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International Foundation Year in Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities
The International Foundation Year in Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities is designed to prepare you for the first year of your undergraduate degree at Royal Holloway. This is a fast-paced, three-term foundation programme, specifically designed for international students interested in beginning their international education journey.

What you will study
The programme consists of core and pathway-specific modules. The core modules will improve your academic and English language skills, while the pathway-specific ones will build specific knowledge about your progression degree.

Once you have successfully completed your International Foundation Year and achieved the required progression grades, you will be well-equipped to start your undergraduate degree at Royal Holloway.

Leading to: Philosophy BA

Are you looking to make sense of the world around you and to understand your place in it? Do you have a curious and inquisitive mind and are looking for a subject that teaches you how to think clearly and question perceptively, one that will sharpen your analytical skills and critical thinking? If so, then Philosophy is for you.

At Royal Holloway we have a unique approach to the subject that looks beyond the narrow confines of the Anglo-American analytic or the European tradition of philosophy focus on both traditions, their relationship and connections between them. The result has been the creation of a truly interdisciplinary and collaborative course that brings together academic staff from departments across the university.

Based in the Department of Politics and International Relations and Philosophy, academic staff are not only dedicated teachers of the subject but also experts and published authorities in their fields. Departmental specialisms include a wide range of philosophical topics such as ancient and Hellenistic philosophy, 19th and 20th Century European philosophy and contemporary analytic philosophy and American pragmatism.

In addition to lectures and seminars, as a new student, you will meet weekly in small tutorial groups with a member of the philosophy staff to discuss a piece of work you have been set and to evaluate the essays you have written. This helps develop the kind of critical and personal skills you’ll need both for higher-level academic work and for your future career. This three-year degree course will help you to develop your understanding of key philosophical texts; acquire critical, analytical and group-working skills; hone your skill in philosophical argument; learn to understand the differing assumptions which inform central philosophical traditions.

Plus, with the opportunity to examine (amongst other things) the mind and consciousness, aesthetics and morals, the self and others, the range of subjects available to Philosophy students at Royal Holloway guarantees that there will be something on offer that really engages you during your time with us.

So, by choosing to study this intellectually demanding discipline you will develop a broad range of highly prized transferable skills, such as:

• the ability to communicate views and present arguments clearly and coherently
• the ability to critically digest, analyse and summarise complex ideas
• time management and the discipline to meet deadlines
• organisation and research skills
• problem-solving skills and capability
• A historical range from ancient to contemporary analytic philosophy.
• Can be combined with another subject in a wide range of joint honours courses.
• Develop critical skills for your career or further study.
• Weekly small tutorial groups.

From time to time, we make changes to our courses to improve the student and learning experience. If we make a significant change to your chosen course, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.
Course structure