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.

Media and Cultural Studies
Media industries and media cultures are constantly changing. Understanding these changes is important as media continuously influence the way we live our lives, get in touch with others, and are informed about the world. As global citizens, we are surrounded by a huge variety of messages, texts, images, and representations communicating a host of competing ideas, opinions, and values. But how much do we really know about how these texts and images are produced and shared? In what contexts do they circulate? How are they are received?

Our Media and Cultural Studies programme provides you with preparation for careers in the creative sector, advertising and marketing, and communications and journalism by helping you better understand media practices, platforms, and (audio-visual) texts in an ever-changing technological context. It provides you with the theoretical insights, analytical skills, and wide-ranging knowledge needed to explore the production, consumption, and meaning of media and culture in today’s society. We investigate the social, economic, political, and practical dimensions of media in a global cultural setting, and recognise the key roles of media in shaping who we are, what we think, and what we value.