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.

Law
The International Foundation Year in Law leads to a choice of degrees at Lancaster University Law School – one of the UK’s most respected law schools. To prepare for your degree, you will study core English language modules and subject modules for Law. Your degree options include Criminology, Law, and Law with Politics.

As a Law student the topics you will study include justice, ethics, democracy and political institutions. You will learn about important cases and the history of the law, and you will either study Globalisation or Core mathematics.

Sociology (Placement Year)
Have you ever wanted to know the full story behind the important issues in our society? Are you interested in understanding more about gender inequalities in our societies and women’s experiences of everyday sexism? What can sociology teach us about disasters and when things go wrong with technology? How can we think sociologically about the future? How important is what we consume to our sense of identity and social relationships? How have the financial crisis and austerity measures impacted on people’s daily lives?

Here at Lancaster you can engage with these questions and have chance to ask your own by studying on our BA Sociology course.  We help you to make the familiar strange, to ask critical questions, to understand a wide range of classic and contemporary sociological writing, and to develop skills that allow you to carry out independent research.

Since being established in 1969, Lancaster Sociology has developed an excellent reputation and ranks well globally. Both our staff and students contribute to important public discussions through lectures, blogs, media appearances and social media.

Our Department offers a range of opportunities to foster your personal and professional development. You can participate in activities such as field trips, placements, studying abroad, film screenings, public events, seminars, and major international conferences. All this makes for a vibrant and supportive atmosphere.

 The structure of our degree and department allows you to study sociology alongside complementary topics, such as media and cultural studies and social problems and policy. Whether you have diverse interests or aren't quite sure what you want to major in, we are here to help you make the most of your time at Lancaster.

You will have the opportunity to spend Year 3 on a placement with a public, private or voluntary organisation in the UK or overseas.  This experience should boost your employment prospects and help you to decide on your career direction and the kind of organisation in which you want to work once you graduate. You will be doing a real, responsible job – with all the satisfaction that brings. 

Applying for a placement is a competitive process and our Placements Team will support you in finding and applying for a suitable placement. The preparatory modules you will complete in years one and two are designed to give you the best chance of success in both your placement applications and the placement itself.

One of the aims of the placement year is to enhance your understanding of the connections between theory and practice which could benefit your final year of study. Placements provide an exciting opportunity to build up experience and transferable skills, as well as to make contacts with potential employers, which can place you a step ahead in the graduate recruitment market.

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.