Foundation Studies (Pre-University)

The Foundation Studies programme at the University of Waikato is a two-semester full-time pre-degree academic programme. It is specifically designed to prepare high school graduates from backgrounds where English is an additional language, for degree study. A successful graduate of Foundation Studies will achieve the Certificate of Attainment in Foundation Studies, which is an university entrance qualification recognised by all New Zealand universities and widely accepted by Australian universities.

The papers offered by the University of Waikato Foundation Studies towards the Certificate of Attainment in Foundation Studies include a variety of papers designed to prepare students to enter degree studies with the same level of subject knowledge and subject related skills as their New Zealand counterparts. Students complete five papers in subjects of their choice and three compulsory English papers.

The subject content taught includes subject knowledge as well as subject-specific vocabulary and skills. The different subjects offered in the Foundation Studies programme are:

• Calculus
• Mathematics and Statistics
• Accounting
• General Science
• Physics
• Chemistry
• Biology
• Introduction to Social Sciences
• Comparative Cultures
• English for Specific Purposes
• English 1 and 2 (compulsory)
• Language and Learning (compulsory)

Good grades in an appropriate combination of these papers will allow entry into any degree programme at this university. Students from Foundation Studies have graduated with degrees from many different departments within the university, e.g. Management, Science and Engineering, Arts and Social Science, Mathematics and Computing, and Law.

The skills taught include:

• essay and report writing techniques
• research and library skills
• seminar presentation techniques
• computer skills
• group work

In the course of completing their Foundation Studies programme, students have the opportunity to develop good personal attributes that can help them in their degree study. Some of these attributes are:

• the confidence to succeed in an English language university
• the ability to cope with the range of teaching and learning styles that they will find in different papers taught at the university
• the ability to work independently
• responsibility for their own learning

Classes are small, which enables students to have excellent interaction and communication with their teachers. If students need extra help, this can easily be arranged. Foundation Studies teachers have experience in teaching students whose first language is not English, and each subject is taught by a specialist in that area.

http://www.waikato.ac.nz/pathways/