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.

Engineering and Computing
An International Foundation Year in Engineering and Computing leads to a choice of degrees in the Faculty of Science and Technology. To prepare for your degree you will study core English language modules, and subject modules for Engineering and Computing Foundation Year. Degree options include Chemical Engineering, Natural Sciences and Physics.

You will develop your understanding of Pure Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, and Physics. Areas of study include number theory and graph theory (Pure Mathematics); vectors and variable acceleration (Applied Mathematics); and induction and inductors (Physics).

Mechatronic Engineering
This multidisciplinary, professionally accredited programme will allow you to benefit from hands-on experience and gain specialist knowledge in product design and integrated systems.

Mechatronic engineering is the study of systems that require a combination of mechanical, electronic and computer engineering, such as robotics, digitally controlled engines and self-driving cars. Our programme was the first of its kind in 1984 and continues to be so well regarded that many of our graduates go on to coordinate teams of engineers or move upwards into engineering management.

Your degree will begin with a common first year, where you will be taught a series of modules that are taken by all first-year engineering students. We will introduce you to many of the key features of engineering, equipping you with a well-rounded understanding and skill set and an appreciation for the interdisciplinary nature of the subject.

Following the first year, the Mechatronics programme never loses the interdisciplinary focus that modern engineering has become. You will continue with specialist modules in the areas of mechanical and electronic engineering, as well as subjects such as control. You will also have the freedom to pick modules most appropriate to your areas of interest.

During year two, you will gain experience in project management and complete a team project to design, build and test a small mobile robot, aimed at following a guided pathway while completing a set task. Previous examples have included transporting hazardous liquid waste, and dribbling a ball and scoring a goal. 

On this programme, you may decide to spend a year in industry, gaining valuable experience and enhancing your employability. We have extensive links built through our leadership in research and have students undergoing placements with multinational corporate companies through to smaller specialist SMEs. We would recommend the most appropriate time to do this would be at the end of year two, once you have gained a reasonable amount of engineering knowledge.

As you progress into third year, the programme will begin to focus on more advanced technical material. Taught modules provide insight and understanding from some of the leading research we undertake, while the dissertation project will refine your analytical and technical skills. This will also provide you with an opportunity to practise programming and design, and gain valuable hands-on experience of the discipline. You will also benefit from our Engineering Management module, which will examine the role of management and its relevance to engineers today. This experience will be essential in preparing you for a graduate career.

The BEng course is accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) on behalf of the Engineering Council for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for registration as an Incorporated Engineer and partly meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered Engineer. The degree is also professionally accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).  Teaching is delivered by world-class academics and shaped by their outstanding research output. You will gain hands-on experience with access to cutting-edge facilities and an array of high-quality equipment in our state-of-the-art Engineering Building.