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Engineering Foundation Year

London, Stratford (UCL East)
Engineering Foundation Year (2024)

Study mode

Full-time

Duration

1 academic year

1+3 academic years (BEng) or 1+4 academic years (MEng)

UK tuition fees (2024/25)

£6,000

Overseas tuition fees (2024/25)

Not applicable

Programme starts

September 2025

Application deadline

29 Jan 2025

UCAS course code

The UCAS codes for the integrated Engineering foundation degrees you can apply to are listed in the Next steps section (below).

Apply via UCAS

Entry requirements

UCAS Points
100

Accepted Qualifications
Any combination of the qualifications listed below, with no specific subject requirements. You should have studied for these qualifications at a UK state school:

A levels
International Baccalaureate Diploma
Access to HE Diploma – preferably related to an engineering discipline
BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma – preferably related to an engineering discipline
Scottish Advanced Highers
Cambridge Pre-U Principal Subjects
Welsh Baccalaureate
T Levels

Other Level 3 qualifications that confer UCAS points, may still be considered but could be less competitive. You can contact the Engineering Foundation Year team to see how these will be assessed.

You will not be eligible if you have completed a Level 4 qualification or higher (for example, a Higher National Certificate) or more than one year of an undergraduate degree.

GCSEs
Currently, the GCSE entry requirements are C or 4 in both GCSE English Language and Mathematics. The grade requirement for Mathematics is under review and may be subject to change. Once this has been confirmed, this notice will be updated.

Notes
If you are a mature applicant or forced migrant and do not have the qualifications listed above, please contact us at efy@ucl.ac.uk before submitting your application, providing the full title of your qualifications, the country in which you studied, and the grade(s) you achieved.

The Engineering Foundation Year is intended for students who would not otherwise be able to study at UCL. If your predicted or actual grades would make you eligible for direct entry to Year 1 of the direct entry programme, including through the Access UCL Scheme, we will not consider your application and may transfer it for consideration to the direct entry programme.

If you are admitted to the Engineering Foundation Year and subsequently achieve grades that would have been sufficient for the direct entry programme, this will not mean you can transfer to Year 1 of the direct entry programme instead of taking the Engineering Foundation Year.

Eligibility for UK/home fee status
Applicants to the Engineering Foundation Year must be eligible to pay UK fees as determined by UCL Admissions. This particular programme is part of UCL’s commitment to increase diversity in the student cohort, aiming to address discrepancies in the take-up of higher education opportunities between different underrepresented groups of UK students. If you are not eligible for UK fees you may wish to consider UCL's International Foundation Year.

UCL reserves the right to determine this at any point in the application process, and if determined to be overseas, the application will no longer be considered.

Personal and socioeconomic circumstances
In addition to meeting the academic entry requirements, you must meet one of the criteria in Group One, or two of the criteria in Group Two.

Important: UCL Admissions review and where necessary update definitions to the below criteria annually. Applications for 2025 entry will be assessed based on the review due in September 2024. Once this review has taken place, this notice (and if necessary, the definitions) will be updated.

Group One

Care experienced
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. You must be under 25 on your first day at UCL.

Forced Migrant
We use the term 'forced migrant' to mean one of the following:

Refugee
Asylum seeker
Those who have been granted a temporary form of leave as the result of an asylum or human rights application (e.g. limited leave to remain, discretionary leave to remain, humanitarian protection, UASC leave).

We will assess applications from forced migrants on a case-by-case basis.

Mature student
Those who are 21 or older on the day they start their first undergraduate degree.

We will assess applications from mature students on a case-by-case basis, taking into account your work experience.

Group 2

Young carer
A young carer must be aged 20 or under on first day of their proposed study at UCL. A young carer is someone whose life is adversely affected by providing substantial care for a parent or guardian (that they live with) who has a chronic illness or condition. Their care responsibilities should be ongoing.

Estranged
UCL’s definition of estrangement is not communicating with or receiving support from any and all family members. This will apply if an applicant is permanently estranged from their family (not just parents) and has been for at least a year. This does not apply to single-parent families, as you are still in contact with one parent. You must be under 25 on your first day at UCL.

Note: If you have been in local authority care, you may be considered ‘care experienced’ rather than ‘estranged’.

Educational gap
Applicants who have experienced an educational 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). Deferred or ‘gap’ years between school and university are not considered under this criterion.

Eligibility for Free School Meals
England: Applicants who were known to be eligible for free school meals at the end of Key Stage 4 (Year 11) and/or six years prior to this point.

Northern Ireland: Applicants who were known to be eligible for free school meals in the 6 years prior to Year 12.

Wales: Applicants who were known to be eligible for free school meals between the start of Year 11 and the January five years prior to this.

Postcode Eligibility
Applicants who live in an area that has a high level of financial, social or economic deprivation, or low progression to higher education.

UCL use the Index of Multiple of Deprivation and Acorn data to identify levels of financial, social or economic deprivation. We use POLAR classification to look at how likely young people are to participate in higher education across the UK.

Check your eligibility

Important: UCL Admissions review and where necessary update definitions associated with eligibility criteria annually. Applications for 2025 entry will be assessed based on the review due in September 2024. Once this review has taken place, this notice (and if necessary, the associated definitions) will be updated.

English language requirements

The English language level for this programme is: Level 1

Information about the evidence required, acceptable qualifications and test providers can be found on our English language requirements page.

A variety of English language programmes are offered at the UCL Centre for Languages & International Education.

Course overview

Our Engineering Foundation Year is designed for students who do not meet the standard requirements for entry at UCL and want to spend one year developing professional and personal skills alongside core academic content. This is an opportunity to start a future in engineering.

This will help you to develop confidence, academic and study skills and gain subject-specific knowledge. The Engineering Foundation Year enables you to take hold of your potential and will prepare you for one of our specialist engineering undergraduate programmes.

For students wanting to stretch themselves intellectually while needing to gain, or refresh, their fundamental skills before continuing onto Year 1 of an undergraduate engineering degree, this programme is ideal. It is designed to support your individual needs to enable long-term development and success rather than focusing on short-term achievement.

What this course will give you

If you have aspirations to become an engineer but do not have the qualifications for direct entry at UCL, this is an opportunity to transform your future. You'll learn the foundational knowledge to solving real-world engineering problems, benefiting from a teaching framework that is at the heart of engineering education across UCL.

If you pass the Engineering Foundation Year, you will be able to continue directly onto one of the participating undergraduate degree programmes at the UCL Faculty of Engineering; you won't need to reapply. We’ll provide significant extra support to help you pass the programme. If you don’t pass, we’re in touch with other prestigious universities in London and the South East where you may be able to continue your studies. For those who want to go straight to work at the end of this programme, our careers service will support you.

You will gain an education from a world renowned, Russell Group university. UCL is ranked 8th in the world and 4th in both Europe and the UK (QS World University Rankings 2023). This programme is based at the brand new, purpose-built UCL East campus, providing cutting edge facilities and a focus on using knowledge to bring about real world impact.

Teaching and learning

During the foundation year, you will take a number of individual modules. The modules are not credit-bearing. However, the volume of work is comparable to a 120-credit year. Modules are assessed in the academic year in which they are taken.

Upon successful completion of the foundation year, you can progress to your chosen undergraduate Engineering programme at UCL.

Modules

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability is subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

The programme is not designed to replicate any of the material taught in the first year of engineering degrees; rather, it is designed to prepare you for university learning experiences, to instil academic confidence, boost academic and study skills and provide you with a strong base of knowledge to allow you to thrive in the programme of your choice. Hence, a core element is the supportive environment created including wraparound support.

In this programme, students will cover relevant A level material with a strong emphasis on developing professional and personal skills that are necessary for a university course and beyond. The core science content will be taught using problem-based learning (PBL) – an approach that has been shown to enhance student engagement with the material, leading to improved learning. The programme will consist of taught strands that connect with project-based activities.

You will study three compulsory modules during the Engineering Foundation Year. You need to pass all three to complete the programme. There are no optional or elective modules.

Compulsory modules

Engineering Design Project

Engineering Design and Professional Skills

Introduction to Engineering Mathematics and Science

These are the programmes you may enter after successfully completing your Engineering Foundation Year.

Your learning

The foundation year develops the fundamental knowledge necessary for studying engineering at degree level while at the same time developing academic and professional skills to give you a flying start. The material on this programme is taught using a variety of methods, including small group work, problem-based teaching, workshops, labs and other practical activities to support student learning. The modules are blended by design to provide flexibility with a high level of tutorial and pastoral support to ensure the best chances of success.

Typical contact hours and hours of self-directed study include:

Engineering Design Project: 600 learning hours, which consist of 170 contact/ laboratory hours and 430 study hours
Engineering Design and Professional Skills: 300 learning hours, which consist of 120 contact/ laboratory hours and 180 study hours
Introduction to Engineering Mathematics and Science: 300 learning hours, which consist of 100 contact/ laboratory hours and 200 study hours

Assessment

Assessment methods include exams, work portfolios, quizzes, peer grading, and practical activities.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing team.

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The foundation of your career

The Engineering Foundation Year is your first step towards an exciting future in engineering. UCL engineering graduates are recognised as some of the most talented globally and go onto a range of workplaces. The diverse nature of engineering means careers are possible in robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), designing structures such as skyscrapers and bridges, developing new materials for building, medicine or clothing, energy and sustainable transport, creating spacecraft and satellites, and much more.

A career-focused programme that has the potential to turn you into a sought-after, well-paid professional engineer, the Engineering Foundation Year is an opportunity for you to reshape your future.

Employability

Gaining an education in engineering is about teaching you how to think, not what to think, and this ethos is engrained in the Engineering Foundation Year. This means that you will gain plenty of hands-on experience to shape your real-world problem-solving skills, through our Integrated Engineering Programme model. Ultimately, this programme is about giving you the right knowledge and study skills to be able to confidently embark on an undergraduate degree in the UCL Faculty of Engineering by the end of the year. You may wish to check the graduate outcomes of your chosen undergraduate degree on its prospectus. Even if you do not continue your studies at UCL, you will walk away with a range of new skills essential for future employment in a range of fields.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

Fee description	Full-time
Tuition fees (2024/25)	£6,000
Tuition fees (2024/25)	Not applicable

The fees indicated are for undergraduate entry in the 2024/25 academic year. The UK fees shown are for the first year of the programme at UCL only. Fees for future years may be subject to an inflationary increase. The Overseas fees shown are the fees that will be charged to 2024/25 entrants for each year of study on the programme, unless otherwise indicated below.

The Foundation Year is £6,000 and fees for the Undergraduate programme are £9,250 per year.

Full details of UCL's tuition fees, tuition fee policy and potential increases to fees can be found on the UCL Students website.

Additional costs

During the Engineering Foundation Year, students may be given the option to go on a small number of day trips within London. The only costs will be transport and, should you wish to buy it on the trip, food. However, generally, if these trips occur, they will replace a day of teaching at UCL. Additional costs for the programme you intend to continue onto can be found on its prospectus.

A guide including rough estimates for these and other living expenses is included on the UCL Fees and funding pages. If you are concerned by potential additional costs for books, equipment, etc., please get in touch with the relevant departmental contact (details given on this page).

Funding your studies

Engineering Foundation Year students will be given the option to apply for means-tested bursaries. The invitation to apply is usually sent to offer-holders via email.

Various funding options are available, including student loans, scholarships and bursaries. UK students whose household income falls below a certain level may also be eligible for a non-repayable bursary or for certain scholarships. Please see the Fees and funding pages for more details.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

Scholarships

The Scholarships and Funding website lists scholarships and funding schemes available to UCL students. These may be open to all students, or restricted to specific nationalities, regions or academic department.

Next steps

Your application

The Engineering Foundation Year is designed to address educational disadvantage. We will consider broad range of possible educational backgrounds, and applications will be reviewed and assessed carefully against academic and eligibility criteria.

On the UCAS application form, please tick the boxes that ask about personal circumstances if they apply to you – we use this to check if you meet our non-academic eligibility criteria, which you can find under 'Entry requirements' on this prospectus. In addition, please include why you would like to study engineering and what your future ambitions are.

We are looking for students who are interested in problem-solving, looking at things from multiple perspectives and enjoy making links between different engineering disciplines. You will have an enthusiasm for engineering, but perhaps you have been away from education for a while, not achieved the grades required for direct entry to UCL’s undergraduate engineering programmes, or have so far undertaken subjects or qualifications that do not typically allow entry to engineering programmes.

How to apply

Application for admission should be made through UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service). Applicants currently at school or college will be provided with advice on the process; however, applicants who have left school or who are based outside the United Kingdom may obtain information directly from UCAS.

You should apply for the relevant Engineering programme you wish to progress to after you’ve successfully completed the foundation year. The list of options are:

Biochemical Engineering with Integrated Foundation Year BEng - FY01
Biochemical Engineering with Integrated Foundation Year MEng - FY03
Biomedical Engineering with Integrated Foundation Year BEng - FY24
Biomedical Engineering with Integrated Foundation Year MEng - FY23
Chemical Engineering with Integrated Foundation Year BEng - FY04
Chemical Engineering with Integrated Foundation Year MEng - FY06
Civil Engineering with Integrated Foundation Year BEng - FY09
Civil Engineering with Integrated Foundation Year MEng - FY10
Computer Science with Integrated Foundation Year BSc - FY12
Computer Science with Integrated Foundation Year MEng - FY13
Electronic and Electrical Engineering with Integrated Foundation Year BEng - FY17
Electronic and Electrical Engineering with Integrated Foundation Year MEng - FY18
Mechanical Engineering with Integrated Foundation Year BEng - FY21
Mechanical Engineering with Integrated Foundation Year MEng - FY22
Mechanical Engineering with Business Finance with Integrated Foundation Year MEng - FY25
Robotics and Artificial Intelligence with Integrated Foundation Year MEng - FY26
Science and Engineering for Social Change with Integrated Foundation Year BSc - FY27

Selection

For further information on UCL's selection process see: How we assess your application.

After your application has been reviewed, if we wish to take your application forward you will be invited to an assessment day in winter/spring 2025, where you will meet members of the Engineering Foundation Year team at UCL. You won’t be tested on knowledge; rather, on how you approach a challenge. Attendance is required in order to be considered for an offer for study.

The UCL Admissions Office may contact you seeking evidence for some of the personal circumstances you indicate on your UCAS application form. For more information, please visit the Engineering Foundation Year website.