
"The courses in the IFP helped mould me into a mature adult with the appropriate knowledge and skill set to be successful in the 21st century."
The International Foundation Programme prepares you with the skills, knowledge, and experience you need to gain direct entry to undergraduate degrees. The programme’s world-class teaching is recognised globally. The IFP is one of the most widely accepted foundation programmes in the world.
You can receive local support from a local teaching centre, use the dropdown to find your nearest centre.
International Foundation Programme (IFP)
The International Foundation Programme consists of four elective courses.
When you complete the programme, you become eligible for many of our undergraduate programmes offered through the University of London. It is also widely accepted for undergraduate entry at other universities, including most universities in the UK and many in other countries.
Please note that other universities have their own application criteria and you should check with each university for their policies and application deadlines.
You must study the IFP at a Recognised Teaching Centre. It is not available for independent study.
You should contact your local centre directly for information on their start dates and schedules.
Find a Recognised Teaching Centre.
Your teaching centre will offer classes using materials written and designed by University of London academics.
Your programme resources also include:
We are committed to delivering an exceptional student experience for all of our students, regardless of which of our programmes you are studying and whether you are studying independently or with a Recognised Teaching Centre.
You will have access to support through:
The IFP can be completed one academic year at most teaching centres. Part-time study is offered at some teaching centres only.
Each Recognised Teaching Centre offers its own study schedule and term dates.
IFP courses are assessed by an unseen written examination. Candidates who pass all four courses are awarded the University of London International Foundation Certificate with a grade of 'Pass', 'Merit' or 'Distinction'.
Exams are held in late April/early May each year. You can sit these at a University of London examination centre. A fee is payable to the local examination centre.
Students who marginally fail one course are eligible to resit that examination in July of the same year.
To register for the International Foundation Programme, you will need to meet the following minimum criteria:
Some teaching centres require higher grades from applicants. Each teaching centre can advise you of their entry criteria.
Find equivalent qualifications where you live.
Even if you don't meet the standard requirements, we will consider each application on its own merits under our Special Admissions procedure.
We will need to see evidence that you have a good standard of English. This may include:
If you don't have this evidence but believe you can meet the standard, we may still consider your case.
Which proficiency tests do we accept?
We set minimum basic computer requirements because your study resources are accessed via the Student Portal and it is vital that you can access this regularly. For this programme, you will also need Adobe Flash Player to view video material and a media player (such as VLC) to play video files.
The fees below relate to the 2020-2021 session. They may increase by up to 5% per year.
The IFP is designed to be completed in one year, so we ask for the total fee of £2,080 when you register. If you need to extend your study period or resit any exams, some additional fees are payable.
Most teaching centres will make the necessary arrangements for your fees to be paid to the University of London.
You will also need to budget for:
Please note: all student fees shown are net of any local VAT, Goods and Services Tax (GST) or any other sales tax payable by the student in their country of residence. Where the University is required to add VAT, GST or any other sales tax at the local statutory rate, this will be added to the fees shown during the payment process. For students resident in the UK, our fees are exempt from VAT.
Most UK universities accept the International Foundation Programme for entry to many of their courses.
Students who have completed the programme have gone on to study with the University of London in the UK or in their home country and at many other institutions in the UK and around the world.
Offers made to our 2017/18 graduates.
In some countries, University of London qualifications earned may not be recognised by certain authorities or regulators for the purposes of public sector employment or further study. We advise you to find out more about local recognition status before you register.
Lynne Roberts is Director of the International Foundation Programme. She has over 20 years of experience as a lecturer, academic adviser, educational developer and head of learning and teaching at Russell Group Universities in the UK. She holds qualifications from the Institute of Education (Education, Gender and International Development) and Cambridge (Teaching).
Chris New is Deputy Director of the International Foundation Programme. He is an alumnus of the London School of Economics and Political Science (Cognitive Anthropology), Goldsmiths (Teaching) and University of the Arts London. Chris’s role involves programme and curriculum development, international teacher training and support for teaching centres.
There may be additional sources of support for the IFP depending on where you live and how you choose to study.