About the course
If you want to learn from scientists tackling some of the world’s most important challenges – such as conservation, cancer and dementia – this Foundation Year is perfect for you.
On our Foundation Year, you’ll have the opportunity to explore exciting subjects in Life Sciences before you choose your degree. You’ll gain knowledge and experience of the content of different courses.
To prepare you for whichever course you pick, you learn both practical and academic skills in:
biology
chemistry
mathematics.
This gives you the perfect grounding for your studies.
Location
Study on our beautiful, green campus on the edge of the South Downs National Park and just minutes from the vibrant seaside city of Brighton & Hove. We’re near to Gatwick airport and just over an hour from London.
About the University of Sussex
Our courses, research, culture and campus aim to stimulate, excite and challenge. From scientific discovery to global policy, from student welfare to career development, Sussex innovates and takes a lead. And today, in every part of society and across the world, you'll find someone from Sussex making an original and valuable contribution.
See the modules you will study by year by going to the ‘visit our course page’ link at the bottom of the page.
This course is available in Clearing. If you have submitted an application, you can add this course. If you haven’t sent us an application yet, you can do this until 24th September 2026.
This is the equal consideration deadline. You can still apply after this date, but your application may not receive guaranteed consideration.
University of Sussex has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.
See why these ratings were awarded
What does this TEF outcome mean?
The following entry points are available for this course:
Discover what it's like to study Life Sciences (with a foundation year) at University of Sussex: insights on the course, making friends, personal statement tips, uni prep, and recommended books, podcasts, and videos.
Is a Foundation Year for you?
We welcome students with a broad range of backgrounds and experiences, including:
-those who aren't sure which subject they'd like to specialise in
-those who don't have the right combination of subjects for direct entry into Year 1
-those who don't meet the expected requirements for direct entry into Year 1
-those who are returning to education after some time away.
| Test | Grade | Additional details |
|---|---|---|
| IELTS (Academic) | 6 | Including at least 5.5 in each component. We accept IELTS One Skills Retake. We do not accept IELTS Online. |
| PTE Academic | 59 | Including at least 59 in all four skills. We do not accept the PTE Academic Online test. |
| TOEFL (iBT) | 80 | TOEFL (iBT), including at least 17 in Listening, 18 in Reading, 20 in Speaking, 17 in Writing. We do not accept TOEFL (iBT) Home Edition. |
Please see our English language requirements.http://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/apply/international-qualifications/english-language-requirements
At Sussex, we recognise that not everybody has the same support to help them get to higher education. At Sussex it’s important to us to have a diverse, inclusive university community with a range of voices and experiences. Contextual offers are one of the ways we remove the barriers to higher education ensuring that we have fair access to all regardless of background. A contextual offer is a reduced grade offer which is given to students who meet certain eligibility criteria.
This section shows the range of grades that students who received offers were previously accepted on to this course 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.
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.
This report uses your grades to show how students with similar results have done when applying to this course in the past. Sometimes, there isn’t data for every possible set of grades. When that happens, universities and colleges occasionally fill in the gaps for sets of grades that are typically accepted.
| Location | Fee | Year |
|---|
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.
Note that your fees may be subject to an increase on an annual basis as the Government reviews the fee levels.
Register here for Clearing updates
Email:clearing@sussex.ac.uk
Phone:+44 (0)1273 007830
Email:ug.enquiries@sussex.ac.uk
Phone:01273 876787
Sussex House
Brighton
BN1 9RH
At University of Sussex
