Engineering Foundation

Foundation course

UCAS code: H111

Start dates: September 2025 / September 2026

Full time: 1 year foundation course leading to a 3 or 4-year degree course

Part time: 2 years

Location: Headington

School(s): School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

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Overview

The demand for engineers is at an all-time high in the UK. By studying our foundation course, you’ll be taking your first step to success. We’ll prepare you for degrees in mechanical, motorsport, and automotive engineering, so you can kickstart your career and become part of this exciting industry.

Technical expertise meets creativity and imagination on this course. You'll explore the basic mathematical and scientific principles in engineering and how they apply to the real world. All of this knowledge will help you bring ideas to life.

Gaining hands-on experience will be important too. You’ll work with real engine components and take part in industry-inspired workshops, with plenty of time spent in our laboratories. At times it will be challenging, but it means you’ll feel ready to join one of our degree programmes by the end of your foundation year.

If you're a motorsports fanatic then there’s no better place to study than Oxford Brookes. We’re connected to the industry and even have our own Formula Student team which you can get involved with as a foundation student.

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Students working together

Why Oxford Brookes University?

  • Oxford Brookes Racing

    Get involved with our Formula Student team. Formula Student (FS) is Europe's most established educational engineering competition and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2023.

  • At the heart of motorsport

    We have strong connections to local Formula One teams and other automotive factories in the area.

  • International experts

    Our academics are making breakthroughs in a range of research areas including alternative fuels and different manufacturing techniques.

  • Academic collaboration

    Students who progress to a degree subject have even become industrial collaborators on staff research projects.

  • Build a foundation

    This course is designed to prepare you for our degrees in mechanical, motorsport, and automotive engineering.

  • Learn a language

    Our university-wide language programme is available to full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students on many of our courses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.

  • Study abroad

    To find out whether you can study or work abroad while on this course, please email studyabroad@brookes.ac.uk

Course details

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Study modules

Teaching for this course takes place face to face and you can expect around 11 hours of contact time per week. In addition to this, you should also anticipate a workload of 1,200 hours per year. Teaching usually takes place Monday to Friday, between 9.00am and 6.00pm.

Contact hours involve activities such as lectures, seminars, practicals, assessments, and academic advising sessions. These hours differ by year of study and typically increase significantly during placements or other types of work-based learning.

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Please note: As our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the modules you can choose from may vary from those shown here. The structure of the course may also mean some modules are not available to you.

Careers

If you pass this foundation course, we guarantee you a place on one of our engineering degree programmes. Students who progress to a degree subject have even become members of staff for the department after graduating.

Whatever you decide to do next, you’ll get support from the University Career Service. The team can help you research companies and careers, as well as explain how to apply for jobs.

Entry requirements

Wherever possible we make our conditional offers using the UCAS Tariff. The combination of A-level grades listed here would be just one way of achieving the UCAS Tariff points for this course.

Standard offer

UCAS Tariff Points: 56

A Level: CD

IB Points: 24

BTEC: MP or PPP

Further offer details

We welcome applications from candidates with alternative qualifications, and from mature students.

International qualifications and equivalences

Tuition fees

Please see the fees note
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Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

Tuition fees

2024 / 25
Home (UK) full time
£9,250

Home (UK) part time
£1,155 per single module

International full time
£16,900

2025 / 26
Home (UK) full time
£9,535

Home (UK) part time
£1,190 per single module

International full time
£17,750

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

+44 (0)1865 534400

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

Please note, tuition fees for Home students may increase in subsequent years both for new and continuing students in line with an inflationary amount determined by government. Oxford Brookes University intends to maintain its fees for new and returning Home students at the maximum permitted level.

For further information please see our 2025-26 tuition fees FAQs.

Tuition fees for International students may increase in subsequent years both for new and continuing students.

The following factors will be taken into account by the University when it is setting the annual fees: inflationary measures such as the retail price indices, projected increases in University costs, changes in the level of funding received from Government sources, admissions statistics and access considerations including the availability of student support. 

How and when to pay

Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. Students are not liable for full fees for that semester if they leave before week 4. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.

  • For information on payment methods please see our Make a Payment page.
  • For information about refunds please visit our Refund policy page

Additional costs

Please be aware that some courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. Specific additional costs for this course are detailed below.

Programme changes:
On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been published on the website. For more information, please visit our changes to programmes page.