Course summary
Our degree courses with foundation year offer the opportunity to prepare you for advanced study before you progress onto a full honours degree at the University of Westminster. Whether you do not feel ready for degree-level study, don’t have the right qualifications, want to change your subject specialism or return to study after an absence from education, we aim to encourage a broad range of students to undertake our foundation year in order to progress onto their full honours degree with us.
The foundation year is designed to give you the opportunity to explore new ideas, opening up new perspectives on the key debates within your chosen field. Core modules accelerate your academic and professional development, bringing together like-minded students to think about the ‘big ideas’ within your discipline. You will also take modules from areas closely related to your chosen field, giving you the chance to develop a cross-disciplinary perspective on your course.
On successful completion of the foundation year, you will be able to move on to study for the International Relations BA Honours degree over a further three years study.
This course enables you to develop a comprehensive understanding of the evolution of the international system and to relate this to contemporary developments in international relations. It provides a theoretical framework for understanding the distribution of power at the global, regional and national levels.
You'll focus particularly on the changing dynamics of international security and the challenges of state-building within contemporary international relations. This course is linked to the renowned Security and International Relations research programme in the Centre for the Study of Democracy. The Centre regularly invites high-profile speakers to our central London campus for seminars, public lectures and conferences to which you will be invited as a student.
With excellent links to employers, this course offers you the opportunity to advance your knowledge in an applied setting. You will also gain the transferable and cognitive skills necessary for lifelong personal and professional development.
Our graduates go on to develop careers in various sectors, including the Civil Service, NGOs, international organisations such as the EU or UN, policy and research, teaching, journalism, and politics.
As a student on this course, you have the opportunity to spend either one optional year abroad or one optional year in a professional placement.
If you choose to go abroad, you can complete a work or volunteering placement, undertake a year of study at one of our partner universities, or a combination of the two. The year abroad provides a valuable opportunity to boost employability, enhance language skills and build international experience, something which is highly valued by employers. It also encourages intercultural awareness and capability, qualities of self-reliance and other skills which will further enable you to become a mobile and transnational citizen.
If you choose the professional experience option, you will have the opportunity to focus on preparing for a future career by working in a relevant organisation for an extended period. You can develop your understanding of the qualities and skills needed in high quality employment, and a critical awareness of the career pathways for which the degree prepares you.
The course is based in the School of Social Sciences, which brings together Criminology, Politics and International Relations, Psychology and Sociology. What binds us together is our shared commitment to making education a transformative experience for our students, to conducting research that makes a difference to the social world, and to enhancing the diversity of ideas and identities within and beyond the University.
We are in the centre of one of the world’s greatest cities and we use this vibrant, multicultural setting to ensure that our students discover innovative solutions to global problems. We are ranked top 20 in the world for the percentage of international students (Times Higher Education World University rankings 2021). As a School, we also host the world-renowned Centre for the Study of Democracy. The Centre undertakes research across a range of critical challenges to the theory and practice of politics, international relations, sociology and criminology. We also have an innovative initiative called the Democratic Education Network, which facilitates dialogue and the sharing of knowledge between our students, international universities and diasporic communities in London.
Top reasons to study with us
- A global environment – We are ranked top 20 in the world for the percentage of international students (Times Higher Education World University rankings 2021)
- International experience - the course includes a year studying, working or volunteering abroad, helping students to develop international experience
- Expert speakers – The Centre for the Study of Democracy regularly invites high-profile speakers to our central London campus location for seminars, public lectures and conferences