Applying from a Foundation Programme | Christs College Cambridge

Sign on G staircase This page has information for university foundation year students who are considering an application to Christ's College.

Cambridge University only has one Foundation Year, which is for students ordinarily resident in the UK who have experienced educational disadvantage, but sometimes students take a Foundation Programme at another university and apply to Cambridge. A number of British universities offer Foundation Programmes.

If you are an international student and need to do a further qualification in order to apply to Cambridge, a Foundation Programme is only a possible option if you are applying for an arts and humanities course. We do not accept Foundation Programmes for maths and science courses at Cambridge. You will find a number of Foundation Programmes at UK universities. When choosing your foundation course, it will be important to check that it offers suitable preparation for the Cambridge degree you plan to apply for: it will need to cover suitable material for any subject requirements listed on the course pages. See the course check section below, and we recommend that you email us if you want to check the suitability of specific programmes and need further advice. You may also like to check our examples page.

If you will be a mature student (if you will be 21 or over at the start of your Cambridge course), a Foundation Programme is one of several options that you may choose to prepare yourself for studying for an Arts & Humanities course at Cambridge. Please see the mature students page for further detail.

Progression to Cambridge

Before enrolling on a foundation year programme, it is important to check whether the programme commits you to continuing onto a degree course at the relevant institution. Please make sure it will be possible to apply to Cambridge if this is what you want to do.

Course check

You cannot apply with a foundation programme if you are applying for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Medicine, Natural Sciences, or Psychological & Behavioural Sciences.

For the other courses, please check the foundation programme content requirements / advice before selecting your foundation programme or choosing modules within it.

Course	Foundation Course content
Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic	There are no required subjects that your foundation course must cover, but History, English and perhaps a language would be helpful. Please see the subject information on our Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic page for further advice.
Archaeology	There are no required subjects that your foundation course must cover. We welcome applications from students who have studied a broad range of academic subjects. Please see the subject information on our Archaeology page for further detail.
Architecture	If possible, it would be good to take a foundation course including a mixture of essay-based subjects and science/maths. It would be helpful to study Art and some Maths or Physics though these are not requirements. You will, however, need strong drawing skills - as part of the application process you will need to upload a 6-page pdf of your artwork, and you will also need a portfolio if you are selected for interview. Please see the subject information as well as details of the 6-page artwork pdf and portfolio on our Architecture page.
Asian & Middle Eastern Studies	You must be able to demonstrate some formal evidence of aptitude for language-learning, whether inside or outside of your foundation course. If you are planning to study a European language as part of the course your foundation course should include content equivalent to A level in that language. Please see the subject information on our AMES page for further advice.
Classics	Please see the subject information on our Classics page.
Design	You will need a foundation course that covers A Level Mathematics content as this is a requirement for Design. You will also need very strong drawing skills as a 6-page pdf of artwork will be requested, and you will need a portfolio if invited for interview. Please see the subject information as well as the details for the 6-page artwork pdf and portfolio on our Design page.
Economics	The Economics course requires a very strong background in maths. Note that for students taking A Levels, A Level Maths and Further Maths are required. To make a competitive application for Economics with a foundation course, you will need to choose a foundation course that covers A Levels maths and further maths content. Please also read the subject information on our Economics page. Example: NCUK International Foundation Year with subjects including Further Maths and Economics
Education	There are no required subjects that your foundation year must cover, but social sciences and essay-based subjects are useful. See the subject information on our Education page for further advice.
English	Your foundation course will need to show that you have studied literature topics equivalent to A Level English Literature. Please see the subject information on our English page.
Geography	You will need a foundation course that covers Geography topics equivalent to taking A Level Geography. Please see the subject information on our Geography page.
History	You will need to show that your foundation course covers History topics equivalent to taking A Level History. Please see the subject information on our History page.
History & Modern Languages	You will need to show that your foundation course covers History topics equivalent to A level History, and depending on your language option, you may need to have studied a language to A level standard. Please see the subject information on our History and Modern Languages page for further detail.
History and Politics	You will need a foundation course that covers History topics equivalent to taking A Level History. Please see the subject information on our History and Politics page.
History of Art	There are no required subjects but you must take a foundation course that is academic rather than vocational in focus. Useful subjects for History of Art include History, English and languages. Please see the subject information on our History of Art page for further detail.
Human, Social and Political Sciences	There are no specific subjects that your foundation course must cover, however it should be academic rather than vocational in focus. Please see the subject information on our HSPS page for advice.
Land Economy	There are no specific subjects that your foundation course must cover, but Economics, Geography and Maths are useful. Please see the subject information on our Land Economy page.
Law	Although no specific subjects are required for Law, you will need a foundation course that is academic rather than vocational in focus. For example a foundation year in Legal Methods / Legal Studies would not normally provide suitable preparation for Law at Cambridge, whereas a foundation year in which you study academic disciplines such as History, Social Sciences, International Relations, Maths, or Sciences would work well. Note that you do not need to have studied Law formally before you apply for Law. Please see the subject information on our Law page, and make sure that you are also registered for the LNAT by the correct deadline.
Linguistics	It would be helpful if your foundation course includes some formal study of a language. Please see the subject information on our Linguistics page for further advice.
Modern & Medieval Languages	To apply for Modern and Medieval Languages with a foundation course, you will need to show that you have studied at least one of the languages that you intend to choose on the course to A level standard (broadly equivalent to level B2 of the Council of Europe Common European Framework of reference for Languages). Please see the subject information on our MML page.
Music	You will need a foundation course that covers Music topics equivalent to taking A Level Music and it would be helpful to take at least one essay-based subject such as English or History. Overall your foundation course should be academic rather than vocational in focus. So a course in Music performance would not provide suitable preparation, however a combination of Music, an essay subject and even a maths or science subject would be fine. Please see the subject information on our Music page.
Philosophy	There are no specific subjects that your foundation course must cover, but see the subject information on our Philosophy page for advice.
Theology, Religion & Philosophy of Religion	There are no specific subjects that your foundation course must cover, but the focus must be academic rather than vocational, topics equivalent to A level Religious Studies are desirable, and please see the subject information on our Theology, Religion and Philosophy of Religion page for further advice.

How to apply to Christ's

If you apply as a student on a foundation programme, you will need to complete the full application process just as all of the other applicants do. Please read the details of how to apply carefully, as well as the relevant subject page.

Additional notes:

Please check well in advance whether your course has a compulsory admissions test, as you will need to make arrangements to take this and be registered by the correct deadline. The details vary for different courses and may change from year to year. Information for each year's applicants is available from July, and please be aware that the assessment registration deadline may be before the application deadline.
If you have only just started your foundation programme, in most cases a teacher from your former school will be able to comment in more detail on your academic ability than a tutor on your foundation programme, so it may be best to ask a teacher from your former school to write your UCAS reference.
You will normally need to send a high school transcript as part of your application. Please see the transcript flowchart and the transcript page for further information. Your transcript will not need to include university exams if you have not yet taken any, but it should include your high school exams.
Please upload a summary of your foundation course curriculum by 22 October (at the latest). You will need to demonstrate that you are covering / have covered any course-specific subject requirements for the subject you are applying for (details of subject requirements are in the applying section on the relevant subject page). Details of how upload curriculum details are available here from 20 September each year (this page is part of the current applicants section so is only available 20 Sept - early Jan). Note that you must not upload your curriculum details as part of your My Cambridge Application - please instead read the page linked above once available.

Offers

In all cases you will need to achieve very highly in your Foundation Programme as entry to Cambridge is very competitive. Conditional offers on foundation programmes are tailored to the course detail.