A warm welcome to the start of your degree and your Foundation Year. It will prepare you and introduce you to your chosen academic route as you begin your journey to complete an undergraduate bachelors degree.

Dr Wendy Iredale
Foundation Year Coordinator

Key dates

Start date: 18 September 2023

Academic Calendar: Semesters

View key dates for this Academic Calendar for 2023-24 including when teaching starts and finishes and when you break for holidays.  

Welcome

Week commencing 18th September 2023 is a welcome and induction week – you will receive information on this from the University in due course. You will be invited to a number of activities where you will be inducted into your course and the university. You will also be assigned (and speak with) your Personal Academic Tutor (PAT), who will provide you with academic and personal support and signpost you to other relevant departments for any additional help you may need. Week commencing Monday 25th September 2023, the real work begins, as you start your first 3 modules…how exciting!

If you have any concerns about starting university, please do not fret, as this is perfectly normal. You will find the staff friendly, experienced and readily available to support you with your studies. We know that choosing to embark on a degree course is a big commitment in time, energy and money and we assure you that we are fully committed to helping you to reach your goal….so enjoy and embrace your future. We will be with you all the way!

You can stay up to date with what's happening in our Faculty with the Faculty Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/cccu_fsess/

Welcome and induction

Click here to view this course’s Welcome Schedule in UniTimetables. For help with using UniTimetables, please see our user guide.

And don’t forget to attend our other welcome events including your Freshers’ Fayre – see here for full details.

Getting started

Over the course of the foundation year, you will take 6 modules, three in each semester.

Semester 1 (Sept-mid Jan) you will study:

  • Contemporary Issues in Sociology
  • Contemporary Issues in Politics
  • Academic Skills 1

In semester 2 (mid Jan-mid May) you will study:

  • Contemporary Issues in Psychology
  • Contemporary Issues in Applied Criminology
  • Academic Skills 2

You will be assessed in a variety of ways including; learning portfolios, essays, reflective diaries, and academic posters. The academic skills modules will support you with these types of assessment and in developing essential study skills required at degree level.

Handbooks for each of the semester 1 modules will be available via Blackboard (the university’s virtual learning environment where staff post information relating to your course of study) when you start in September. These outline the content of each teaching session and the assessment requirements/deadlines.

Over the summer, please keep an eye on your personal email, and once pre-registered your student portal, for any further information that we may send to you. You can also keep up to date via our school social media channels:

Additional Resources:

Your welcome and induction will be w/c 18 September 2023 - we look forward to meeting you then.

Course timetable

Teaching timetables for the forthcoming Semester/Trimester are now available in UniTimetables. For tips on looking up the timetable for your course, please see our UniTimetables user guide and videos.

Pre-course reading

Psychology

  • Martin, G. N., Carlson, N. R., & Buskist, W. (2019).Psychology (6th Edition). Harlow. England: Pearson

Politics

  • Edkins, J., Zehfuss. M. (2019). Global Politics: An Introduction, Abingdon: Routledge

Sociology

  • Cant, S., and Hardes, J. (2021). How to be a Sociologist. London: Collins

Applied Criminology

  • Burke, R. (2014) An Introduction to Criminological Theory. Abingdon: Routledge.

Academic Skills

  • Cottrell, S (2019). The Study Skills Handbook Palgrave MacMillan, Basingstoke [Primary]
  • Crème, P. & Lea, M. (2008). Writing at University: A guide for students (3rd ed). Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press.

Whilst all textbooks will be available from our University library, it is useful to note that the University Bookshop offers 10% discount on most titles in print and have some price-beating book bundles. They also price match Amazon on core texts recommended in the module handbooks you will receive when you start in September.

Foundation year administration team