2.5-Term Pathway - Foundation Certificate in Social Sciences - Continue to Bachelor of Arts (Honours) - International Relations and Modern Languages (Year Abroad)

Program Description For students who've finished high school but don’t meet the entry requirements for university, a Foundation Certificate can help them gain entry to an undergraduate degree. After completing this pathway option students qualify for progression to the 1st year of an undergraduate degree at the University of Essex.

A student’s course length is determined mainly by their English language level (UKVI IELTS score). Students on all course lengths take a set of common or similar modules to gain a solid base of skills for university. Students taking a course longer than 2 terms, will take additional modules designed to improve one or more of their English language level, academic skills, and basic knowledge of particular subjects.

Bachelor of Arts (Honours) - International Relations and Language Studies

Politics and political events dominate domestic and international news, impacting on our day-to-day lives as well as shaping the future. Beginning with an overview of international relations in the first year, from global political economy to studies of conflict of security, students then have a choice of topics to explore, such as:

• Comparative politics • International political economy • Political theory • Politics of the Middle East

Students also study up to two of the languages offered at Essex: French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, completing at least one language to Mastery level. Each of these languages is widely used in the business world, and can take students to a level of near-fluency. Many graduates go on to develop successful global careers with international firms looking for language specialists.

Essex is a place where talented students become part of an academic community in which the majority of research is rated ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’, placing them firmly within the top 10 departments in the UK (REF 2014). They are also ranked among the top 40 departments on the planet according to the QS World [University] Rankings [2018] for politics and international studies.