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Accounting and Finance with a Foundation Year

Course details
  • BSc (Hons)
  • 4 Years
  • Full-time
  • 09/2026
  • Undergraduate
Course location
Curzon Building

Course summary

Looking for a foundation course in accounting in Birmingham? Our BSc (Hons) Accounting and Finance with a Foundation Year course has lower entry requirements and can lead to a full undergraduate qualification.

This course has been specifically designed to allow home and EU students, who do not initially meet the Birmingham City University entry requirements for our standard Accounting and Finance degree, to undertake additional level 3 study designed to ensure they are successful on their chosen degree course. The foundation year itself will equip you with the required knowledge and skills to proceed on to any of our undergraduate degree courses offered within Business.

Delivery of the course is flexible and includes a blend of lectures, workshops, field trips and online learning. The modules, which feed into the course are broad and cover key current topics, such as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and help you to appreciate accounting and finance from a range of perspectives. Ultimately, decision making in this field, calls for one to exercise judgement and intuition and this course helps you to strengthen that judgement.

This course has been designed to be accredited by the major professional accounting bodies, including the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), offering significant exemptions from their professional qualifications.

Foundation Year
The foundation year is designed to give you the opportunity to develop your academic and interpersonal skills while developing your subject knowledge further to support you to success on your academic path. By studying a foundation year, your first year will be spent learning a wide range of broad subject areas which then open up opportunities for you to specialise further in your next year – which would be the first year of a full degree programme.

Professional bodies

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

  • Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
  • Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales

How to apply

Apply by
14 January

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Application codes

Course code:
NN4F
Institution code:
B25
Campus name:
Curzon Building
Campus Code:
F

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Foundation

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

UCAS Tariff - 80 points

A level - CDD

A Level: 80 UCAS tariff points / CDD (or equivalent). AS Level: Must be in a different subject to A Levels. A maximum of four subjects will be considered.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

80 UCAS tariff points. Diploma accepted with one A Level or equivalent level 3 qualifications. Extended Certificate accepted with two A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualifications.

Access to HE Diploma

Pass with 60 credits, 45 credits at level 3.

Scottish Higher

80 UCAS tariff points from three Advanced Highers (DDD) or two Advanced Highers (DD) plus two Highers (DD)

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

80 UCAS tariff points. Diploma accepted with one A Level or equivalent level 3 qualifications. Extended Certificate accepted with two A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualifications.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate (first teaching from September 2016)

80 UCAS tariff points. Diploma accepted with one A Level or equivalent level 3 qualifications. Extended Certificate accepted with two A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualifications.

Scottish Advanced Higher

80 UCAS tariff points from three Advanced Highers (DDD) or two Advanced Highers (DD) plus two Highers (DD)

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme - 24 points

Obtain a minimum of 24 points overall. For students who do not already hold a GCSE in Mathematics at grade C/4 or above, grade 5 in Maths (Standard level) from the IB Diploma will be accepted.

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

Minimum of 80 UCAS tariff points, achieved in five Higher level subjects

GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE Maths at grade C/4 or above. If you do not have this or are not undertaking it, we accept other level 2 equivalents, or we may ask you to pass BCU's GCSE equivalency tests.

T Level - Pass (C and above)

Pass overall (C or above on the core). All subjects considered

Welsh Baccalaureate: 80 UCAS tariff points. Considered with three A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualifications.

OCR Cambridge Technical qualifications: 80 UCAS tariff points.

NCFE CACHE Level 3 qualifications: 80 UCAS tariff points.

WJEC Level 3 qualifications: 80 UCAS tariff points. Considered with two A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualification(s).

IFS / LIBF in Financial Studies: 80 UCAS tariff points. Considered with two A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualification(s).

English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
IELTS (Academic)6overall with no less than 5.5 in each band
If you do not meet the required IELTS score, you may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English courses. Please note that you must have a Secure English Language Test (SELT) to study on the pre-sessional English course.

Historical entry grades data BETA

This section shows the range of grades students (with UK A-Levels or Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diplomas) who received offers were previously accepted with (learn more). It is designed to support your research but does not guarantee whether you will or won't get a place. Admissions teams consider various factors, including interviews, subject requirements, and entrance tests. Check all course entry requirements for eligibility.

Not enough data available

We are unable to show previous accepted grades for this course. This could be because the course is new, it's a postgraduate course, there isn't enough historical data, or the provider has opted out of sharing their entry grades data for this course - learn more.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

LocationFeeYear
England£5760Year 1
Northern Ireland£5760Year 1
Scotland£5760Year 1
Wales£5760Year 1
EU£18570Year 1
International£18570Year 1

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website.

Additional fee information

Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study, which is a foundation year. If you progress to the degree upon completion of your foundation year, the standard undergraduate tuition fee for 2027/28 will apply. Fees for 2026/27 can be found on the relevant course page, but please note that University reserves the right to increase fees in subsequent years in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament.
The fee for regulated courses in 2027/28 is expected to be £10,050.

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