If you’ve checked out my stories, then you’ve probably heard the term ‘foundation year’ here and there. For some of you, the concept of a foundation year may be a bit alien. For others… maybe not so much. It could be that you’re in a foundation year right now or are looking to go into one. In this article, I’ll try to explain what a foundation year is, and give my personal anecdotes along the way.
For some international students, applying overseas isn’t as easy as it seems. The Netherlands has regulations and standards that you must fulfil if you want to get into any one of its prestigious research universities. Suppose you come from a non-EU country like myself. In that case, the chances that you don’t meet the criteria are quite likely: whether it be that your previous education was deemed insufficient, unrecognised, or just simply too different for the programme that you want to get into. Luckily, the University of Twente offers a ‘pathway college’ – a pre-university, pre-bachelor's programme that ensured my knowledge would be enough for the university’s main bachelor’s studies.
What is a foundation year?
A pathway college, also called a foundation year, was my way into the University of Twente. A foundation year is a year-long introductory programme designed to help prospective students get up to the right level. This one year of education is a sort of prerequisite that the University of Twente needs to guarantee that you would be able to follow your desired programme. Due to this, some people refer to the foundation year as a ‘year 0’, as once you’ve completed it, you’d progress to year 1 of your bachelor's programme, along with all of the other students, both Dutch and international.
When should you do a foundation year?
My cohort consisted of all international students – as in, students who either came from other countries or students who did their previous education outside of Europe or a Dutch-recognised institution. People who’ve met the criteria as an IB (International Baccalaureate) student or equivalent don’t need to go through a foundation year to progress to the University of Twente, though be sure to check the admission requirements on the website of the study you are interested in. If you find out that you do not meet the requirements, you can apply for a Foundation year at Twente Pathway College.
What do you study in a foundation year?
The Twente Pathway College puts a lot of emphasis on being able to write in academic English, which requires a strong foundation in English to begin with. This goes in line with the University of Twente, as their bachelor’s programmes are English-taught. In addition, we went over high school-level subjects at first: a bit of calculus 1, calculus 2, some physics, and some computer science for me. In my opinion, these little crash courses were massive bits of help that set the foundation for a deeper understanding of university-level education – it wasn’t only the subjects or the material, but mainly how it was all taught.
Final thoughts
Dutch universities say, over and over, that they won’t hold your hand throughout the year, that you’re expected to learn and understand things (mostly) on your own, but that help would always be available. Being exposed to that kind of learning environment in a foundation year, as well as having classes on the University of Twente campus made the transition in mindsets easier: all that I learned was put to good use.
Furthermore, having already done a foundation year, I can safely say that I did not have to go through that period of both homesickness and awe that new students usually go through at the beginning of their studies. I’d already experienced all that a year before everyone else, during a period when university wasn’t as demanding. Being able to go to class and campus and already feeling like I was at home was a great help to me, as I knew how things worked.
Finally, I do want to say that the foundation year wasn’t necessarily helpful in terms of what I’d learned, but rather in how it helped me transition to a new country for education. During the final months of the Pathway College, when finals were coming up, the term ‘struggling together’ finally made sense to me: I found myself living and breathing the same study material my fellow peers were and enjoying it. The people I met during my time as a foundation year student have had a massive impact on how I deal with university, and I never would’ve met them if I hadn’t been put in that place at that time.
