Program Overview

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International Foundation Year - Accounting and Finance

Study level: International Pathways Programme
International Foundation Year

Course overview

The Accounting and Finance International Foundation Year (IFY) aims to prepare you with the necessary toolkit to be successful while heading into your chosen degree. It will help you take a critical approach to your studies, reflect on your learning, organise your studies, and be a strong, independent learner.

Key benefits

• Develop accounting skills through teaching methods focused on hands-on, interactive learning through case studies and more
• Develop the appropriate level of academic language, study skills and content knowledge, to meet the entry requirements of your progression degree programme
• Acquire a strong, critical approach to real-world problems specific to the language and education skill levels, as well as be allowed ample opportunities to reflect upon your learning
• Enhance your academic English and learning with English modules taught first to set you up for success as you go on to your accounting and finance modules later on
• Build on the fundamentals of accounting and accounting concepts, such as ethics, cost and revenues
• You will be introduced to professional software used in the real world and learn more about specialised sectors

Progression degrees

Upon successful completion of the Accounting and Finance International Foundation Year (IFY), you will be eligible to progress onto the following Coventry University or Coventry University London degrees (subject to meeting all specified entry criteria):

Coventry University

• Accountancy BSc (Hons)
• Accounting and Finance BSc (Hons)
• Business Economics BSc (Hons)
• Business and Finance BSc (Hons)
• Economics BSc (Hons)
• Finance and Investment BSc (Hons)
• Financial Economics BSc (Hons)

Coventry University London

• Financial Economics and Banking BSc (Hons)
• International Finance and Accounting BA (Hons)

What you'll study

The Accounting and Finance International Foundation Year will be a combination of English language and subject-specific modules.

English modules

• Introduction to Academic Language and Skills This module is required for students who enter at IELTS level 4.5.
  This module aims to introduce you to life and study at UK universities. It explores some of the key academic language and skills needed for successful study and reviews teaching methods and ways to communicate with the wider university, including asking for help. It also introduces research, reporting and presentation skills, and key skills for managing successful study.
• Developing your Academic Language and Skills This module is required for students who enter at IELTS levels 4.5 and 5.0.
  This module aims to provide an in-depth exploration of academic language and skills. This includes strategies for approaching academic assignments, structuring academic writing and presentations, developing a reasoned argument, incorporating supporting evidence, and summarising and proofreading. It will also explore different types of assessment tasks used in universities.
• Success in Academic Language and Skills This module is required for students who enter at IELTS levels 4.5, 5.0 and 5.5.
  This module aims to review and refine your academic skills and language. You will analyse examples of academic work to identify successful approaches and strategies, deepen reading and listening skills for gathering information, and explore different ways of organising arguments and incorporating source material appropriately. You will also have the opportunity to develop critical thinking skills, an appropriate academic style and review key information about your destination degree course.

Subject-specific modules

• Academic Skills for Accounting and Finance In this module, you will start the year by setting academic goals, this helps track development throughout the course. You’ll be introduced to a range of skills that will aid you throughout the course and further study, such as critical thinking, planning and resource management and interpersonal skills.
  Additionally, you will gain skills in Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, etc.), teamwork, communication, planning and more. We will also discuss plagiarism, referencing and professional standard skills throughout the module so that you receive thorough academic training.
• Accounting and Spreadsheets In this module, you will be introduced to the fundamentals of accounting and finance. You will explore and analyse different streams of accounting, such as partnership accounts, control accounts, sole trader accounts and accounting systems. We introduce professional software to you from the outset, so that by the end of the year, you should be proficient in industry-standard courses.
  To solidify your understanding, we test your knowledge through case studies centred around spreadsheet software.
• Investment and Risk Investment and risk are specialist sectors within financial services, yet the discipline is required in every business.
  In this informative module, you will understand the impact that macro- and micro-environments have on investment and returns, as well as the nuances of ethically and socially responsible investments. Exploring modern and exciting case studies, you will learn about asset class, packaged investment products and asset allocation.
  Throughout this module, we will introduce you to the notion of working autonomously, taking control of your work and gaining the confidence to make informed decisions.
• Cost, Revenue and Professional Ethics This module focuses on the application of the fundamental concepts for accountants, including, ethics, costs and revenues. In preparation for progression onto our degree course, this module teaches you the ethical side of accounting, such as resolutions to ethical dilemmas and legal considerations when dealing with clients. In addition, you will look closely at costing methods and behaviours within the accounting profession. At this stage, you should be able to analyse data and information, and you will be required to complete a test to confirm your competency in this subject.

How you'll learn

This International Foundation Year will be delivered by CU, part of the Coventry University Group, for and on behalf of Coventry University. You will be taught using various academic techniques, which may include lessons and individual and group tutorials. You will also have self-study materials to follow outside of the classroom.

Teaching contact hours

• Each one of the modules requires the equivalent of between 225 and 330 study hours. They run over a six-week period and are taught consecutively, with a combination of assessments in each six-week block.
• You will receive approximately 18-20 hours of teaching contact hours per week for each module. This will be a combination of lectures and regular, small group or individual tutorials. The remaining study hours required for the module will be self-guided.

Additionally, you will be expected to undertake significant self-directed study of approximately 30 hours each week, depending on the demands of individual modules.

Assessment

You have to meet the requirements in the final assessments for both the English and the subject-specific modules in order to secure the chance to progress onto your intended destination course.

Your progress on the Academic Language and Skills modules will be monitored throughout the modules. Final assessments are delivered at the end of the Success in Academic Language and Skills module.

For subject-specific modules, there is one assessment per module.

The learning outcomes of modules, assignments and projects will be clearly stated. Your work will be marked according to how well you achieve these learning outcomes and your final feedback will refer to each outcome, as well as provide an overall percentage grade.

Assessment methods vary and could include, practical class and project performance, written practical reports, project thesis, oral presentations, tutorial tasks, portfolio tasks and assessments.

Entry requirements

• International

Select your region to find detailed information about entry requirements:

• Africa
• Americas
• Central Asia
• East Asia
• Europe
• Middle East
• South Asia
• South East Asia

English language requirements

• IELTS 4.5 entry: 4.5 overall (with no component lower than 4.5)
• IELTS 5.0 entry: 5.0 overall (with no component lower than 4.5)
• IELTS 5.5 entry: 5.5 overall (with no component lower than 5.0)

UKVI IELTS or SELT equivalent will be required for IELTS 4.5 and 5.0 entry. It may also be required for 5.5 entry points depending on your previous qualifications.

Fees and funding

2024/25 tuition fees. Fees and course duration are dependent on your IELTS entry level.

• Student | Full-time | Part-time
  • International | IELTS 4.5 | £16,000 | 36 academic weeks
    IELTS 5.0 | £14,500 | 30 academic weeks
    IELTS 5.5 | £12,500 | 24 academic weeks | Not available

For advice and guidance on tuition fees and student loans visit our Undergraduate Finance page and see the university’s Tuition Fee and Refund Terms and Conditions.

Facilities

• Coventry
• London

During your international foundation year you'll be based at our modern CU Coventry Mile Lane campus, located in the heart of the city. You will also have access to the wider facilities and amenities available at Coventry University.

This includes full membership of Your Students' Union where you will receive access to support and advice as well as societies and events, and access to The Hub, which is the centre of student life at our Coventry campus.

Degree ready

If you successfully pass the Accounting and Finance IFY, you will be guaranteed a place on a relevant degree course at Coventry University or Coventry University London listed in the ‘Overview’ section (subject to meeting all specified entry criteria).

Upon successful completion of your modules, including the subject-specific modules, you will have had the opportunity to:

• understand approaches to learning in UK universities and expectations in your chosen subject area
• write an extended piece of academic writing that requires elements of research and follows standard academic conventions
• express facts, information and ideas with effective grammatical accuracy and accuracy in using an appropriate range of academic and subject-specific vocabulary
• communicate effectively in everyday situations within the university environment and more generally in English-speaking contexts
• deliver a well-structured presentation on an academic topic
• participate in seminar discussions on academic topics
• access academic texts in order to select relevant information
• differentiate between different academic genres of writing
• comprehend extended academic listening texts and record relevant information
• access online materials and demonstrate increased digital literacy
• organise academic study and manage your time
• reflect on learning
• understand, engage with and critically evaluate knowledge relating to global issues
• apply your knowledge and language skills to a realistic learning opportunity and assessment, at an appropriate academic level.

We are here to provide high-quality education for students as well as to teach you life skills for completing your future career goals. The university's dedicated employability support, the Talent Team, can provide a wide range of support services to help you plan and prepare for your future studies and career.

Further study

Please see the ‘Overview’ section above for more details on our progression degrees.