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Foundation in Humanities

Foundation course

Key facts
Overview
How to apply
Tuition fees
Learning and assessment
After you graduate
Free language courses

Key facts

UCAS code

LL90

Start dates

September 2019 / September 2020

Location

Headington

Harcourt Hill

Course length

Full time: 1 year

Part time: 2 years

Department

Department of English and Modern Languages

Department of Social Sciences

School of Education

School of History, Philosophy and Culture

UCAS Tariff Points

72

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Overview

Our Foundation in Humanities course gives you the subject knowledge and skills you need for undergraduate study. Our course is ideal:

  • if you want to study at Oxford Brookes but need to supplement your A-Levels.
  • if you have returned to study after a long break.

We teach you essential academic skills in individual and small group sessions. You'll also gain skills that are valuable to employers and further study.

If you successfully complete the course, you will be guaranteed a place on a degree or combined degree in a range of subjects in the Humanities and Social Sciences at Oxford Brookes. These include:

  • Anthropology
  • Criminology
  • English Literature
  • English Language
  • Education Studies
  • Geography
  • History
  • History of Art
  • International Relations and Politics
  • Law
  • Philosophy 
  • Sociology.
Group discussion

How to apply

Typical offers

UCAS Tariff Points: 72

A Level: DDD

IB Points: 24

BTEC: MMP

Wherever possible we make our conditional offers using the UCAS Tariff. This combination of A-level grades would be just one way of achieving the UCAS Tariff points for this course.

Applications are welcomed from candidates with alternative qualifications, and from mature students.

Entry requirements

Specific entry requirements

Please also see the University's general entry requirements.

English language requirements

Applicants whose main language is not English should have IELTS 6.0.

Please also see the University's standard English language requirements.

English requirements for visas

If you need a student visa to enter the UK you will need to meet the UK Visas and Immigration minimum language requirements as well as the University's requirements. Find out more about English language requirements.

Terms and Conditions of Enrolment

When you accept our offer, you agree to the Terms and Conditions of Enrolment. You should therefore read those conditions before accepting the offer.

Credit transfer

Many of our courses consider applications for entry with credit for prior learning. Each application is individually assessed by our credit entry tutors. 

If you would like more information about whether or not you may be eligible for the award of credit, for example from an HND, partly-completed degree or foundation degree, please contact our Admissions team.

We operate the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). All undergraduate single modules are equivalent to 7.5 ECTS credits and double modules to 15 ECTS credits. More about ECTS credits.

Application process

Full time Home / EU applicants

Apply through UCAS

Part time Home / EU applicants

Apply direct to the University

International applicants

Apply direct to the University

Full time applicants can also apply through UCAS

Tuition fees

Please see the fees note
Home/EU full time
£9,250
Home/EU part time
£750 per single module
International full time
£13,410
Home/EU full time
£9,250 (subject to agreement by Office for Students)
Home/EU part time
£1,155 per single module
International full time
£13,900

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

Tuition fees

2019/20
Home/EU full time
£9,250
Home/EU part time
£750 per single module
International full time
£13,410
2020/21
Home/EU full time
£9,250 (subject to agreement by Office for Students)
Home/EU part time
£1,155 per single module
International full time
£13,900

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:
+44 (0)1865 483088
financefees@brookes.ac.uk

Please note tuition fees for Home/EU students may increase in subsequent years both for new and continuing students in line with an inflationary amount determined by government. Tuition fees for International students may increase in subsequent years both for new and continuing students.

Oxford Brookes University intends to maintain its fees for new and returning home and EU students at the maximum permitted level.

Please be aware that some courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. Specific additional costs for this course, if any, are detailed below.

Financial support and scholarships

For general sources of financial support, see our Fees and funding pages.

Additional costs

There are no specific additional costs associated with this course. However, students who choose to take the optional module in Semester 2, Practice and Pedagogy, will need to be DBS checked which carries a fee to be met by the student.

Learning and assessment

On our course you will:

  • examine a broad range of humanities subjects
  • explore multiple areas according to your interests
  • gain the skills you need to succeed in further study. 

In Semester 1 you will  improve your oral, written and interpersonal skills for Higher Education. And take three modules that combine:

  • English Literature and Drama
  • History and History of Art
  • English Language and Communication.

In Semester 2  a compulsory module combines History, Philosophy, Stylistics and English to explore nationality and identity. And you can choose two optional modules from the fields of Philosophy, History, Education Studies and Law. If you plan to progress to Law (LLB), you must take the Introduction to Law module.

You will undertake a small research project to prepare you for your target degree. You will receive one-to-one support from a supervisor.

A dedicated academic advisor will support you throughout your course. And help you explore your options for either continued study and employment.

Students studying

Study modules

Semester 1

Compulsory modules

Being Human: Love, Sex and Death

This module introduces students to an interdisciplinary study of the ways in which emotions and bodies are socially and culturally constructed across time and space through History and History of Art. Students will learn that ideas, practices and experiences about feelings and bodies are fluid and determined by historically, socially, and culturally specific contexts, themselves shaped by politics, religion, science, medicine, and literary and artistic fashions. Students will investigate the ways in which ‘being human’ is relative through three apparently universal features of life: love, sex, and death. They will analyse and interrogate texts, images and artefacts to understand the centrality of human emotions and bodies to the functioning of our world.

Cultural Moments

On this module, students will explore the ways in which Drama and Literary Studies work with the broad concept of genre, and the ways in which the evolution of literary and cultural genres can be associated with major shifts in social and cultural history. Students will study genres as categories that have evolved historically to become influential forces on the production of culture, taste and fashion. Case studies of key movements or genres across a range of disciplines will be employed to illustrate the ways in which art responds to life and life responds to art.

Language, Vision and Representation

This module draws upon expertise from the fields of English Language and Communication, and Cultural Studies to introduce students to the basic theories of meaning-making through reference to visual and language systems. Students will learn to undertake a critical analysis of systems of representation as they encounter them in the ‘real’ world and the world of representations – such as spoken and written language, and virtual and physical texts. In doing so, they will come to understand how meaning is both made and challenged through the often unconscious act of interpretation. Since we are part of those worlds of ‘meaning-making’, students will also be encouraged to reflect on their own role in the production of meaning.

The Reflective Learner

This module helps students to develop the skills and strategies needed to succeed as a university undergraduate. These skills will be applicable to each of the subject disciplines that constitute the Foundation in Humanities. There is a practical emphasis on turning critical reading into effective visual, written and oral undergraduate assignments. Students will also learn effective strategies for responding to lecture content, participating in seminar discussions and working in peer groups.

Semester 2

Compulsory modules

Nation and Identity

By employing approaches and themes from the fields of Philosophy, Religious Studies, History, English Literature and English Language, this module allows students to consider the concept of nationhood. Students will ask a range of engaging questions such as: what is a nation and how is it defined? Is it developed through the shared language and history of a people? Is it about laws and governance, or habits and customs? And what happens when one or several of these characteristics change? In the first part of the module, students will develop an understanding of the different ways in which a nation develops and defines itself. From there, students will develop an understanding of the ways in which the concept of a nation (including aspects such as borders and national identity) can be a site of contest and challenge.

Research Project

The aim of this module is for students to identify, define and complete an extended independent research project. Students will learn to work with advice and support from an academic supervisor, who will provide one-to-one support and guidance on working within a specific subject discipline. Students considering a combined degree can also receive co-supervision through tutorial support both in person and online.

Optional modules

Literature and Arts in Context (Literature and Cultural Studies)

This module is an interdisciplinary introduction to the main approaches, methods and issues in the study of the Humanities today, with particular reference to English, History and History of Art.

Modern British Cinema and Society (Film Studies and History)

This module focuses on developments in British cinema since the last World War, and provides the opportunity for students to look at how these developments reflect changes in the attitudes and values of society during the period.

French A1 (Modern Language)

A module in practical French language skills for beginners.

French A2 (1) (Modern Language)

The language level of this module corresponds to work leading to Level A2 in the European Common Framework for Languages (CEFR - A2).

German A1 (Modern Language)

A module in practical language skills for beginners.

German A2 (1) (Modern Language)

The language level of this module corresponds to work leading to Level A2 in the European Common Framework for Languages (CEFR - A2).

Human Nature (Philosophy)

The study of Human Nature has been central to philosophy throughout its history as philosophers have grappled with questions such as: what makes humans distinctively human?; what is the best way to study our nature?; are we fundamentally different from all other animals?; what is the relationship between race and gender and human nature?; could there be such a thing as human nature if we are products of evolution? to what extent are we products of culture? This module explores these questions drawing upon cutting-edge work in philosophy, feminist theory, cognitive science and evolutionary biology.

Death, Disease and Doctors: Medicine and Society (History)

An introduction to the history of medicine and health from the mid-seventeenth to the mid-nineteenth century. Offers the opportunity to develop a specialised interest in health history, and make connections between medicine and its wider social context.

Modern British Art (History of Art)

This module offers an introduction to a century of art practice in Britain from the work of the Camden Town Group through to exponents of Brit Art such as Damien Hirst and Rachel Whiteread. Exploring painting, sculpture and film, the concern is to explore through case studies the ways in which artists in Britain sought to create specifically modern forms of expression, as well as the media (exhibitions, manifestos, books, little magazines) through which they promote the resulting work. The course is taught through a mixture of lectures, seminars and on-site visits, and you will explore a range of contemporary and secondary literature and, wherever possible, works of art at first hand.

Practice and Pedagogy (Education Studies)

Students are introduced to educational theory associated with children, young people and adult learning in a range of contexts on this module. As well as exploring the distinction between practice and pedagogy, students will develop an awareness of research into pedagogic practice which have influenced previous and current policy decisions. Students will have the opportunity observe examples of pedagogy and practice in an educational setting. Please note: You must have a current DBS check to take this module.

Spanish A1 (Modern Language)

A module in practical language skills for beginners.

Spanish A2 (1) (Modern Language)

The language level of this module corresponds to work leading to Level A2 in the European Common Framework for Languages (CEFR - A2).

Superpowers: an International History of the Cold War (History)

An introduction to modern international history within the context of the rise and fall of the two principal world powers, the United States and the Soviet Union, during the Cold War.

Please note: As our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the modules you can choose from may vary from that shown here. The structure of the course may also mean some modules are not available to you.

Learning and teaching

Our course is interdisciplinary. This means we draw upon teaching content, approaches, and expertise from a range of subjects in our Faculty. We might introduce you to new subject areas and approaches to studying.

Our modules all feature content from different disciplines, leading to a unique learning experience. 

Assessment

Assessment methods used on this course

We will assess you mostly by coursework, including:

  • essays
  • reflective logbooks
  • critical commentaries
  • video assignments
  • e-portfolios
  • group projects. 

After you graduate

Career prospects

Foundation in Humanities is principally intended as a route to further study at degree level. However, this is also a course that is heavily focussed upon developing your academic and interpersonal skills and inspiring self-confidence. By the end of this course you will have been coached in written expression, presentation skills, independent learning, working in groups, accessing information from a range of sources and working to deadlines. All of these qualities are valued by employers and will make you attractive to a range of workplaces.

Further study

Foundation in Humanities has been specifically designed to introduce you to, and prepare you for, any one of the awards named below:

Combined Awards

You will be able to progress directly to these awards at Oxford Brookes without further application and you will be advised and assisted in this process by your Academic Advisor and/or your Student Support Co-ordinator.

Free language courses

Free language courses are available to full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students on many of our courses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.

More about free language courses

Information from Discover Uni

Programme Changes: On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been published on the website.

For more information, please visit our Changes to programmes page.