Foundation Year in Social Sciences
Subject and course type
- Foundation
- Undergraduate
Make sense of the world and how we live. Kingston University's Foundation Year in Social Sciences will give you the knowledge and skills you need to progress your studies to degree level.
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Enhance your skills and prepare for the future
Gain a broad understanding of economics, criminology, sociology, psychology and law.
Studying a Foundation Year in Social Sciences at Kingston University is your first step towards a full degree qualification. You’ll complete the course ready to progress to Year 1 of your chosen honours course.
Through a blend of lectures, tutorials and lab-based learning, you’ll get a taste of academic life in a supportive university environment. You’ll develop professional, research, critical thinking and numerical skills, as well as the ability to reflect critically on global issues in the social world.
During the year, you’ll study four year-long modules that cover all subject areas within the social and behavioural sciences. You’ll explore the boundaries and overlaps between these interrelated disciples, and cultivate a range of study skills to help you transition onto your chosen BA/BSc.
Why choose this course
While you study, you’ll benefit from top quality teaching at Kingston University. Not only are we ranked Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework, our staff are leading senior academics and professional practitioners with industry experience.
This course is the perfect way to gain an overview of economics, criminology, sociology, psychology and law – and establish your ambitions within these fields. You’ll learn how to read academically, develop arguments, understand assessment strategies, give presentations and carry out research and statistical analysis.
Maybe you’ve been away from education and want to ease back into studies. Perhaps you’re not expecting to receive the grades you need for direct entry into an honours programme. Whatever your reason, this Foundation Year will prepare you for an exciting future.
Select your chosen degree programme and apply for the ‘including foundation year’ course. The corresponding UCAS codes are listed below.
- Business Economics BSc (Hons)
UCAS code L101 - Business Psychology BSc (Hons)
UCAS code C814 - Criminal Justice BSc (Hons)
UCAS code M291 - Criminology and Forensic Psychology BSc (Hons)
UCAS code LF82 - Criminology BSc (Hons)
UCAS code L312 - Economics BSc (Hons)
UCAS code L102 - Financial Economics BSc (Hons)
UCAS code L11A - Forensic Psychology BSc (Hons)
UCAS code C816 - International Law LLB (Hons)
UCAS code M131 - Law LLB (Hons)
UCAS code M101 - Law and Criminal Justice LLB (Hons)
UCAS code M191 - Psychology BSc (Hons)
UCAS code C8101 - Psychology with Counselling BSc (Hons)
UCAS code C891 - Psychology with Criminology BSc (Hons)
UCAS code CM98
Prepare for global impact
Kingston School of Law, Social and Behavioural Sciences offers courses in economics, sociology, law, psychology and criminology. Our degrees are underpinned by a vibrant research culture and delivered by a blend of practitioners and academics who are dedicated to equipping you with the employability skills to thrive in your career.
Course content
Throughout the year-long course, you will cover criminology, sociology, psychology, economics and politics, regardless of the specialist area you will be studying the following year. This will enable you to gain an overview of the social sciences and it will guide you in the direction of the social sciences degree that you're particularly interested in.
Foundation Year
The foundation year of the course is made up of four year-long modules that cover criminology, sociology, psychology, economics and politics.
Core Modules
30.00 credits
This is a core module for all students following the Foundation in Social and Behavioural Sciences programme.
The module will introduce you to the wide spectrum of disciplines and approaches that encompass the social and behavioural sciences. The module will address both common features across the social and behavioural sciences (i.e. the study of collective and individual human behaviour), and the defining features of the individual disciplines.
A key focus will be on the overlapping and somewhat artificial nature of the boundaries between the different disciplines in the social and behavioural sciences.
In addition, the module will enable you to engage with key qualitative methods used in the fields examined. By the end of the module, you will have gained a comprehensive overview of the social and behavioural sciences as a field of study, of the individual yet overlapping disciplines within the field, and how they are examined.
30.00 credits
This module offers you the opportunity to carry out a research project on a topic agreed in consultation with a supervisor. Supervisory sessions with an academic supervisor will help guide you to conduct a literature review, formulate a research question, design a research study, collect data and present findings.
30.00 credits
This module will provide you with a general introduction to the Social Sciences through the critical lenses sociology and criminology. Therefore the module uses the creative pedagogy of film making to help you explore the social nature of crime, deviance and social control, and familiarise yourself with key ideas relevant to explaining these phenomena.
The module will also enable you to develop the academic skills necessary to succeed at university, such as active academic reading, developing arguments, understanding assessment strategies, ways of working in groups, giving presentations and library skills. You will develop your wider self-awareness as a learner and be encouraged to actively shape your own learning. You will produce a portfolio of work to include:
- a group podcast
- the production of a group audio-visual film
- peer assessment task based on the audio-visual film
- a reflective essay worth 40% which will demonstrate your abilities to identify and research of topics of interest and consider how your learning informs your understanding of the world and your lived experience outside the classroom.
30.00 credits
Through this module you will develop competence in a range of mathematical and statistical techniques. You can then apply these skills to a range of contexts in social and behavioural sciences.
The module reinforces basic mathematical concepts to the level required for entry in the BA/BSc programmes offered by the School of Law, Social and Behavioural Sciences. It is accessible to students with a wide range of previous mathematical experiences.
Future Skills and career opportunities
This course will give you all of the benefits of being a Kingston University student before you start your degree. You’ll complete this year with the foundational knowledge and key academic skills you need to progress to Year 1 of your chosen BA or BSc programme.
Every course at Kingston University teaches a range of Future Skills. From problem-solving and adaptability to digital competency, these are the attributes you’ll need to get the edge in the job market and a head start on your career.
At Kingston University, we're not just keeping up with change, we're creating it
For more information on how Kingston prepares you for the future job market, visit our Future Skills page.
Teaching and assessment
Timetabled learning and teaching on this course includes lectures, small group tutorials and seminars.
When not attending timetabled sessions, you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. This typically will involve reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking coursework assignments, and preparing and giving presentations. Your independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities including online resources, the library and CANVAS, the online virtual learning platform.
Our academic support team here at Kingston University provides help in a range of areas.
When you arrive, we'll introduce you to your personal tutor. This is the member of academic staff who will provide academic guidance, support you throughout your time at Kingston and show you how to make the best use of all the help and resources that we offer at Kingston University.
Type of teaching and learning
- Scheduled learning and teaching: 384 hours
- Guided independent study (self-managed time): 516 hours
Year 1 - 43% of your time is spent in timetabled learning and teaching activity
Assessment typically comprises exams (e.g. test or exam), practical (e.g. presentations, performance) and coursework (e.g. essays, reports, self-assessment, portfolios, dissertation). The approximate percentage for how you will be assessed on this course is as follows, though depends to some extent on the optional modules you choose:
- Coursework: 34%
- Practical: 28%
- Exam: 38%
We aim to provide feedback to you on your assessments within 20 working days.
Your individualised timetable is normally available to students within 48 hours of enrolment. Whilst we make every effort to ensure timetables are as student friendly as possible, scheduled learning and teaching can take place on any day of the week between 9am and 6pm. For undergraduate students, Wednesday afternoons are normally reserved for sports and cultural activities, but there may be occasions when this is not possible. Timetables for part-time students will depend on the modules selected.
To give you an indication of class sizes, this course normally attracts 60 students and lecture sizes are normally 40 to 60 students. However this can vary by module and academic year.
Fees and funding
Please refer to the relevant course page for further information about fees:
- Business Economics BSc (Hons) including foundation year
- Business Psychology BSc (Hons) including foundation year
- Criminology and Forensic Psychology BSc (Hons) including foundation year
- Criminology BSc (Hons) including foundation year
- Economics BSc (Hons) including foundation year
- Financial Economics BSc (Hons) including foundation year
- Forensic Psychology BSc (Hons) including foundation year
- International Law LLB (Hons) including foundation year
- Law LLB (Hons) including foundation year
- Law and Criminal Justice LLB (Hons) including foundation year
- Psychology BSc (Hons) including foundation year
- Psychology with Criminology BSc (Hons) including foundation year
Additional course costs
Some courses may require additional costs beyond tuition fees. When planning your studies, you’ll want to consider tuition fees, living costs, and any extra costs that might relate to your area of study.
Your tuition fees include costs for teaching, assessment and university facilities. So your access to libraries, shared IT resources and various student support services are all covered. Accommodation and general living expenses are not covered by these fees.
Where applicable, additional expenses for your course may include:
Our libraries have an extensive collection of books and journals, as well as open-access computers and laptops available to rent. However, you may want to buy your own computer or personal copies of key textbooks. Textbooks may range from £50 to £250 per year. And a personal computer can range from £100 to £3,000 depending on your course requirements.
While most coursework is submitted online, some modules may require printed copies. You may want to allocate up to £100 per year for hard-copies of your coursework. It’s worth noting that 3D printing is never compulsory. So if you choose to use our 3D printers, you’ll need to pay for the material. This ranges from 3p per gram to 40p per gram.
Your tuition fees don’t cover travel costs. To save on travel costs, you can use our free intersite bus service. This route links the campuses and halls of residence with local train stations - Surbiton, Kingston upon Thames, and Norbiton.
Course changes and regulations
The information on this page reflects the currently intended course structure and module details. To improve your student experience and the quality of your degree, we may review and change the material information of this course. Find out more about course changes
Programme Specifications for the course are published ahead of each academic year.
Regulations governing this course can be found on our website.
