Will I have to do exams on a foundation year?

You may have exams during your foundation year, depending on your chosen subject pathway. Some pathways have no exams, while science, computing, engineering, physics and mathematics pathways may include maths or physics exams. These are set by university teaching staff and are designed for foundation year students.

Exams by pathway

Assessment support

Reasonable adjustments may be available if you have additional assessment needs. These could include extra time, a quieter exam space or adapted presentation arrangements.

Extensions or further assessment attempts may also be available if illness or exceptional circumstances affect your studies.

Passing the foundation year

To pass the foundation year, you must achieve an average mark of at least 40% in each of the six modules. Once you have passed, you will progress directly to Year One of your degree without needing to reapply through UCAS.

If you do not pass all six modules at the first attempt, you will have opportunities to complete reassessments during the third trimester, over the summer, so you can catch up and progress in September.

Other types of assessments

You will complete a range of assessments throughout the first and second trimesters to ensure the workload is manageable. The types of assessments on foundation year are varied across the modules, such as:

• Essays
• Reports
• Presentations
• Lab reports
• In-class tests
• Exams
• Short answer questions
• Multiple choice quizzes
• Academic posters

Where appropriate in your modules, we encourage you to tailor your assignments to topics which you are passionate about. Each assessment allows you to challenge yourself and learn about topics of interest to you, as well as demonstrate key academic skills.

You can find out more about the entry requirements of your programme by seeing all courses that offer foundation year here.

Not sure what your UCAS Tariff Points are? Have a look at the UCAS Tariff Calculator.