COURSE CONTENT

CHOOSING THE RIGHT MODULES TO OFFER

MIE Pathways offers a wide range of subject modules for delivery on the NCUK IFY programme. Choosing which modules to study can be crucial in both aligning with the programme, students’ background and ensuring that the programme meets the progression needs of these students. The MIE Pathways Academic Manager and/or the counselors are available to support the students in making this decision.

MAJOR CONSIDERATIONS

  • * Market – what set of subjects do you believe will be most attractive to your target market?
  • * Future study – what subjects/courses are your target market likely to want to progress to at university?

FACILITATING SUBJECTS

Facilitating subjects are subjects that are often required to be studied at IFY level if students have particular progression routes in mind. These subjects are given below with a brief list of the progression routes that require them.

Maths

Maths is offered in three different areas; Business, Science and Engineering. Depending on the discipline, the content of the module varies slightly to meet the specific needs of the students. When making offers, universities may specify the type of Maths module that the student must have studied.

Although there are exceptions, generally Maths must be taken for students wanting to progress to:

  • * Accounting and Finance
  • * Computer Science (and related disciplines)
  • * Economics
  • * Engineering (all disciplines)
  • * Mathematics
  • * Medicine
  • * Physics
  • * Psychology

Biology

Generally Biology must be taken for students wanting to progress to:

  • * Biochemistry / Biological Sciences / Biomedicine
  • * Biology
  • * Environmental Science
  • * Food Science
  • * Medicine
  • * Neuroscience
  • * Pharmacy
  • * Zoology

Chemistry

Generally Chemistry must be taken for students wanting to progress to:

  • * Biochemistry
  • * Chemistry
  • * Chemical Engineering
  • * Medicine
  • * Pharmacy
  • * Zoology

Physics

Generally Physics must be taken for students wanting to progress to:

  • * Engineering (all disciplines)
  • * Physics

The NCUK University Course Finder contains full details of any pre-requisite subjects universities require students to have completed in order to apply to particular degree programmes.

SUBJECT COMBINATIONS FOR FUTURE STUDY

Many of the undergraduate progression options at NCUK Universities have no prerequisites and thus students may study any three subjects during the IFY programme. For the MIE Pathways students, some guidance are given on combinations which align well with related degree areas and are likely to meet both students’ interests and university requirements.

Business

For a student focusing on progression to Business-related degrees, the best set of subjects would be:

  • * Economics
  • * Maths (Business)
  • * Business Studies OR Sociology OR Global Studies

This set of modules ensures that students are able to progress to all Accounting & Finance and Economics related courses as Maths has been studied. General Business and Management courses will also be applicable. This set of modules offers the greatest number of progression routes available.

Humanities / Liberal Arts

The student may want to study an alternative to the above who do not want to study Maths. MIE pathways offer any three subjects from in the NCUK IFY programme:

  • * Economics
  • * Business Studies
  • * Global Studies
  • * Sociology

This set of modules, whilst limited in progression to Accounting & Finance and Economics programmes still offers progression to a wide range of business, management and humanities courses.

Law

Students wishing to progress to a Law degree are able to take any combination of subjects. It should be noted though that university admissions tutors will want to see evidence that students have studied essay- based subjects and have developed their research and report writing skills , so modules such as Sociology, Global Studies, Economics and Business Studies will be preferred.

Science & Engineering

For a student focusing on progression to Science and Engineering degrees, the best set of modules would be:

  • * Chemistry
  • * Maths (Engineering)
  • * Physics

This set of modules ensures that students can progress to all types of Engineering degrees (including Chemical Engineering as Chemistry has been studied). This will also give progression to some science - related programmes (that do not require Biology). Maths (Science) may also be substituted for Maths (Engineering) if the focus is on Natural Sciences.

Medicine and Health Sciences

For a student focusing on progression to Medicine or Health science related degrees, the best set of modules would be:

  • * Biology
  • * Chemistry
  • * Maths (Science)

Most medical routes will require students to have completed at least one of Chemistry or Biology plus Maths. The combination above ensures full coverage and should mean that a wide range of options are open to students.

Art & Design

Where a student wishes to offer the Art & Design module, this can be delivered with any two additional modules; there is no set combination for this. The best combination of modules will depend on the other modules already offered at the MIE Pathways, and the study interests and progression aspirations of individual students. There may be some value in students undertaking the Business Studies module if they are looking at future careers in Art, and where students are looking for progression to Architecture there may be some value in them studying one of the Maths modules.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE OPTIONS

At MIE Pathways, we offer three different modules of NCUK that support English Language development. The student must take at least one of these English Modules and should choose the most appropriate for their cohort.

  • * The English for Academic Purposes (EAP) module is designed for students who are not native English speakers and do not have a Secure English Language Test (SELT) that is acceptable for entry to NCUK Universities.
  • * The EAP for Proficient Users (EAPPU) module is designed for students who have either previously studied in English throughout their education but have an English language qualification that is not accepted for visa purposes in their university destination country, or who have a very good level of English but no SELT to prove this.
  • * The Research and Communication Skills (RCS) module is designed for students who already possess a SELT at an acceptable level for UK visa purposes and the requirements of NCUK Universities. Typically, these students will hold an acceptable qualification at IELTS 6.0 level or better (with a minimum of 5.5 in individual skills), or IGCSE English at grade C or better, that was completed within 1 year of entry to the IFY.

Where possible, MIE Pathways may need to deliver multiple modules to cater for a cohort of mixed English language abilities. If student numbers do not justify this, then the EAP module should be delivered to support the weakest students. Student with good levels of English will still benefit from additional teaching in this area.

NCUK SUPPORT

During the study of t h e N C U K F o u n d a t i o n p r o g r a m m e s , MIE Pathways- NCUK will work with you (students) to establish the needs of your target market (future education and career choice), their likely progression routes and the resources available to students. This will help the students to focus on their study with a full confidence.

MODULE OVERVIEWS: choose any three modules aligning with your background and capability

Select any three (3) of the following modules:

  • * Art & Design
  • * Biology
  • * Business Studies
  • * Chemistry
  • * Computer Science
  • * Economics
  • * Further Mathematics
  • * Global Studies
  • * Mathematics (Business)
  • * Mathematics (Engineering)
  • * Mathematics (Science)
  • * Physics
  • * Sociology

Compulsory Modules for all students (any one (1) of the following modules):

  • * Research & Communication Skills
  • * English for Academic Purposes
  • * EAP for Proficient Users (EAPPU)