This foundation pathway in politics, culture and social sciences is designed to prepare you to study a related subject at undergraduate level.

You’ll take a core English module to develop essential skills, such as identifying the key points in academic articles, taking effective notes, structuring essays and other writing assignments, taking part in discussions and delivering academic presentations. It’s taught by experts from King’s Foundations, who will help you improve your linguistic skills in an academic context.

You will also take a compulsory Culture and Society module, which will introduce you to the key contemporary issues within the humanities and social sciences. You’ll consider the expectations of undergraduate study in the UK and how this differs from around the world to prepare you for further study.

Half of your Politics, Culture and Social Sciences foundation pathway will be shaped by you, depending on the combination of optional modules you decide to take. For example, you might choose to combine your study of liberal arts with economics or global politics, or decide to focus your learning on the social sciences and global politics or economics. There are six different module combinations that you can choose from on this pathway. 

Please note, students aiming to progress to Law will need to take the LNAT and complete an application via UCAS for university. 

This Politics, Culture and Social Sciences foundation pathway is a full-time, 120-credit programme. Students study four 30-credit modules. All students undertake a minimum of 15 hours of live, face-to-face study on the pathway, in addition to an average of 20 hours of self-study a week. This includes preparation for live sessions, homework, completion of assignments, revision and any other work set by your teachers.

The Politics, Culture and Social Sciences pathway is typically taught through a combination of lectures, seminars, and small group classes, which help you prepare for your undergraduate degree studies. Face-to-face teaching is complemented and supported by innovative technology with elements of digital learning and assessment embedded into the programme.

Every student is assigned a personal tutor. They will provide you with the regular opportunity to review your learning, academic progress and general well-being as you progress through your studies.

The nature of assessment varies by module. Most modules are assessed through a combination of coursework and final examinations. The type of assessment may include:

• Essays
• Exams
• Presentations
• Group assessments
• Online tests
• Coursework

See each module page for more details.

You will study the following modules on this pathway:

• English for Academic Purposes or Academic Expression & Critical Thinking*
• Culture & Society

You will choose two optional modules. The available module combinations are:

• Liberal Arts & Social Science
• Liberal Arts & Global Politics
• Liberal Arts & Economics
• Social Science & Global Politics
• Social Science & Economics
• Global Politics & Economics

*You will either study English for Scientific Academic Purposes or Academic Expression & Critical Thinking, depending on your level of English when you start the course.

All of the modules support your subject and linguistic skills development as they encourage you to analyse concepts and develop ideas in your chosen subject area.

Upon accepting an offer for the King’s International Foundation Programme, you are required to pay a deposit of £5,500 to secure your place by the deadline, which will be stated in your offer. If you do not pay the deposit or provide evidence of financial sponsorship by the deadline stated in your offer, your offer will expire, and King’s reserves the right not to reinstate the offer.

This deposit is payable when you firmly accept an offer (unconditional or conditional) to study with us and will be offset against your tuition fees when you join King’s.

Payments are made online through the King's Apply portal.

All students need to pay the deposit, with the exception of sponsored students. If you are being sponsored by an employer or your government, for example, you will need to provide a valid Financial Guarantee letter. Please contact our Admissions team if you have any questions.

Application fee: £75

Our King’s International Foundation Programmes require a non-refundable application fee before you can submit your application to be considered. This step is built into the application process. Please note that payment of an application fee does not guarantee that you will receive an offer for your chosen programme, as many of our programmes are competitive.

If you apply for a pathway and receive a rejection your application fee will not be refunded. If you then choose to apply for a different pathway you will need to pay another application fee.

Please note, applicants are only permitted to have one active King’s International Foundation Programme application at any time, therefore, if you submit more than one application, before the first one has been assessed, the King’s Admissions team will contact you to ask which application you wish to remain, and any other applications will be rejected. The application fee is non-refundable.

Please ensure that you carefully read the information about your chosen pathway and modules before applying.

Note: if you receive an offer, our King’s International Foundation Programme will also require a deposit to secure your place. This is in addition to the application fee; however, the deposit is used as a partial payment of the tuition fees upon enrolment. Your offer letter will include details of any deposit you must pay, deadlines, and payment methods. You should not make a deposit payment unless instructed to do so as part of an offer.

Find out more about how to apply for the International Foundation Programme.

In addition to your application and tuition fees, you can also expect to pay for:

• Accommodation and living costs
• Travel costs for travel around London and between campuses
• Books if you need your own copy or they are required for your module
• Library fees and fines
• Society membership fees
• Books if you choose to buy your own copies.
• Library fees and fines.
• Personal photocopies.
• Printing course handouts.
• Society membership fees.
• Stationery.
• Graduation costs.
• Travel costs for travel around London and between campuses.

Please see our student Terms and Conditions for further fee details, including our refund policy.