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.

Life Sciences
The International Foundation Year in Life Sciences leads to a choice of degrees in the Faculty of Health and Medicine and in the Faculty of Science and Technology. To prepare for your degree, you will study subject modules and core English language modules. Degree options include Biochemistry, Biomedical Science, and Ecology.

You will learn about cell structure and function, as well as physiological processes in animals. Other areas of study include plant biology, genetics and ecology. Mathematic techniques are part of the course, and you will apply your understanding to real-life situations.

Biomedicine (Study Abroad)
Our MSci Biomedicine (Study Abroad) is for those with a broad interest in human life processes and disease who would like to experience studying abroad as part of their degree. Lancaster University is ranked fourth in the UK for biosciences in The Guardian University Guide 2020 and fifth in the UK for biological sciences in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019.

The MSci is a four-year integrated master’s with three years of undergraduate study followed by a year of study at master’s level. The additional year of study and higher qualification can enhance your job prospects, or give you the experience to decide whether a research career might be for you. 

Our biomedicine courses offer more flexibility than our IBMS-accredited BSc Biomedical Science by allowing you to tailor your degree to your interests within the field of biomedicine.

You will study biochemistry, cell biology, genetics and physiology - which are at the heart of modern medical and health research. These subjects are taught with a particular emphasis on the molecules and mechanisms fundamental to life processes and how these are disrupted by disease.

In your first year, you will gain a through grounding in the general areas of biomedicine through the study of 15 wide-ranging compulsory modules, including Biomedical Science in Practice, Infection and Immunity, and Protein Biochemistry.

You will spend your second year at a university in North America, Canada or Australasia. You will study modules which have been approved by Lancaster University to ensure that you are prepared for the modules you will take when you return to Lancaster. Overseas study can broaden your horizon, build your confidence, offer a different perspective on your subject, and can make you stand out from the crowd in a competitive job market.

Returning to Lancaster University for your third year, you will study a small number or core modules such as Cancer and Medical Genetics. You will select modules from a wide range of options including: Biology of Ageing, Clinical Immunology, and Tropical Diseases. At the end of your third year you can either choose to graduate with a BSc or, if you achieve the necessary criteria, proceed to the fourth year of the MSci which is master’s level study.

During your degree, you will conduct your own laboratory-based projects and benefit from the research experience of our internationally renowned academics. You will also receive in-depth training in the key techniques associated with modern biomedical practice.

The facilities for studying biomedicine at Lancaster University are excellent. We have invested over £4 million in new life science teaching laboratories, which you will use for practical learning and your dissertation project.

Lancaster University will make reasonable endeavours to place students at an approved overseas partner university that offers appropriate modules which contribute credits to your Lancaster degree.  Occasionally places overseas may not be available for all students who want to study abroad or the place at the partner university may be withdrawn if core modules are unavailable. If you are not offered a place to study overseas, you will be able to transfer to the equivalent standard degree scheme and would complete your studies at Lancaster.

Lancaster University cannot accept responsibility for any financial aspects of the year or term abroad.