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Philosophy and Theology with Foundation Year

Course details
  • BA (Hons)
  • 4 Years
  • Full-time including foundation year
  • 04/10/2026
  • Undergraduate
Course location
Open Application

Course summary

Are you a student from the UK interested in studying Philosophy and Theology but your personal or educational circumstances have meant you are unlikely to achieve the grades typically required for Oxford courses? If so, Philosophy and Theology with Foundation Year might be the course for you.

The Foundation Year is completely free for UK students and is designed to be a one-year intensive academic course which will bridge any gap between school and our academically challenging undergraduate courses. The programme is carefully designed to build and develop your study skills, subject knowledge and capacity for independent study. Students that pass the course will be awarded a nationally recognised Certificate in Higher Education (CertHE) qualification. If you pass the course at the required level, you will be automatically admitted into Oxford as an undergraduate student if you wish to be, without the need to re-apply. For more information on this course please visit www.ox.ac.uk/fyhumanities

Studying Philosophy and Theology at Undergraduate level brings together some of the most important approaches to understanding and assessing the intellectual claims of religion.

The study of Philosophy develops analytical rigour and the ability to criticise and reason logically. It allows you to apply these skills to many contemporary and historical schools of thought and individual thinkers, and to questions ranging from how we acquire knowledge and form moral judgements to central questions in the philosophy of religion, including the existence and nature of God and the relevance of religion to human life.

The study of Theology provides an understanding of the intellectual underpinning of religious traditions and of the social and cultural contexts for religious belief and practice. It brings together a wide range of skills and disciplines, historical, textual, linguistic, sociological, literary-critical and philosophical.

Central to this degree is a recognition that parallel study of these related disciplines leads to a deeper understanding of each. For more information on this course please visit ox.ac.uk/ugpt.

This course is for UK state school students who meet the eligibility criteria. For more information about the eligibility criteria please visit foundationyear.ox.ac.uk/eligibility.

International students are not eligible to apply.

How to apply

This course is not accepting applications at this time. Please contact the provider to find out more.

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:
VV5F
Institution code:
O33
Campus name:
Open Application
Campus Code:
9

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Foundation

International applicants

This course is not open to international applicants. For more information about eligibility please see our website: foundationyear.ox.ac.uk/eligibility

Open days

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

UCAS Tariff - Not accepted

A level - BBB

Excluding General Studies (if taken)

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

Conditional offers would usually be: Extended Diploma with MMM, Diploma with MM plus a B grade at A-level, Foundation Diploma with M plus BB at A-level.

Access to HE Diploma

Conditional offers are likely to be for completion of the Access to HE diploma with all the level 3 credits at Merit, and B grades in any A-levels taken. Some Access courses allow students to take one or two A-levels as part of the course. This option is strongly recommended for students who wish to apply to Oxford, especially for those courses which have specific subject requirements.

Scottish Higher - BBBBB

Supplemented by two or more Advanced Highers.

Scottish Advanced Higher - BBC - BB

Conditional offers will usually be for BBC if a student is able to take three Advanced Highers; where this is not possible then a student would be expected to achieve BB in two Advanced Highers.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme - 35 points

With 555 at HL.

Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal - M1, M1, M1

Pre-U subject requirements are the same as those for A-levels.

A subject involving essay writing to A-level, Advanced Higher, Higher Level in the IB or another equivalent can be helpful to students in completing this course, although this is not required for admission. We expect you to have taken and passed any practical component in your chosen science subjects.

Additional entry requirements

Interview

English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
IELTS (Academic)7.5Minimum 7.0 per component
TOEFL (iBT)110Minimum component scores: Listening: 22 Reading: 24 Speaking: 25 Writing: 24
Cambridge English AdvancedOverall score of 191 or above, with at least 185 in each component
Cambridge English ProficiencyOverall score of 191 or above, with at least 185 in each component

For details on English Language Requirements, please visit the website url https://ox.ac.uk/englang

Contextual admissions

Universities and colleges consider more than grades when assessing applications and may make offers based on a range of criteria. Learn more about contextual offers.

Oxford uses a range of evidence about applicants’ academic performance and potential, including personal statements, references, admissions tests (depending on the chosen course), and interview performance (for those shortlisted).
In some subjects, candidates are required to achieve A or A* grades in certain subjects.
A very small number of students are admitted to Oxford who don’t meet their offer conditions in non-essential subjects, and this is often as a result of exceptional circumstances.

Learn more on the University of Oxford website

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

No fee information has been provided for this course

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

No additional fees or cost information has been supplied for this course, please contact the provider directly.

University of Oxford

University Offices
Wellington Square
Oxford
OX1 2JD

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Course contact details

Undergraduate Admissions and Outreach

ox.ac.uk/ask

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