Richmond launches Foundation option with a difference

Richmond, The American International University in London will be launching a ‘Richmond Pioneers’ Foundation option for undergraduate students in September 2022.  This will be the first time a UK university has offered a fully integrated ‘with Foundation’ option as part of a four year, American style liberal arts degree.

This new option, which will be available to students who are over 18 with a minimum of five GCSE’s grade C or above (or equivalent), will extend across Richmond’s portfolio of undergraduate programmes.  It includes an extra summer semester for students in the first year, so they can study at their own pace. English and study skills classes are also included in the timetable to enhance students’ knowledge and skills, and students will typically have 15 contact hours of tuition each week.

All of the four-year degree programmes at Richmond combine the breadth of the American liberal arts approach with the depth of the British education system’s focus on subject specialisation.  For any students who are unsure about where to specialise or discover new interests after joining the university, Richmond’s flexible liberal arts curriculum allows students to change their “major” in their second year.

Professor Phil Deans, President and Vice Chancellor of the University, said, “The University is committed to expanding opportunities for students to access higher education, empowering people who may not have considered university to explore a unique international education. We are delighted that we can now offer this ‘with Foundation’ option across our liberal arts degrees, particularly as the launch coincides with both our 50^th anniversary and a move for the University in 2022 to a new state of the art campus facility at Chiswick Park, West London.

“Our liberal arts approach will help students who take the Foundation option to explore new areas of knowledge across science, arts and humanities and the social sciences. We work directly with all our students to build their confidence and self-esteem and provide them with transferable skills. All our degree programmes offer the opportunity for internships as well as community work through service learning.  This produces both a rounded education and an individual, equipped for a diverse and changing workplace when they graduate.”

To celebrate the new campus at Chiswick Park, this new range of ‘Richmond Pioneers’ programmes will be offered initially in the Hounslow, Ealing, and Hammersmith and Fulham areas, with scholarships available to help reduce tuition fees. Please see the University website or contact [email protected] for more details.

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