Program Overview

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Study

Politics, Culture & Social Sciences Pathway

Part of King's International Foundation Programme

Key information

Course type: Foundation Study mode: Full-time Duration: 1 year Application status: Open Start date: 29 September 2025 Extended start date: 18 August 2025 Priority deadline: 16 March 2025

Module combinations

You can browse the optional module combinations below and find the entry requirements so that you know what you need to be aiming for to receive a conditional offer.

Core modules

• Culture & Society
• English for Academic Purposes - International Foundation
• Academic Expression & Critical Thinking

Liberal Arts + Social Sciences

Pathway modules:

• Liberal Arts - International Foundation
• Introduction to Social Sciences - International Foundation

Liberal Arts + Global Politics

Pathway modules:

• Liberal Arts - International Foundation
• Global Politics - International Foundation

Liberal Arts + Economics

Pathway modules:

• Liberal Arts - International Foundation
• Economics - International Foundation

Social Sciences + Economics

Pathway modules:

• Introduction to Social Sciences - International Foundation
• Economics - International Foundation

Social Sciences + Global Politics

Pathway modules:

• Introduction to Social Sciences - International Foundation
• Global Politics - International Foundation

Global Politics + Economics

Pathway modules:

• Global Politics - International Foundation
• Economics - International Foundation

Course essentials

What does this course cover?

This foundation pathway in politics, culture and social sciences is designed to prepare you to study a related subject at undergraduate level.

You’ll take a core English module to develop essential skills, such as identifying the key points in academic articles, taking effective notes, structuring essays and other writing assignments, taking part in discussions and delivering academic presentations. It’s taught by experts from King’s Foundations, who will help you improve your linguistic skills in an academic context.

You will also take a compulsory Culture and Society module, which will introduce you to the key contemporary issues within the humanities and social sciences. You’ll consider the expectations of undergraduate study in the UK and how this differs from around the world to prepare you for further study.

Half of your Politics, Culture and Social Sciences foundation pathway will be shaped by you, depending on the combination of optional modules you decide to take. For example, you might choose to combine your study of liberal arts with economics or global politics, or decide to focus your learning on the social sciences and global politics or economics. There are six different module combinations that you can choose from on this pathway.

Please note, students aiming to progress to Law will need to take the LNAT and complete an application via UCAS for university.

Base campus

Strand Campus

Located on the north bank of the River Thames, the Strand Campus houses King's College London's arts and sciences faculties.

Language requirements

English language requirements

Please note that nationals of Majority English Speaking Countries (as defined by UKVI) who have successfully completed high school in the respective country, are not required to complete an English language test and can apply to the King's International Foundation pathway (rather than the Extended pathway from which they will be transferred, should they apply). For information on our English requirements and whether you need to complete an English language test, please see the King’s International Foundation section of our English Language requirements page.

All other students need to show evidence that they meet the English language requirements by providing a copy of a certificate from an approved English language test. All English language tests must have been taken within two years of the King’s International Foundation course start date.

Students that need a visa

If you need to apply for a Student Visa to study in the UK, we can only accept IELTS and Pearson results that have been provided by test centres approved by UK Visas and Immigration: IELTS for UKVI (Academic) and PTE (Academic) are only valid if taken within two years before the start date of your chosen programme of study. All elements of the test results must be demonstrated in one test. We cannot take a combination of your scores across two tests. We cannot take IELTS One Skill scores. You can find a list of approved test centres on the UKVI website.

Test	King's International Foundation	Extended King's International Foundation*
IELTS for UKVI (Academic)	6.0 overall with no skill below 5.5	From 5.5 overall with no skill below 5.0, to 6.0 overall, with no skill below 5.5
Pearson Test of English (Academic) UKVI	59 overall with a minimum of 54 in each communicative skill	54 overall with a minimum of 46 in each communicative skill

Students who don't need a visa

We accept a number of other English language tests if you do not require a student visa to study in the UK including those listed below. For a full list of accepted tests for the Foundation programme, please visit our English Language requirements page.

Qualification	King's International Foundation	Extended King's International Foundation*
Cambridge Advanced Certificate (CAE)/Cambridge C1 Advanced or Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE)/Cambridge C2 Proficiency	169 overall with a minimum of 160 in each skill	162 overall with a minimum of 154 in each skill
IELTS (Academic)	Minimum 6.0 overall, with no skill below 5.5	Minimum 5.5 overall, with no skill below 5.0
IELTS (Online)	Minimum 6.0 overall, with no skill below 5.5	Minimum 5.5 overall, with no skill below 5.0
Pearson Test of English (Academic)	59 overall with a minimum of 54 in each communicative skill	54 overall with a minimum of 46 in each communicative skill
TOEFL iBT Institution code: 0394 OR TOEFL iBT Home Edition OR TOEFL iBT Paper Edition	80 overall with a minimum of 20 in each skills	72 overall with a minimum of 17 in writing/speaking and 15 in listening/reading. All TOEFL test results must be provided via King’s Apply.
Trinity College London Integrated Skills in English (ISE)	Level III with pass in each skill	Level II with pass in each skill

Teaching & structure

Teaching

This Politics, Culture and Social Sciences foundation pathway is a full-time, 120-credit programme. Students study four 30-credit modules. All students undertake a minimum of 15 hours of live, face-to-face study on the pathway, in addition to an average of 20 hours of self-study a week. This includes preparation for live sessions, homework, completion of assignments, revision and any other work set by your teachers.

The Politics, Culture and Social Sciences pathway is typically taught through a combination of lectures, seminars, and small group classes, which help you prepare for your undergraduate degree studies. Face-to-face teaching is complemented and supported by innovative technology with elements of digital learning and assessment embedded into the programme.

Every student is assigned a personal tutor. They will provide you with the regular opportunity to review your learning, academic progress and general well-being as you progress through your studies.

Assessment

The nature of assessment varies by module. Most modules are assessed through a combination of coursework and final examinations. The type of assessment may include:

• Essays
• Exams
• Presentations
• Group assessments
• Online tests
• Coursework

See each module page for more details.

Modules

You will study the following modules on this pathway:

• English for Academic Purposes or Academic Expression & Critical Thinking*
• Culture & Society

You will choose two optional modules. The available module combinations are:

• Liberal Arts & Social Science
• Liberal Arts & Global Politics
• Liberal Arts & Economics
• Social Science & Global Politics
• Social Science & Economics
• Global Politics & Economics

*You will either study English for Scientific Academic Purposes or Academic Expression & Critical Thinking, depending on your level of English when you start the course.

All of the modules support your subject and linguistic skills development as they encourage you to analyse concepts and develop ideas in your chosen subject area.

Fees & Dates

The final application deadlines for this programme are:

• Extended King’s International Foundation: 15 June 2025 (23:59 UK time)
• King’s International Foundation: 15 June 2025 (23:59 UK time)

After the priority application deadline, if the programme becomes full before the final deadlines stated above, we will close the programme to further applications.

Full time tuition fees:

King's International Foundation - £26,300 Extended King's International Foundation - £30,400

Tuition fees are subject to annual increases, in line with King's terms and conditions.

Deposit

Upon accepting an offer for the King’s International Foundation Programme, you are required to pay a deposit of £5,500 to secure your place by the deadline, which will be stated in your offer. If you do not pay the deposit or provide evidence of financial sponsorship by the deadline stated in your offer, your offer will expire, and King’s reserves the right not to reinstate the offer.

This deposit is payable when you firmly accept an offer (unconditional or conditional) to study with us and will be offset against your tuition fees when you join King’s.

Payments are made online through the King's Apply portal.

All students need to pay the deposit, with the exception of sponsored students. If you are being sponsored by an employer or your government, for example, you will need to provide a valid Financial Guarantee letter. Please contact our Admissions team if you have any questions.

Application fee: £75

Our King’s International Foundation Programmes require a non-refundable application fee before you can submit your application to be considered. This step is built into the application process. Please note that payment of an application fee does not guarantee that you will receive an offer for your chosen programme, as many of our programmes are competitive.

If you apply for a pathway and receive a rejection your application fee will not be refunded. If you then choose to apply for a different pathway you will need to pay another application fee.

Please ensure that you carefully read the information about your chosen pathway and modules before applying.

Additional costs/expenses

In addition to your application and tuition fees, you can also expect to pay for:

• Accommodation and living costs
• Travel costs for travel around London and between campuses
• Books if you need your own copy or they are required for your module
• Library fees and fines
• Society membership fees
• Personal photocopies
• Printing course handouts
• Stationery
• Graduation costs

Please see our student Terms and Conditions for further fee details, including our refund policy.