September 2025

Join us for our next Open Morning on Wednesday, 6th November, 11:00–14:00. Drop in to chat about our degrees with Foundation Year starting in January 2025, meet academic staff, and get your questions answered. Book below.

Undergraduate Degrees (with Foundation Year)

Honours Degree with Foundation Year, September 2025

Key Details

  • 4 Years
  • TBC Typical UCAS Tariff
Foundation year infograohic

Are you looking for a new direction in your life and career?

The Foundation Year can provide you with a path into a whole range of degree programmes.

It’s not a stand-alone year. It’s the integrated first year of a four year degree programme. It’s the first step in your university career.

It is designed for students who do not have the qualifications or experience for direct entry onto a three-year undergraduate programme.

If you’re thinking about returning to education after a break or if you’ve had some tough times in education before, the Foundation Year can help you to build your confidence and academic skills. It will prepare you for your degree studies in a supportive and stimulating learning environment.

Not sure which course is right for you? Book a free consultation with a member of the academic team.

 

The following courses are offered with a Foundation Year:

Accounting and Finance (with Foundation Year)

Business Management (with Foundation Year)

Computer Science (with Foundation Year)

Counselling, Mental Health and Wellbeing (with Foundation Year)

Counselling Studies and Working With Children Young People and Families (with Foundation Year) 

Criminology (with Foundation Year) 

Drama, Theatre and Applied Performance (with Foundation Year) 

Early Childhood Studies (with Foundation Year)

Education and SEND (with Foundation Year)

English (with Foundation Year) 

Forensic Psychology (with Foundation Year)

Health and Social Care (with Foundation Year) 

History (with Foundation Year) 

Law (with Foundation Year)

Nursing (with Foundation Year)

Primary Education (3-11) with QTS (with Foundation Year)

Professional Policing (with Foundation Year)

Psychology (with Foundation Year) 

Psychology and Childhood Studies (with Foundation Year) 

Psychology and Counselling Studies (with Foundation Year) 

Psychology with Criminology (with Foundation Year)

Sport and Exercise Science (with Foundation Year)

Sport Coaching (with Foundation Year) 

Studies in Primary Education (with Foundation Year) 

Theology and Philosophy (with Foundation Year) 

Working with Children Young People and Families (with Foundation Year) 

Youth and Community Work (with Foundation Year) 

Birmingham Newman’s Foundation Year will provide you with opportunities to:

  • Develop confidence in your skills and abilities
  • Gain an understanding of what is needed to be a successful undergraduate student
  • Acquire knowledge of your academic discipline

Hear from a student on their foundation year:

“I walked into my degree feeling so much more confident about meeting new people and completing the work. My worry before foundation year was that I wasn’t smart enough for university but the foundation year helped me realise my strengths and my way of learning.”

You will begin with an exploration of education and society. You will consider your own approaches to learning, while developing your confidence and academic potential. Through group discussion, you will consider the cause and consequences of inequality as you develop your academic writing skills. You will also have the opportunity to explore a range of digital and AI tools as you debate what it means to be human in a digital world.

Across the foundation year, you will spend time developing your understanding of the core concepts of your chosen academic discipline. You will have opportunities to develop your abilities to research, discuss and debate new ideas, as well as enhance your digital skills and foster an ability to reflect on your learning.

100% coursework! There are no exams during the foundation year. Instead, you’ll work on developing the skills you’ll need to succeed in the rest of your degree, including academic writing, digital literacy and communication.

For more information on what assessment looks like on your chosen degree pathway, see the relevant degree page.

The Foundation Year provides the opportunities for you to reflect on your educational experiences and learning style. You will gain experience and confidence in your digital and communication skills, laying the foundations not only for success in your chosen degree programme but in your future graduate career.

The vast range of career opportunities available to our graduates reflects the range of degree pathways available to you after the completion of the Foundation Year. For more information on the graduate career opportunities in your chosen degree programme, please see the programme pages.

Birmingham Newman University is located in Britain’s second city – Birmingham. With one of the youngest city populations in Europe, it is a vibrant and dynamic place to study.

Studying at Birmingham Newman University, you have the advantage of being near to the city, but living in, or commuting to peaceful and comfortable surroundings on campus.

Dining out

Birmingham has lots of wonderful places to dine out with a range of different cuisines. Places where you can dine out include; Brindley Place, Mailbox and Hagley Road (just 10 minutes’ from Newman).

Entertainment

Whether you like to go to; the theatre, gigs or clubs, or enjoy: sports, shopping visiting art galleries or exhibitions – Birmingham will not disappoint and you will be spoilt for choice!

Location

Getting around Birmingham is easy via train, bus or by car. Birmingham has excellent transport links to the rest of Britain, making it easy for those weekend getaways!

Why not explore the city for yourself by visiting one of our Open Days?

Want to find out more about Birmingham? Then take a look at some Birmingham City Secrets.

FREE CONSULTATION

Entry Requirements

UK home students

Students are invited to apply to the Foundation Year based on either their qualifications or work and life experience. Students will ideally require 48 UCAS points, however those with considerable work and life experience of a complexity that demonstrates an aptitude to study at degree level, but with no formal qualifications, will also be considered for entry.

Different degree pathway options available at the end of the Foundation Year have different additional entry requirements. If you require any further information or clarification of entry requirements, please contact our friendly, helpful Admissions department, who will be happy to help.

Apply Online

In order to qualify for finance for your fees from Student Finance England, applicants much choose a specific Foundation Year entry route.

There are two ways you can apply, the first option is via UCAS (at a cost of £20 if you apply for one course, or £26 if you apply for multiple course). On UCAS you will need to add Newman’s Institution Code (N36) followed by the relevant UCAS course code listed below.

Additionally you can apply direct to Newman via the links below (this does not incur a charge). You can only do this if you have not previously applied to Newman University through UCAS, and you are not applying to any other universities.

Accounting and Finance (with Foundation Year) – Apply for September 2025

Business Management (with Foundation Year) – Apply for September 2025

Computer Science (with Foundation Year) – Apply for September 2025

Counselling, Mental Health and Wellbeing (with Foundation Year) – Apply for September 2025

Counselling Studies and Working with Children, Young People and Families (with Foundation Year) –Apply for September 2025

Criminology (with Foundation Year) –Apply for September 2025 

Early Childhood Studies (with Foundation Year)- Apply for September 2025

Education and SEND (with Foundation Year) -Apply for September 2025

English (with Foundation Year) – Apply for September 2025

Forensic Psychology (with Foundation Year) – Apply for September 2025

Health and Social Care (with Foundation Year) – Apply for September 2025

History (with Foundation Year) – Apply for September 2025

Law (with Foundation Year) –Apply for September 2025

Primary Education (3-11) with recommendation for QTS (with Foundation Year) – Apply for September 2025

Professional Policing (with Foundation Year) – Apply for September 2025

Psychology (with Foundation Year) – Apply for September 2025

Psychology and Childhood Studies (with Foundation Year) – Apply for September 2025

Psychology and Counselling Studies (with Foundation Year) – Apply for September 2025

Psychology with Criminology (with Foundation Year) – Apply for September 2025

Sport Coaching (with Foundation Year) – Apply for September 2025

Sport and Exercise Science (with Foundation Year) – Apply for September 2025

Studies in Primary Education (with Foundation Year) – Apply for September 2025

Theology and Philosophy (with Foundation Year) – Apply for September 2025

Working with Children, Young People and Families (with Foundation Year) – Apply for September 2025

Course Fees

UK home students

Course fee, for UK home students, for September 2025 entry is £9,250 per year.

International students

The full-time course fee, for International students, for September 2025 is £14,000.

The University will review tuition fees and increase fees in line with any inflationary uplift as determined by the UK Government, if permitted by law or government policy, in subsequent years of your course. It is anticipated that such increases would be linked to RPI (the Retail Price Index excluding mortgage interest payments).

Additional Costs

Find out more about the other additional costs associated with our undergraduate degrees. 

Please visit the corresponding 3 year undergraduate degree for details relating to any additional costs.

 

Additional Information

The Foundation Year publishes a staff-student magazine “FYI”, showcasing the work of our foundation year students and spotlighting the successes of our current and graduated students. Explore the magazine here.

foundation year students - FYI magazine

Hear from our students

Foundation Year student profile pictures

 

General Academic Regulations: Terms and Conditions for students attending our courses