BA (Hons) International Relations and Politics with a Foundation Year
Key Details
- Award
- Degree of Bachelor of Arts
- UCAS Course Code
- L25F
- Typical Offer
- CCC
- Contextual Offer
- CDD
- Course Length
- 4 years
- Course Start Date
- September 2027
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14th
UEA is ranked 14th overall for research quality Politics and International Studies
Times Higher Education REF 2021 AnalysisCourse Overview
Why BA International Relations and Politics with a Foundation Year at UEA?
Take the next step towards your BA in International Relations and Politics with our Foundation Year. Whether you don’t yet have the required grades or need a little extra support, we’re here to help.
Why choose UEA?
- A Steppingstone for your degree: Strengthen your subject knowledge and sharpen essential critical thinking skills to thrive in your studies
- Flexible studies: Tailor your year to match your specific interests, while examining key themes, such as power and culture, through different lenses
- Nurturing learning environment: Learn from tailored guidance and well-being support from award-winning lecturers
What is BA International Relations and Politics with a Foundation Year?
Our foundation year is your platform on which to build a toolkit of essential academic skills. By forming your own goals and objectives you’ll have the know-how to engage confidently with the Humanities at degree level. Your learning is in your own hands.
You’ll explore how Politics and International Relations intersect with other Humanities disciplines, including History and Literature, expanding your curiosity in the world around you. You’ll have access to all the opportunities and resources that UEA and Norwich have to offer, from the Media Suite to the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts.
Careers
Career Pathways
After graduating with a degree in International Relations and Politics, or a similar Arts and Humanities discipline, here are a selection of the roles you could progress onto as you launch your career as:
- Parliamentary assistant: Create briefing materials, draft communications and help interpret changing legislation
- Researcher: Conduct research for different purposes, such as policymaking or locating evidence in historical archives
- Press officer: Combine creativity, communication and skills of analysis to write press releases, manage media content and handle press enquiries
- Policy officer: Support policy development within government or public organisations
- Civil servant: Whether you pursue an operational or policy-based role, shape and deliver the public services society needs
Career Support
During your Foundation Year, you’ll start your journey towards your ideal future career. We’ll help you identify how your academic interests and burgeoning attributes can link to real career possibilities. You’ll have access to networking opportunities, workshops, and personalised one-to-one appointments. No matter what stage you’re at with deciding on your next steps, you’ll be supported throughout your degree and beyond by UEA’s award-winning careers service, which offers guidance on CV writing, applications, internships and professional development.
Discover more on our Careers webpages.
After the Course
After successfully completing your Foundation Year, you’ll progress straight onto BA International Relations and Politics. Alternatively, you can request to transfer onto one of a selection of other undergraduate courses within the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. This may be subject to taking certain required prerequisite modules. If you wish to move onto a degree with Creative Writing, you’ll need to submit a short portfolio of your writing (c. five pages) for approval by the creative writing team. You’ll have an Academic Adviser who will offer you support and guidance through this process. During your BA in International Relations and Politics with our Foundation Year degree, you’ll develop your own set of unique academic interests and passions, allowing you to be well-placed to progress onto the degree that’s the best fit for you. Use the foundation year as a springboard to the degree of your choice and take control of your future studies.
Study and Modules
Structure
During your foundation year, you’ll study a mixture of compulsory and optional modules. This enables you to tailor your studies to your interests, ensuring you’ll develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to achieve your full potential during the rest of your degree.
You’ll hone your essential critical thinking and skills of analysis, plus have the opportunity to discover a range of academic approaches and methodologies. Together with your lecturers and peers, you’ll explore important theories and ideas in the Humanities. You’ll learn how they relate to their political, social, historical, and cultural contexts. For example, you might study ideology and myth, post-colonialism, gender and sexuality, or power. We also provide you with the space to practice necessary, core skills to build your confidence as you progress with your studies. For example, you’ll learn how to research, write, and properly reference your assignments, as well as how to make the most out of the amazing study and support resources that UEA has to offer.
One of the central questions we’ll explore is how new knowledge in the Humanities is created. By bringing together your subject interest and learning from across the course, you'll experiment with designing your own project. With our support, you'll learn how to break a larger task into manageable stages, gaining hands-on experience in planning, research, and problem solving. These core skills will not only be at the centre of your future degree but are at the heart of longer-term professional success. This step-by-step structure will build your confidence and show how complex ideas can grow and synthesise as you follow a process and make connections. Working through each stage in this dynamic way will develop your creativity, resilience, and you’ll become a successful independent learner.
There are a range of subject-specific topics for you to choose from throughout your foundation year. You may choose to focus on history, literature, visual cultures or politics. Alternatively, you could choose to study a language. By combining disciplines, you’ll be able to investigate key areas of your future degree while gaining an interdisciplinary perspective. This is your opportunity to develop your knowledge and skills in subjects closely tied to the rest of your degree or even try something new.
For information on subsequent years, please see the full BA International Relations and Politics course.
Compulsory Modules
Optional A Modules
(Credits: 20)Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning, and Assessment
Teaching and Learning
We’ll provide a supportive and rewarding learning environment where you’ll study with dedicated lecturers from UEA’s Interdisciplinary Institute for the Humanities. This will shallow out the curve between your previous learning experiences and your future degree programme. Modules are delivered through a variety of methods, with a range of study tasks to prepare you for the different types of learning and teaching you’ll meet later on.
Through seminars, interactive training sessions and supportive feedback, you’ll develop key skills in areas such as essay writing, research, and understanding and critically evaluating scholarly arguments. Your foundation year will be taught by award-winning lecturers who are specialists in their fields. Our teaching is informed by cutting-edge subject research and a strong commitment to innovative and engaging teaching practice.
Your foundation year will be an intensive course. You’ll need to work independently between classes to make sure you’re fully prepared for seminars, workshops, and assessments. We’ll help you to make the most of the resources and facilities available to you at UEA. We’ll support you as you develop your ability to study independently, cultivating skills that will be of great benefit in your degree, and your later career.
Assessment
During your Arts and Humanities Foundation Year, you’ll be assessed in a variety of ways. This might include essays, posters, reflective work, and source-based analyses. This will allow you to explore different learning styles and become familiar with the format and expectations of degree-level assessment.
We use innovative methods to enable you to learn from your peers as well as from teaching staff. This will help you to build confidence in your abilities and develop into a more independent learner. You’ll receive feedback, allowing you to continue to develop, hone and improve your written work over the year.
You’ll also benefit from the support of one of the course lecturers as an adviser. You’ll attend individual tutorials to ensure you’re progressing well and are achieving your full potential.
Entry Requirements
- This course is open to
UK fee-paying students only. Choose UK above to see relevant information. The entry point is in September each year.
We welcome and value a wide range of qualifications, and we recognise that some students might take a mixture of different qualifications. We have listed typical examples that we accept for entry.
You should hold or be working towards the specified English and Mathematics requirements and one of the examples of typical entry qualifications listed below. If your qualifications aren’t listed, or if you are taking a combination of qualifications that isn’t specified, please contact Admissions.
- English and Mathematics
All applicants must hold or be working towards GCSEs in English Language and Mathematics at minimum grade C or grade 4.
In place of Mathematics GCSE we can also consider Functional Skills Level 2 Mathematics.
We accept a wide range of English Language qualifications, please see our English Language equivalencies(opens in a new window) page.
- Contextual Offers
UEA are committed to ensuring that Higher Education is accessible to all, regardless of their background or experiences. One of the ways we do this is through our contextual admissions schemes(opens in a new window).
- Typical UK Entry Requirements
A Levels
CCC
Contextual offer: CDD
BTEC
Level 3 Extended Diploma: MMM
Contextual offer: MMP
Access to HE Diploma
Access to Humanities & Social Sciences pathway. Pass the Access to HE Diploma with 45 credits at Level 3.
Contextual offer: Not in Scheme.
T Levels
Obtain an overall Pass.
Accepted Subjects: Any.
- Further Examples of Typical Entry Requirements
International Baccalaureate
28 points overall.
Irish Leaving Certificate
6 subjects at H4 or above.
Scottish Highers
BBCCC or above.
Scottish Advanced Highers
DDD or above.
A combination of Advanced Highers and Highers may be acceptable
We welcome applications from students with non-traditional academic backgrounds. If you have been out of study for the last three years and you do not have the entry grades for our three year degree, we will consider your educational and employment history, along with your personal statement and reference to gain a holistic view of your suitability for the course. You will still need to meet our GCSE English Language and Mathematics requirements.
- Deferred Entry
We welcome applications from students who have already taken or intend to take a gap year. We believe that a year between school and university can be of substantial benefit. You are advised to indicate your reason for wishing to defer entry on your UCAS application.
- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all undergraduate applicants.
- Progression
Once enrolled onto a course at UEA, your progression and continuation (which may include eligibility for study abroad, overseas experience, placement or year in industry opportunities) is contingent on meeting the assessment requirements which are relevant to the course on which you are enrolled.
Progression from a Foundation Year may also be dependent on meeting the prerequisite module requirements of the course you wish to progress to. Please note subsequent changes to study or course can affect your tuition fee liability and the amount you are required to pay.
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Fees and Funding
Tuition fees for the Academic Year 2027/28 are:
-
UK Students: £5,760
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International Students: £24,250
We estimate living expenses at £1,171 per month.
Further Information on tuition fees can be found here(opens in a new window).
Scholarships and Bursaries
We are committed to ensuring that costs do not act as a barrier to those aspiring to come to a world leading university and have developed a funding package to reward those with excellent qualifications and assist those from lower income backgrounds. View our range of Scholarships(opens in a new window) for eligibility, details of how to apply and closing dates.
Course Related Costs
Please see Additional Course Fees for details of course-related costs.
How to Apply
Apply for this course through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Services (UCAS), using UCAS Hub.
UCAS Hub is a secure online application system that allows you to apply for full-time undergraduate courses at universities and colleges in the United Kingdom.
Your application does not have to be completed all at once. Register or sign in to UCAS to get started. (opens in a new window)
Once you submit your completed application, UCAS will process it and send it to your chosen universities and colleges.
The Institution code for the University of East Anglia is E14.
View our guide to applying through UCAS for useful tips, key dates and further information: