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Humanities Foundation

Humanities Foundation 

Choose to study humanities and you'll learn how people process and document the human experience. Study philosophy, literature, religion, art, music, history and language. Humanities researchers are increasingly playing a part in developing new technology too. You can study our Humanities Foundation at our Brighton College. Brighton is a forward-thinking, modern city by the sea. It offers students a safe, vibrant and dynamic place to explore their ideas and study.

Students study up to 27 hours per week in class. All students on the Foundation programme study four core modules plus modules tailored for Humanities students. The core Foundation modules develop academic and English language skills.

Where will this Foundation take me?

Our Foundation students have gone to university to study subjects including psychology, media, international relations, politics, geography, English literature and other related fields.

Destination universities

You can explore a selection of university destinations that Foundation students can choose from here.

Foundation key facts

Minimum age: 16.5+
Course length 3 or 3.5 terms
Start dates: September, October, January. See term dates
Entry requirements: Satisfactory completion of secondary or high school education. 4 GCSEs at C or above.
English language requirements: IELTS 4.5, or IELTS 5.0 for a January start.
Location: Brighton
Tuition fees per term: Brighton: £7,120

Prepare for Foundation in October (3.5 term)

Start in October and you will have an extra one half of a term to prepare for the Foundation programme in January. You will receive extra English classes, extra university guidance and have more time to develop study skills.

Course modules

Cognitive, Social and Media Psychology

Cognitive, Social and Media Psychology: Cognitive psychology will teach you about the structure of human memory, models of memory and strategies for memory improvement. Social psychology will look at the explanations for aggressive behaviour and aggression in crowds. Study either a) the psychology of addiction, models of addictive behaviour, vulnerability factors in addiction and types of intervention, or b) Media psychology, the role of persuasion and attitude change in decision-making, influence of TV on persuasion and the psychology of celebrity.

Approaches to Psychology, Research Methods and Ethics

Approaches to Psychology, Research Methods and Ethics: Gain an understanding of different approaches to psychology, its research methods and ethics; study theoretical ways of approaching psychology, as well as practical ways of conducting investigations in psychology; learn to plan, produce and evaluate research methods; design your own research study and how to conduct them; learn ways to collect, analyse and present data. Look at the British Code of Ethics in psychology when doing research. Learning includes various ethical considerations in the types of research.

Physiological Psychology

Physiological Psychology: Learn to understand stress and the psychological stress response, stress-related illness and the immune system, factors that mediate stress, ways of coping with the stress response, methods of stress management, and abnormal psychology. Learn about eating disorders and either schizophrenia or depression, their classification and diagnosis as well as explanations for these disorders.

Research Methods and Families and Households

This will introduce you to the various research techniques used by sociologists. You'll be able to check and analyse both quantitative and qualitative data. You'll assess their utility for studying a sociological issues and different groups of people. This gives you an in-depth understanding of the role of the family in contemporary society. You'll study the changes to the nature of family life. These include childhood, home roles and the size and structure of families and households. You'll study recent developments in society and the impact on the family.

Mass Media and Globalisation

Gain an understanding of both the debate between ownership and control of the media and media effects. Perform an in-depth analysis of the issues around the various competing interest groups who have differing levels of control over the output of the media. This includes the owner, the editors and journalists and the audience. Analyse the power of the content of the media over the behaviour of the audience and the various sociological theories related to this issue. Perform a detailed analysis of the three main processes of globalisation: political, economic and cultural. You'll evaluate the benefits and potentially negative impacts of globalisation in both developing and western societies.

Deviant and Criminal Behaviour

Learn about and develop skills to evaluate a range of explanations for criminal and deviant behaviour in society. You'll look at the patterns of criminality in society in relation to gender, class, age and ethnic differences. Consider the usefulness of statistical data when examining these patterns. You'll do a piece of independent coursework, worth 25 per cent of the total mark for this module.

Core modules

Foundation English Skills 1

Develop the ability to read academic texts, write short academic texts, take notes from written and oral sources and use spoken English to discuss a variety of topics.

Foundation English Skills 2

Improve all the abilities in FES1, developing greater accuracy, speed, cohesion, organisation and presentation.

Foundation English Skills 3

Develop academic English skills for university. This continually assessed course module includes an extended research essay based on an aspect of British culture, debates and discussions, listening, note-taking and summarising as well as oral presentation.

Computer Information Technology

Improving IT literacy and creativity using MS Office, Business and Media applications; develop internet research skills.

GCSEs

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GCSEs are taken as a course of study before taking A levels or a Foundation pathway. Our GCSE Pathway programme offers students from the age of 14 years an early opportunity to establish the language, learning and cultural skills they need to succeed in the highly competitive world of higher education.

A Levels

Bellerbys Cambridge students in a Foundation Media class at the College

A Levels are British qualifications, accepted by all universities in the UK and recognised in the USA and Australia. Students who are with us for five or six terms will typically study up to four A Levels. This gives you a world of choice. Students typically study three or four subjects with exams at the end of two years.

Foundation

Bellerbys London Star Student Mark Lee

A one-year course for international students that builds specialist subject knowledge and language and study skills. It is more focussed than A Levels making it good preparation for university. It is recognised for entry onto a range of degree programmes at more than 70 universities in the UK.