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Liberal Arts (with Foundation Year)

  • BA (Hons)
  • 4 Years
  • Full-time
  • 21/09/2026
  • Undergraduate
University Park Campus
More about University of Nottingham

Course options

2026-2027
Apply

Course summary

Your Arts and Humanities Foundation Year will help prepare you for the BA Liberal Arts. Today's world is complex, and its challenges demand creative, adaptable thinkers. Our Liberal Arts degree empowers you to explore multiple disciplines, combining subjects from the humanities, social sciences, sciences, business, and languages.

First, through a range of engaging modules spanning the arts and humanities, you will undertake a preparatory Foundation Year. Here you will develop key skills such as communication, critical thinking, teamwork, and digital capability. You'll be able to tailor your assessment topics to explore aspects of your progression degree with elements of interdisciplinarity and real-world applicability.

Your dedicated Foundation Year tutors will support you with building these skills, and the confidence for undergraduate study.

Our foundation programme is a preparatory year designed for talented UK students with an interest in arts and humanities subjects, but whose personal circumstances make achieving our usual entry requirements difficult.

During the foundation year you will be a full member of the university, with all the opportunities this offers, including the same accommodation options as direct entry students.

As you work through your year, you may develop different ideas about your progression degree. That’s OK. Your tutors will guide you through your choices, which includes joint honours courses offered within the Faculty of Arts. For now, apply for the named pathway which most interests you.

Why choose this course?

  • Automatic progression to your degree upon successful completion of the Foundation Year - there's no need to reapply.

  • Preparation for success - gain the skills and confidence during the foundation year to thrive as an undergraduate.

  • Great support - benefit from dedicated foundation year tutors.

  • Carefully designed curriculum - each of the six modules aims to give you the best start to your progression degree.

  • Freedom to explore - deepen your knowledge of your favourite topics and explore new ones.

  • Build employability - develop your CV-boosting skills through integrated professional competencies training during the foundation year.

  • Change your mind – this Foundation Year allows progression to a wide range of Arts and Humanities degrees. Only music degrees, and some modern language degrees require specific subjects at A level or equivalent. If you do change your mind about this subject during the year, you can discuss your alternatives with your tutor.

When you progress to your chosen degree:

  • Explore real-world challenges across interdisciplinary themes with our ‘Engaged Arts’ optional modules.

  • Work with our dedicated Faculty of Arts Placements Team to assist with your employability skills development via a range of placements, internships and volunteering opportunities.

Our latest stats

  • 7th best university in the UK for work experience (Rate My Placement Best Universities for Work Experience, 2025)

  • Top 3 most targeted UK university by leading employers (The Graduate Market, High Fliers Research, 2024)

Modules

For detailed information about the modules you will study, please visit the course page: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/studywithus/ugstudy/courses/UG/Liberal-Arts-with-Foundation-Year-BA-Hons-U6ULARTSF.html

This course has restrictions on who can apply.

We do not consider students who already have a degree, EU or international applicants for this programme.

Find out more

Ways to study this course

Campuses

  • University Park Campus

Study options

  • BA (Hons) • Full-time • 4 Years

Start dates

  • 21/09/2026

Apply by
14 January

This is the equal consideration deadline. You can still apply after this date, but your application may not receive guaranteed consideration.

Application codes

Course code:
Y02F
Institution code:
N84
Campus name:
University Park Campus
Campus Code:
-
Points of Entry:
Foundation

University of Nottingham has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.

See why these ratings were awarded
What does this TEF outcome mean?

How to apply

This course has restrictions on who can apply.

We do not consider students who already have a degree, EU or international applicants for this programme.

Find out more

Apply by
14 January

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Application codes

Course code:
Y02F
Institution code:
N84
Campus name:
University Park Campus
Campus Code:
-

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Foundation

Entry requirements

UCAS Tariff

Not accepted

A level

BCC

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DMM

Access to HE Diploma

D: 15 credits M: 18 credits P: 12 credits

Scottish Higher

BBBCC
Plus two Advanced Higher Subjects with grades BC

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DM
and A Level grade C.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate (first teaching from September 2016)

M
and A Level grades BC.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

24 points
or 544 in Higher Level Certificates.

WJEC Level 3 Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales

B
plus two A levels grades CC or Grade C plus two A levels grades BC

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H2, H2, H2, H3, H3

Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal

M2, M3, P1

GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE English grade 4 (alpha grade C)

European Baccalaureate - achieve 70% overall.

This course is part of the University's commitment to widening participation.

This foundation pathway enables UK applicants to gain the subject-specific knowledge and skills required to study the arts or humanities at degree-level. We do not consider students who already have a degree, EU or International applicants for this programme.

As well as having the required grades, your current or most recent school cannot be an independent school, and you must meet at least one of the following personal background criteria:

  1. You live in an area where people are less likely to go to university – check your postcode
  2. You were in receipt of free school meals (FSM) on any census day in the six years before the census day of your final KS4 year (that is, the year you were aged 15-16 years old)
  3. You are the first generation in your family to enter higher education
  4. You will be over 21 years old when you begin your course
  5. You have spent more than three months in local authority care (for this criterion you do not need to have attended a state school)
  6. You have refugee status from the Home Office
  7. You need to study in the East Midlands (for example, for family, cultural or financial reasons)
  8. You provide long term care of a sick or disabled family member

Where relevant you should include reference to 6, 7 and 8 in your personal statement, or provide this information via artssupport@nottingham.ac.uk when you submit your UCAS application.

Contextual admissions

Universities and colleges consider more than grades when assessing applications and may make offers based on a range of criteria. Learn more about contextual offers.

We consider applicants solely on the basis of their merits, abilities and potential – we use exam grades to prioritise applicants but look at a range of factors and aim to give everyone an equal opportunity to show their achievements.

We understand that background and personal circumstances can have an impact on academic performance at school or college. Applicants who are eligible under our contextual admissions policies may be considered for a reduced contextual offer.

Learn more on the University of Nottingham website

Historical entry grades data BETA

This section shows the range of grades students (with UK A-Levels or Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diplomas) who received offers were previously accepted with (learn more). It is designed to support your research but does not guarantee whether you will or won't get a place. Admissions teams consider various factors, including interviews, subject requirements, and entrance tests. Check all course entry requirements for eligibility.

Not enough data available

We are unable to show previous accepted grades for this course. This could be because the course is new, it's a postgraduate course, there isn't enough historical data, or the provider has opted out of sharing their entry grades data for this course - learn more.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

LocationFeeYear
England£5760*Year 1
Northern Ireland£5760*Year 1
Scotland£5760*Year 1
Wales£5760*Year 1
Channel Islands£5760*Year 1

* This is a provisional fee and subject to change.

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website.

Additional fee information

View undergraduate tuition fees for UK and international students: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/fees/tuitionfees/202526/undergraduate.aspx

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