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.

Social Studies
The International Foundation Year in Social Studies leads to a choice of undergraduate degrees in the Faculty of Arts and Social Studies and the Faculty of Science and Technology. To prepare for your degree, you will study core English language modules and subject modules. Degree options include Philosophy, Sociology, and Film.

You will learn about global issues and contemporary events, including business, culture, politics and environment. Other areas of study include advertising, social media, psychology, and theories that relate to media and modern society.

Film and Theatre
Lancaster's degree in Film and Theatre, taught by the Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts (LICA) gives you the opportunity to study contemporary theatre performance alongside the history and theory of film.

Film at Lancaster is a stimulating and intellectually engaging course which provides a framework for the close analysis of individual films. You will study cinema history and the social significance of films and will develop a detailed understanding of the techniques of film production. You will also have the opportunity to produce short films in all three years of your study. You can choose from a range of specialist courses and will develop skills that can lead to postgraduate study and careers in the media, advertising and marketing.

Studying Theatre at Lancaster gives you the opportunity to learn about innovative twentieth and twenty first century theatre and performance through an exciting and varied mix of theoretical and practical approaches. You will gain critical and creative skills that open up possibilities for working in theatre, while making you attractive to a wide range of other employers.

You will begin your degree with core courses including an Introduction to Film Studies and an Introduction to Theatre Studies. In your second year you’ll move on to subjects such as Global Cinema, Performance Composition and our LICA interdisciplinary module Critical Reflections.You will then complete your degree by choosing a selection of the Film and Theatre modules we offer such as Advanced Film Theory, Film and Comic Books, Contemporary British Theatre and Applied Theatre Practice.