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The details below are an archive and relate only to 2023 entry. Applications for entry in 2023 are now closed.
For 2024 entry criteria, visit Eligibility and How to Apply. The below is not relevant to applications for 2024 entry.
The Engineering Foundation Year programme is for students who are traditionally underrepresented at UCL. In order to apply for the Engineering Foundation Year you need to fulfil academic criteria and eligibility criteria.
Bursaries and scholarships will be available and we will also direct you to other funding opportunities.
Entry Requirements
As an applicant of the Engineering Foundation Year, your educational background means that you are unable to apply for direct entry to an engineering undergraduate programme at UCL.
We require 100 UCAS points from the list of acceptable educational qualifications below, with no specific subject requirements:
• A Levels, which can be combined with other qualifications from this list
• International Baccalaureate Diploma
• Access to HE Diploma
• BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma
• Scottish Advanced Highers
• Cambridge Pre-U Principal Subjects
• Welsh Baccalaureate
• T-Levels
GCSEs
English Language and Mathematics at grade C or 5 for applicants who have studied GCSEs in the UK.
English Language Requirements
The English language level for this programme is: Level 1
A variety of English language programmes are offered at the UCL Centre for Languages & International Education.
Eligibility Criteria
You must be attending/have attended a UK state school for A Levels/IB Diploma (unless you have refugee status) and live in an area that has a high level of financial, social or economic deprivation, or low progression to higher education.
We will also look at personal circumstances that have impacted your education. For example, you could be:
• a care experienced applicant, aged under 25 on your first day at UCL
• a young carer, aged 20 or under on your first day at UCL, with ongoing caring responsibilities for a family member with a chronic illness
• currently estranged from your family for at least one year, and aged under 25 on your first day at UCL
• a mature student
• you have refugee status or Humanitarian Protection in the UK or you are currently an asylum seeker in the UK
• you have experienced a gap of more than one year (for example leaving school at 16 but returning to complete a Level 3 qualifications after several years in work).
If you want to discuss your eligibility in terms of these entry requirements, please contact the Engineering Foundation Year team on efy@ucl.ac.uk
Definitions
- Mature Applicants
If you will be aged 21 or over by 1st October in the year in which you apply you classify as a mature student. You will still need to meet the postcode criteria, however, some aspects may be difficult to assess due to the lack of historic data sets. We will take into account any relevant experience (for example work or voluntary experience) and will look at each application individually.
- Care Experienced Applicants
If you are a care experienced applicant and under 25 on your first day at UCL, you are eligible for the EFY. You could have attended a UK state or independent school. For EFY purposes, we define someone as care experienced if they have been looked after by a local authority or been in kinship care as a formal agreement with the local authority, for three months in their life. The months do not need to be consecutive.
Please make sure you tick the 'time in care' box on your UCAS form. We may contact you via email to verify your care experience.- Young adult carers
If you are a young adult carer you may be eligible for the EFY. A young adult carer is someone whose life is adversely affected by caring for a family member who has a chronic illness. You must meet the following requirements:
be aged 20 or under on your first day at UCL, attend/have attended a UK state school for your A levels or IB Diploma,Please contact us to verify your young adult carer status, prior to a decision on your application.
- your caring responsibilities must be ongoing.
- Applicants who are estranged from their family
If you are permanently estranged from your family and have been for at least a year, you may be eligible for the foundation year. You must be aged under 25 on your first day at UCL and have attended a UK state school for your A levels or IB Diploma.
Please contact us to verify your estranged status, prior to a decision on your application.
Read our definition and guidance for estranged students
If you want to discuss your eligibility in terms of these entry requirements, please contact efy@ucl.ac.uk
Application Process
UCAS
Applications for the Engineering Foundation Year should be made through UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service). If you are currently at school or college, you should be given some advice on the UCAS process. If you have left school, you can gain further guidance directly from UCAS.
What you should include
UCAS has a section in the application so you can share more information about your circumstances. In that section, state briefly which of the eligibility criteria you meet. In your personal statement discuss why you would like to apply for the Engineering Foundation Year and what your future ambitions are.
Selection
After your application has been reviewed, you may be invited to an assessment day to do a group activity and to meet members of the Engineering Foundation Year team at UCL. When you do the group activity at this assessment day, we will be looking to see how you work with other people, and how you think in order to undertake the activity. You won’t be tested on knowledge, but rather on how you approach a challenge.