Program Overview

An International Foundation Year at our International Study Centre prepares you for your degree at Lancaster University. You will focus on English language, university-level study skills, and academic modules that relate to your degree subject.

Supporting your progression to the University
At the International Study Centre, we take every measure to ensure you are supported in your academic journey. Our programmes allow for increased time spent learning, researching and developing your skills. By studying with us, you will benefit from:

• Formal assessments at the end of each term.
• An improved English language module, Academic English Skills, providing greater opportunity for informal assessments and feedback.
• Combining and reducing the number of module assessments allowing more time to prepare.
• A personal tutorial system with a focus on your academic progress at key points of the academic year, creating action plans based on your performance and progession options.

Business and Management Studies
An International Foundation Year in Business and Management Studies leads to a choice of degrees at Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) – one of the top 100 business schools in the world. To prepare for your degree, you will study subject modules and core English language modules. Degree options include Accounting, Business Studies, and International Business Management.
You will learn how businesses operate, and how to prepare and interpret financial accounts. Other areas of study include economic policies, and international trade. Throughout the course, you will develop analysis and evaluation skills, and apply your knowledge to real-world situations.

Finance (Industry)
Finance is a challenging, exciting arena vital to the world economy. Do you aspire to be a future leader? A global influencer? Hungry for a career in investment and finance? This degree offers the perfect balance of academic theory and practical experience.

There’s ample opportunity to tailor your studies. We begin with the bedrock of finance theory and methodology. You’ll then study programming for financial applications, portfolio management, international financial markets, and advanced corporate finance.

Your first year includes Accounting and Finance, Quantitative Methods for Finance and Investment plus Principles of Economic B. Second year students learn about Corporate Finance, Financial Engineering, Econometrics and Programing for Finance Applications.

A year spent on placement allows you to gain valuable practical experience, with previous students joining companies such as Airbus, GE Aviation, Samsung and The Walt Disney Company.

 When you return to Lancaster, you choose all your final year modules, from Investments to Corporate Finance. There is no dissertation.

You can get a taste of real-time investing through our student investment fund and trading floor simulation system, complete with Bloomberg terminals. You’ll use a computerised investing strategy for competitive advantage, discovering more about automated trading and algorithms. You’ll also study Python, the programming language which is a key component of finance technology. The Department of Accounting and Finance will support you in finding internship opportunities in leading investment banks, asset management and insurance companies.

You will be led by academics at the frontier of financial research. Our professors are working on major European projects including investigating how to apply artificial intelligence to banking. Our researchers are also working on the art, precision and effectiveness of factor investing and hedge fund strategies. The Department has developed strong links with the Bank of England, top asset management companies, financial regulators and economists across the world.

Our graduates leave as independent thinkers, problem solvers and skilled communicators. Their ability to analyse information quickly and precisely, respond to challenges, and work with others make them highly attractive to employers.

The University will use all reasonable effort to support you to find a suitable placement for your studies. While a placement role may not be available in a field or organisation that is directly related to your academic studies or career aspirations, all placement roles offer valuable experience of working at a graduate level and gaining a range of professional skills.

If you are unsuccessful in securing a suitable placement for your third year, you will be able to transfer to the equivalent non-placement degree scheme and would continue with your studies at Lancaster, finishing your degree after your third year. The University offers a range of shorter placement and internship opportunities for which you would be welcome to apply.