International Foundation Year: University of Southampton

You will be taught in small, mixed-nationality classes, through a combination of taught courses, guided independent study, regular tutorials and a range of cultural activities. They adopt a blended learning approach, making use of both traditional classroom and e-learning methods. You will acquire the linguistic competence to deal with your undergraduate degree, effective study skills and an understanding of the demands and requirements of British university life. You will take a total of eight units, spread equally across two semesters. In each semester you will choose one unit from a range of options, in addition to completing three core units, outlined below.

• English language (double unit – semesters 1 and 2)

Their unique system of seven language levels, designed to place you at the stage most appropriate to develop your spoken and written skills, will enable you to make rapid progress in English.

• Academic study skills (double unit – semesters 1 and 2)

This unit will ensure that you are familiar with a range of essential study methods required at university. It will also develop your awareness of the academic conventions observed in higher education in the UK, and encourage you to become more autonomous in your approach to learning.

• Contemporary Britain (single unit – semester 1)

This unit will provide you with an insight into Britain and the British in the twenty-first century. It introduces methods of studying, and the cultural and social “background knowledge” that British students take for granted, which forms a starting point for many introductory courses relating to Britain in other disciplines.

• Britainin Europe (single unit – semester 2)

This unit will extend your study of social, cultural and political institutions into the European Union, learning about its structure, recent development and plans for the future. You will investigate the position of Britain within the EU and Europe more broadly, and the ways in which Britain is directly and indirectly influenced by the rest of Europe.

Course content

Core units:

• English language
• Academic study skills
• Contemporary Britain
• Britain in Europe

Optional units:

• Economics
• History and politics
• Law
• Management
• Mathematics and statistics
• Critical thinking
• Languages

Entry requirements

Applicants for this programme should normally:

• Be a recent high school graduate (or be due to graduate at the end of the current academic year)
• Have (or expect to receive) an excellent final grade or grade point average
• Have a good intermediate level of English language proficiency (minimum IELTS 5.0/TOEFL 500)