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Southampton Solent University logo

FoundationBusiness and Law Foundation Year

Starting in: 2025
Register your interest
Campus: Southampton City CentreView on Google Maps

Why study a business and law foundation year?

Whether you're interested in business, law, finance, or marketing - gain new skills, build confidence, and develop your capabilities before moving on to your undergraduate degree.

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  • Gain a solid introduction to the foundations of business and law for a variety of careers.
  • Learn the theory and how to apply it practically through live briefs and assessments developing your critical skills.
  • Gain essential academic and transferable skills to help lead directly on to a business-related or law-related degree.
  • Build valuable networking connections with industry professionals and academics.
  • Academic and employability skills are embedded throughout this foundation year.
  • The foundation year is tailored to widen access for students from diverse backgrounds.
  • Many of the academic team on the foundation year also teach on the degree-level courses.

Course overview

Designed by experienced academics who’ve worked across key roles in a wide variety of industries, the Business and Law Foundation Year will help you develop a strong foundation of business knowledge alongside academic and transferable skills to ensure you get the most out of your degree-level studies. It also provides a direct entry point to one of our business-related or law-related undergraduate degree programmes.

Whether you’re interested in the private, public, charity, social enterprise, entrepreneurial industries, or legal practice, this foundation year is your gateway to developing the skills for your first management job, to set up your own business, or to pursue a career in law.

From core subjects such as business, law, finance, marketing, enterprise, personal development, and projects in the community, you’ll gain a solid introduction to the foundations of business and law, study contemporary business challenges, identify future trends and focus on the areas and industries which matter to you.

And throughout the foundation and subsequent full Solent degree, you’ll do more than learn the theory – you’ll learn to apply it through an innovative range of assessment and ‘real-world’ live briefs. Our degrees offer the chance to engage and get hands-on experience of international business and legal challenges and contexts, as well as a variety of extra qualifications, exemptions, and memberships in addition to your honours degree.

Any questions?

Contact UK admissions

Email: admissions@solent.ac.ukCall: 023 8201 5066

Contact international admissions

Email: admissions.international@solent.ac.ukCall: +44 (0)23 8201 5066

Who this course is for

Solent’s Business and Law Foundation Year is ideally suited if you want to build your academic knowledge and confidence to return to studying or progress in your studies. You’ll develop strong academic and organisational skills and prepare yourself for successful careers in a range of business industries – studying a curriculum that is not just about theory but also real-world application.

  • Foundation years are designed to help prepare you for undergraduate study and are ideal for gaining an introduction into your chosen subject area.
  • If you've been out of education for a while, a foundation year provides a supportive environment for returning to studying.
  • Foundation year students have access to the same facilities, and academic and student support as students on undergraduate degrees.

What you'll study

Find your degree

To get a complete list of modules you'll be studying in your undergraduate degree, click on the course you'll apply for in the 'Find your degree' section below.

Meet the team

The teaching team for the foundation year is made up of lecturers who also teach on the degree courses.

Entry requirements

48 UCAS tariff points

  • A minimum of two completed A-levels, a BTEC Extended Diploma at PPP or BTEC Diploma at MP, T-level Pass (D or E) or equivalent.
  • We will consider mature students who haven't recently undertaken a formalised course of study at A-level or equivalent, but who can demonstrate relevant workplace or voluntary experience, indicating their ability to complete the course successfully.

For international and EU students

  • As a general guide, we look for qualifications that are equivalent to the British high school A-levels.
  • If you are applying from outside the UK, find information about entry requirements, visas and agents for your country here.
  • For further information about qualifications, please contact admissions.
Two business students working on a project

Contextual offers

Solent endeavours to offer learning opportunities to students from all backgrounds. When we receive and review an application, we take into consideration the context and personal circumstances of applicants when making a decision, which means our advertised entry tariff could be reduced.

Find out more about Solent's contextual offers

Language requirements

Applicants who do not have English as their first language will be required to demonstrate an approved level of proficiency in the use of the English language. The agreed minimum requirements for this course are:

  • IELTS 6.0 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each individual component, or equivalent.

Qualifications

Qualifications are checked before enrolment, and international students must bring their original certificates or certified copies when coming to study at the University.

The University also offers a pre-sessional English programme for international students who wish to improve their level of English before starting a degree course.

Find your degree

Our foundation years are designed to offer a broad range of academic skills alongside a taste of the wider industry before you start your chosen specialist undergraduate degree. Some degrees also include a year in industry, meaning you can gain valuable first-hand work experience with a year-long full-time work placement between the second and third years of your degree.

Applying is simple, just:

  • 1

    Find the undergraduate degree you’re interested in studying, and explore the course page – this is also where you’ll find the modules you will study throughout your degree.

  • 2

    Make sure you’ve selected a ‘foundation year’ (or foundation year and year in industry) variant; you’ll find this under ‘Course length’, near the top of the relevant course page.

  • 3

    Click the ‘Apply on UCAS’ button, and check the UCAS summary mentions ‘foundation year’ under ‘Study mode’.

And don’t worry if you discover a new skill or subject you love during your foundation year, it’s easy to switch to another linked degree!