About International Relations And Development With Foundation BA Honours in University of Westminster, London

Our degree courses with Foundation year offer the opportunity to prepare you for advanced study before you progress onto a full honours degree at the University of Westminster. Whether you do not feel ready for degree-level study, don’t have the right qualifications, want to change your subject specialism or return to study after an absence from education, we aim to encourage a broad range of students to undertake our Foundation year in order to progress onto their full honours degree with us.

The Foundation year is designed to give you the opportunity to explore new ideas, opening up new perspectives on the key debates within your chosen field. Core modules accelerate your academic and professional development , bringing together like-minded students to think about the ‘big ideas’ within your discipline. You will also take modules from areas closely related to your chosen field, giving you the chance to develop a cross-disciplinary perspective on your course.

On successful completion of the Foundation year (Year 0), you will be able to move on to study for the International Relations and Development BA Honours degree over a further three years study.

Development Studies focuses on international development and the challenges associated with political and economic change in the international system. The course considers the relationships between the global North and South, examining how colonialism and capitalism have shaped our contemporary world. You will explore global poverty and inequality and the impact of globalisation on different parts of the world, including Africa, Asia, the Middle East, China, India, Central Asia and Latin America.

The course provides a theoretical framework for understanding the international distribution of power at the global, regional and national levels, and we aim to enthuse and inspire you by building close links to government bodies and the policy world. A degree in Development Studies and International Relations will prepare you for professional life in a range of sectors, including the Civil Service, media, public policy, NGOs, teaching and further research.

Our teaching programme is structured to support your transition to higher education, with our first year designed to immerse you in the key concepts, issues and major themes in international relations and development.

In the second year you will be encouraged to think about the operation of the global economic system through an in-depth overview of international political economy. You will explore the contemporary challenges to developing states in the context of the world market, and explore the origins of capitalism through detailed case studies in different regional settings. More significantly, you will be encouraged to think about the impact of global economic forces on individual states, territories and regions in world politics.

In your third year, you will examine the regional constellations of development and how different regions of the world have been affected by developmental politics.

Teaching and learning includes small group work, problem-based tutorials, review sessions, workshops, symposia, debates, Q&A sessions, document analysis sessions, and structured role-plays.

A wide range of assessments includes essays, exams, policy reports, project work, individual and group presentations, blogs, posters, and debates. 

The teaching is offered within the School of Social Sciences, which brings together Criminology, Politics and International Relations, Psychology and Sociology. What binds us together is our shared commitment to making education a transformative experience for our students, to conducting research that makes a difference to the social world, and to enhancing the diversity of ideas and identities within and beyond the University.

We are in the centre of one of the world’s greatest cities and we use this vibrant, multicultural setting to ensure that our students discover innovative solutions to the problems facing our world. In 2018 the University of Westminster was named the most diverse university in the UK, representing 170 nationalities (Hotcourses Diversity Index). As a School we also host the world-renowned Centre for the Study of Democracy. The Centre undertakes research across a range of critical challenges to the theory and practice of politics, international relations, sociology and criminology. We have an innovative initiative called the Democratic Education Network that facilitates dialogue and the sharing of knowledge between our students, international universities and diasporic communities in London.

​​​Academic qualification equivalents

• HSC XII: CBSE, ICSE, Kolkata, or Tamil Nadu boards with an overall average of 70% or above*
• HSC XII: West Bengal board with an overall average of 58% or above*
• HSC XII: Maharashtra or Gujarat boards with an overall average of 75% or above*
• HSC XII: All other state boards with an overall average of 80%+ or above*
• a recognised International Foundation course from a UK institution or an Indian institution following a validated UK syllabus. Entry requirements vary but we normally ask for between 60% and 65%

English language requirements (one of the below):

•  IELTS: 6.0 overall with a minimum 5.5 in each component
• TOEFL iBT : 78 overall with a minimum of 17 in Listening, and Writing, 18 in Reading and 20 in Speaking 
• PTE:54 average with 51 in each component

University of Westminster, London Highlights

University of Westminster Cost of Attendance

The average estimated annual cost for 2020/2021 session is presented on the table below: