Foundation Year in Business
Why choose this course?
The Foundation Year in Business takes place the year before your degree. It will provide you with a solid grounding in business knowledge and essential study skills in preparation for your degree.
Upon successful completion of this foundation year you will progress to Year 1 of your chosen degree programme.
This course is taught at Kingston College. Kingston College is located within 5 minutes of the University's Penrhyn Road campus. You will be able to take advantage of Kingston University's facilities, such as study skills classes, the library and leisure facilities.
| Attendance | UCAS code | Year of entry |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year full time | UCAS codes are included on the relevant webpage for the course you would like to study | 2020 |
| Location | Kingston College |
Reasons to choose Kingston University
- A stepping-stone onto your chosen BSc degree course
- Prepares you with a foundation business knowledge whilst developing key academic skills
- You'll gain all of the benefits of being a Kingston University student
What you will study
The year-long foundation year is made up of four modules.
Foundation year
You will cover the professional and personal skills required for business; numerical concepts and IT skills of use in business; an introduction to marketing and customer care; and an introduction to the principal areas of English law that may be encountered in business
Core modules
Professional and Personal Skills for Business
30 credits
This module focuses on giving you a strong foundation of academic and transferable skills alongside your business modules. It also provides you with an opportunity to develop life-long learning and personal development skills. The module provides a bridge between the wide range of study experiences of students at Level 3 and the demands of successful study at level 4. The early part of the module will aim to develop the essential study skills that will be required to be successful on all the modules of the Foundation year.
As the module develops you will start to evidence those skills also in the context of your future career and learn how to build your employability, both for your own self-awareness, as well as for recruitment and selection activities you may face for placements and graduate employment. You will have the opportunity to apply your learning in a practical way working as part of a group on a business projects and problems.
A wide range of both formative and summative assessment methods are used in the module. These include a portfolio of skills and a short capstone project culminating in a poster presentation which will use the skills developed in this module, alongside the subject material in other modules, to consider a topical issue related to your chosen degree pathway.
The personal tutorial system for the foundation year is incorporated within this module.
Applying Business Numerical Concepts
30 credits
This module is designed to provide the basics of mathematics, statistics and finance relating to business. This requires revisiting basic mathematics, basic statistics, basic use of spreadsheets (Microsoft Excel) and developing an understanding of some basic accounting concepts. The module will be delivered using a problem-centric approach emphasising the basic application of mathematical techniques and accounting concepts with a strong emphasis placed on the use of information technology to handle and process numerical data within a business context.
Introduction to Business Law
30 credits
The aim of this module is to give you a general understanding of the principal areas of English law that may be encountered in business. The module is to give you an introduction to how business law is made. You will be introduced to possible business liabilities under criminal and civil law, the main methods of resolving business disputes including the court system of England and Wales and alternative methods of dispute resolution. You will learn what constitutes an enforceable contract and what happens if one party fails to perform their part of the contract. You will learn some of the basic principles of employment law and the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees in the workplace.
Marketing & Customer Care
30 credits
This module provides students with an introduction to Marketing and Customer Care. Students will gain an appreciation of the core concepts in the field of marketing and customer care, and the module will allow students to apply this knowledge in their assignments. The module will allow students to consider the role of marketing and customer service within different types of organisations (both non-profit and profit-making).
The information above reflects the currently intended course structure and module details. Updates may be made on an annual basis and revised details will be published through Programme Specifications ahead of each academic year. The regulations governing this course are available on our website. If we have insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module, this may not be offered.
Entry requirements
Teaching and assessment
Collaborative and group work activities are key components of the teaching and learning strategy in most modules of the programme, in some cases these are provide opportunities for summative assessment. Effective group work is considered a vital skill for success both within the students' intended degree routes but in the wider context of employability.
Who teaches this course?
You will be taught by staff at Kingston College. Their lecturing staff are well qualified and bring a wealth of current commercial experience to the programme, Lecturing staff with significant work experience will expose students to current business developments, whilst industry guest speakers provide additional opportunities to relate these to practice.
Why take a foundation year?
If you would like to study a business degree at Kingston University but are not yet ready to join the first year of a BSc (Hons) course then you may want to consider studying with a foundation year.
There are many routes onto the foundation year. It may be that you:
- are expecting to meet the entry requirements needed for the foundation year
- or may not have received the grades required for direct entry onto the first year of your chosen BA/BSc programme
- or you have been away from education for a period of time and would like an introduction back into study prior to taking your degree.
Whatever the reason, this option will prepare you for the transition onto your chosen degree programme.
Course fees and funding
After this course
Upon successful completion of this foundation year you will progress to Year 1 of your chosen degree programme.
