Philosophy with a Foundation Year

Explore how humanities help us understand culture, identity, creativity and the grand challenges shaping our world, while considering great philosophical questions and learning to how to construct arguments to address complex societal problems.

Our Philosophy with a Foundation Year programme provides a supportive and intellectually engaging route into undergraduate study. The programme offers a structured and supportive transition into university-level learning, providing additional academic preparation before undergraduate study,

You’ll explore some of the big questions at the heart of the humanities: who we are, how cultures and identities are formed, and how stories shape human experience. You’ll also consider how the humanities help us understand and respond to contemporary ethical, environmental and technological change.

You’ll be introduced to a range of perspectives from history, literature, philosophy, media, cultural analysis, language and related disciplines. You’ll learn about the latest humanities approaches to digital culture, AI and global change – all while developing key academic skills to help you develop in your target degree subject.

How should you live your life and relate to others? How should we organise society? Who and what should you believe? What is the nature of beauty? How do your mind, brain, body and environment shape your thoughts and feelings? How should characteristics like gender and race be taken into account in theoretical inquiry and social decision-making?

As a Philosophy student you’ll explore important and complex issues like these. Our priority lies in developing your skills as a philosopher in your own right: you’ll be doing philosophy, not merely learning about philosophy. We’ll support you to engage critically and creatively with difficult problems in an open-minded and collaborative way, including on sensitive and controversial topics.

You’ll develop a solid grounding in central areas of philosophy, such as ethics, epistemology, and philosophy of mind, but also study areas such as aesthetics, feminist philosophy, and phenomenology.

Your foundation year is designed to build confidence, academic capability and subject-specific understanding through expert teaching, tailored support and an inclusive learning environments.