from education
- You want to make sure a degree is right for you
Whatever your reason, by choosing to extend your undergraduate degree with a foundation year, you can start to make your dreams a reality and give yourself the edge. You’ll be more prepared and better equipped to deal with the opportunities and challenges of university life. We’ll support you every step of the way and connect you with people like you; people who want a better education, a bigger career and a brighter future.
Why Westminster?
Highly practical, our Degrees with Foundation Year offer a great introduction to the skills and techniques needed for university studies and the relevant professional learning for your chosen degree. We’ll encourage you to be creative, critical and entrepreneurial. You’ll start to see yourself differently and realise you have what it takes to succeed.
- Build your confidence with positive experiences of guided and independent learning
- Learn academic skills and subject knowledge to smooth your transition to a degree
- Develop personalised study plans for degree-level core modules to guide and improve your learning
- Receive tailored feedback that identifies your strengths and helps overcome any weaknesses
- Engage with commerce and industry in one of the world’s major cities and international business hubs
Foundation Degree Scholarship
To further our commitment of supporting students through their higher education experience, the University of Westminster has a number of scholarships available for students who will start an undergraduate course with an Integrated Foundation Year.
Read MoreGo to Foundation Degree Scholarship page
What subjects with a Foundation year do we offer at Westminster?
We’ll support you every step of the way
On our Degrees with Foundation Year, you have full access to our support services, facilities and benefits from day one – and throughout your degree. Here, you come first.
- Career coaching to nurture academic, professional and personal success
- Fully trained and experienced counsellors offer one-to-one or group sessions
- Excellent facilities include 24-hour libraries, state-of-the-art science laboratories, advanced IT services, online learning resources, art, design, film and TV studios, world-class audio recording studios, galleries, sports and recreational facilities, and one of the few Bloomberg Financial Markets Suites in the UK
International Students Foundation
For international students wishing to study at the University of Westminster, we work in partnership with Kaplan International College London to provide a specialised Foundation.
This programme is specifically tailored to meet the needs of international students who are progressing to the UK, allowing you to advance to the University of Westminster and study with confidence.
These courses include subject-specific academic modules alongside English language tuition at a range of levels.
Online open days
Join us at an online open day and get a feel for student life at the University of Westminster.
You'll get a chance to:
- Speak to our academic staff
- Take a virtual reality tour of our student halls
- Ask us any questions you may have about student finance and accommodation
What our students say
As a mature student, doing the Foundation year helped me to refresh my skills, gave me the entry requirements needed for my degree, and improved my confidence. The level of encouragement and support I received as somebody with extra learning needs was beyond anything I would have expected, and I appreciated the friendliness of the Westminster staff and the positive environment.
Daniel Harkins, Business Management with Foundation BA (2020)
The Foundation year prepared me for degree-level studies and strengthened my confidence. I was introduced to reading for academic purposes, writing academic papers and providing citations and references in essays, and felt I had an advantage when starting my degree. As a Foundation year student, you will be supported and encouraged to do amazing things!
Joseph Vaz, Contemporary Media Practice BA with Foundation (2019)
Studying a Foundation year gave me time to consider if my degree was right for me. It also prepared me to write in academic language, reference, work effectively in groups and research for projects using academic literature. My favourite thing about the year was the sense of belonging and unity between the students, and the support and encouragement from our tutors.
Athanasia Markou, Psychology and Counselling with Foundation BSc (2018)
Contact us
Contact our Course Enquiries Team:
Opening hours: 10am–4pm Monday to Friday