Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

If you have gone to school in the EU, your education system is accepted for direct entry to our undergraduate degree programmes and you are not eligible to apply for the International Foundation Programme (IFP). Unfortunately, if your high school grades do not meet the minimum entry requirements for our undergraduate degrees, you will still not be eligible to apply for the IFP.  

The International Foundation Programme is for international students whose qualifications do not enable them to meet the entry requirements for direct entry to first year and whose first language is not English, if you are from the EU but have attended high school in an international country where we do not accept the high school qualifications for direct entry, please contact us to discuss.

Our International Foundation Programme is designed for progression into a wide range of arts, humanities and social science degrees across our diverse College.

Some degrees within the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science have additional admission requirements that are not met by study within the foundation programme. The degrees that it is not possible to progress to include some language degrees, and joint degrees with mathematics. 

You can find information about the degrees our IFP offers progression to here.

Successful completion of the International Foundation Programme with required grades will result in progression to degrees in selected subjects within the University of Edinburgh. 

You will be supported to make an application to progress to degree study by the IFP team. Where possible based on the places available, International Foundation Programme students who apply to undergraduate degree programmes in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences will be prioritised for a place on a degree programme if the correct subjects are being taken. Any conditional offer you receive will confirm the required grades to progress into that particular degree. If you meet all of the offer conditions, then your place will be confirmed. ​

You will also need to pass a recognised English language test. All students on the International Foundation Programme will complete the Foundation English for Academic Purposes course. Those who do not already have a suitable English Language Test at the required level for progression will be asked to pass these English courses at the required grades.

If your fee status for progression to undergraduate study is determined to be a fee status other than Overseas/International, or your fee status subsequently changes, then it is likely that you will face increased competition in your application for an undergraduate programme. An offer for your preferred degree programme may not be guaranteed and your offer conditions may be higher.

Yes. The Admissions team will contact you to request submission of a mini-portfolio. The mini-portfolio will be specifically assessed for the degree that you want to progress to. A mini-portfolio must only be submitted if requested by the Admissions team.

Please find more details via the link below:

Art, Design and Architecture Portfolio Guidance