Standard Foundation Program is a pre-university program that prepares you for undergraduate study at UNSW. You will improve your English language and academic skills, while the stream you choose will prepare you specifically for your chosen degree. The added support you'll receive in the Foundation Studies program will give you the skills to be prepared for your next step as an undergraduate student at UNSW Sydney.

STREAMS

Arts & Social Sciences Stream

Explore big ideas and critical social issues. The Arts & Social Sciences stream is designed for students planning on studying a degree within the UNSW Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture. This stream can lead you to a range of degrees including International Studies, Languages, Media, Education, Arts, Social Work, Criminology, Social Science, Music, Humanities and more.

Modules:
Academic English Humanities
Computing for Business
Culture and Communication
International Issues and Perspectives
Management
Essentials of Mathematics

Commerce or Actuarial Studies Stream

Make it your business to be the best. The Commerce stream is designed for students planning on studying a degree in Business, Accounting, Economics and Arts. The Actuarial Studies stream is for students with higher mathematical ability and intending to progress to a Bachelor of Actuarial Studies.

Modules:
Academic English Humanities
Accounting
Business Law
Computing for Business
Economics
Management
Mathematics for Commerce (Commerce Stream only)
Mathematics for Science (Actuarial Stream only)

Design & Architecture Stream

Create a world the way you see it. The Design & Architecture stream is designed for students planning on studying a degree within the UNSW Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture. This stream can lead you to a range of degrees including Architectural Studies, Interior or Landscape Architecture, Industrial Design, Design, Art Theory, Fine Arts, Planning, Construction Management and more. 

Modules:
Academic English
Computing for Design
Culture and Communication
Design
Essentials of Mathematics

Physical or Life Science Stream

Feed your curiosity and change the world. Offering two paths, the Physical Science stream is designed for students wishing to undertake an Engineering or Science degree, while the Life Science stream is designed for people wanting to progress to a Biological or Health Science degree. This stream is for students with a higher mathematical ability and can take you to a broad range of degrees, including Engineering, Medicine, Aviation, Medical Science, Health & Exercise Science, Psychology and more.

Modules:
Academic English
Computing for Science
Biology (Life Science Stream only)
Chemistry
Mathematics for Science
Physics (Physical Science Stream only)

Modules

Academic English

Foundation Academic English will strengthen your abilities in reading, listening, writing and speaking, setting you up for university study. This course also covers academic skills including presentation and discussion, research and reporting, group work, annotated bibliography, and self-reflection. Working with others, you’ll improve your teamwork, decision making, cognitive flexibility and cross-cultural understanding.

*IELTS skills level (or equivalent) required for entry into the Foundation Studies program you are enrolled in.

Academic English Humanities

Foundation Academic English will strengthen your abilities in reading, listening, writing and speaking, setting you up for university study. This course also covers academic skills including presentation and discussion, research and reporting, group work, annotated bibliography, and self-reflection. Working with others, you’ll improve your teamwork, decision making, cognitive flexibility and cross-cultural understanding.

*IELTS skills level (or equivalent) required for entry into the Foundation Studies program you are enrolled in.

Accounting

This course is designed to help you understand the basics in language, skills, concepts and relationships of general accounting. You will learn to analyse and communicate accounting information responsibly, and develop a capacity for problem solving, understanding how a business is run and the role accounting plays in decision making.

Biology

This course will give you a range of knowledge and skills required for further study in Life Science. You will develop a knowledge of the language and basic ideas of biology; learn and apply established scientific laws, theories and concepts; and be able to use the scientific method to solve problems. Some topics covered include biogeochemical cycles, ecological change, organ systems in animals, meiosis, Mendel’s laws of genetics and biotechnology.

*Prerequisite knowledge for the course includes cell structure and function; mitosis; chemical components of cells; classification hierarchy, classification of plants and animals.

Business Law

This course examines the relationship between the law and business. You will study an introduction to the Australian legal system, the legal implications of different business structures, contract law, negligence and consumer protection law. You’ll build skills in approaching legal scenarios in a structured way, reading legal texts and preparing formal answers both written and orally, individually and as a team.

Chemistry

This course aims to provide a range of knowledge and skills required for further study in Science and Engineering. From basic principles, this course develops a deeper knowledge of modern chemistry ideas and applications. Topics include names of common elements, symbols, formulas and equations; atomic structure and chemical bonding; states of matter – properties and structure; chemical equilibria (Ka and Ksp); organic compounds and an introduction to instrumental methods and structure analysis for organic compounds.

Computing for Business

Computing for Business incorporates both a practical and theoretical component that prepare you for success at university. In Term 1, you will develop practical skills including recognising and discussing technological trends, impacts and issues; PowerPoint presentations; word processing and referencing. In Term 2, you will learn more advanced spreadsheet techniques using MS Excel to analyse, manipulate and visualise data. You will also have the opportunity to collaborate in groups, work on presentations, and develop and receive peer-generated feedback.

Computing for Design

Delivered in practical, hands-on tutorials, this course is made up of two components, Digital Imaging (using Adobe Photoshop) and Publication (using Adobe InDesign). You will learn about design processes and workflows, and other skills to prepare you for your future studies in Design.

Computing for Science

Computing for Science incorporates both a practical and theoretical component that prepares you for success at university. In Term 1, you will develop practical skills including recognising and discussing technological trends, impacts and issues; PowerPoint presentations; word processing and referencing. In Term 2, you will focus on developing programming skills using Python. You will apply problem-solving methods to develop solutions to real-world problems, using established programming conventions and good programming practices.

Culture and Communication

This course will encourage you to adopt diverse perspectives to analyse, interpret and discuss cultural phenomena and associated media representations. By exploring different notions of culture, you will understand how its representation contributes to and influences communication. You will learn a range of theoretical culture analysis tools then examine how and why media influences audiences and culture.

Design

This course helps you develop an understanding of visual language common to all art and design disciplines, through exploring historical and theoretical issues in a design context. The Design Studies component is theory-based and gives an overview of iconic designers, design movements and designed objects essential for progressing to an Australian university. The practical Design Studio component you will develop technical and critical skills, and work towards managing an effective working process.

Economics

This course aims to give you the tools to understand basic economic principles and to question why people and businesses make particular decisions, and how government policies influence them. Course topics include both microeconomics and macroeconomics, covering the behaviours of individuals and companies, up to the performance, structure, behaviour and decision making of an economy as a whole.

Essentials of Mathematics

In this course, you should develop knowledge and skills encompassing mathematical facts, procedures and concepts necessary for understanding the various maths skills required for further study in Arts, Design & Architecture at university. Topics include basic skills, geometry and similarity, business applications of arithmetic, measurement and statistics.

International Issues and Perspectives

This course takes on a problem-based learning approach, challenging you to develop informed opinions on contemporary international, regional and global issues. You will be taught problem solving processes in Term 1 and in Term 2, applying your insights to respond to and critically evaluate contemporary international issues. You’ll be assessed in both team and individual tasks, enhancing your skills in analysis, research, teamwork and action planning.

Management

Providing important skills for your future career and study journey, the Management course describes the connection of success on an individual, team and organisational level, while providing a basic understanding of the language of organisations and management. You will study management theory and decision-making frameworks, while developing skills in decision making, effective teamwork, time management, conflict resolution, coping with change, and developing clear written and oral communication practices.

Mathematics for Commerce

This course will prepare you for further study in Commerce, Business, Economics and Social Sciences. You will be introduced to mathematical techniques with an emphasis on applications to areas of commerce and finance. Topics include Algebra and Polynomials, Functions and Graphs, Differential Calculus, Logarithmic and Exponential Functions, Sequences and Series, Mathematics of Finance, Further Curve Sketching, Integral Calculus, Probability, Data Description and Probability Distributions, Further Calculus and Applications. This is a compulsory course for the Commerce stream.

*This course assumes a level of knowledge equivalent to Stage 5.2/5.3 of the NSW Mathematics Years 7–10 Mathematics Syllabus.

Mathematics for Science

In this compulsory course for the Foundation Studies program, you will develop skills to construct mathematical arguments in both concrete and abstract settings. Some of the topics covered include Algebra, Functions and Graphs, Quadratic Theory, Differential Calculus, Calculus of Trigonometric Functions, Calculus of Exponential and Logarithmic Functions, Applications of Calculus to the Physical World, The Binomial Theorem and First-Order Separable Differential Equations.

*This course assumes a level of knowledge equivalent to Stage 5.2/5.3 of the NSW Mathematics Years 7–10 Mathematics Syllabus.

Physics

This is a predominantly non-calculus based course, providing a range of knowledge and skills required for further study in Science and Engineering. You will learn to collect and identify meaningful patterns within data collected from scientific experiments, apply the appropriate laws of physics to a range of scenarios and use objective reasoning and critical thinking skills to solve scientific problems. Topics covered include classical mechanics, wave motion and optics, and electricity and magnetism.

*Students should have achieved good results in intermediate to advanced high school mathematics before commencing Foundation Physics. Prior knowledge of trigonometry is essential.

Scope of Study

All lessons will be conducted following the Standard Foundation - UNSW College syllabus.

Duration

This is a 9-month full-time course with all lessons held on campus.

There are 5 contact hours per school day, 5 days per week, for 25 contact hours per week.