STEM with Foundation Year

STEM with Foundation Year

The STEM Foundation Year is an essential part of a longer degree course, rather than a stand-alone qualification. It will give you all the skills you need in your chosen subject, allowing you to continue straight onto the first year of one of our degrees.

Completing a STEM Foundation Year can be a real attribute to your overall degree success and provides the first step towards a rewarding career in your chosen field.

Foundation courses in STEM

Teaching Excellence Framework 2023 Gold Rating

Find out more about our TEF rating.
9th for student support - Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023

Find out more about our Whatuni Student Choice Award
26th in the UK - Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024

Find out more about our THE World University ranking

STEM Foundation: On Demand

Access Leicester from anywhere, any time. On Demand lets you look around campus, explore our facilities and listen to our experts. 

Study STEM Foundation Year

Chemistry: Colouring our reality

Hear from our student Lucy

Your live line-up

View our upcoming live events - get a glimpse into life at Leicester and all that's on offer.

Accommodation

An ideal way to experience university. Guaranteed if you apply by 1 September.

Scholarships

Our scholarships, bursaries and discounts help students of all backgrounds. Have a look now to see if you're eligible.

Wellbeing and support

We care about you. Our team is on hand to provide support and advice with wellbeing, money, accessibility and more.

Campus tour

Our compact, Covid-safe campus is small enough to get everywhere easily but big enough that it never feels crowded. We’ll show you the David Wilson Library, the Danielle Brown Sports Centre and our newly opened, completely refurbished Students’ Union, as well as teaching facilities. 

We would love to show you around - book your place on one of our campus tours today.

Explore our campus

Meet the tutors

Our friendly tutors come from both industry and academic backgrounds, so you’ll be taught by a mix of expert practitioners and leading researchers.

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Dr Rhaana Starling

Associate Professor
I teach at all undergraduate levels from Foundation Year to Master's, and offer BSc, MPhys and PhD projects in astrophysics. My academic roles include Senior Tutor and Accessibility Tutor for the School of Physics and Astronomy. As an astrophysicist I have worked on X-ray and gamma ray observations using the XMM-Newton satellite and the NASA Swift team and am currently researching relativistic jets from explosive transients using prompt radio to X-ray follow-up.

Learn more about Dr Rhaana Starling

Doug Satterford

Teaching Fellow
I’ve taught for nearly 15 years specialising in physics and maths at both Further and Higher Education institutions. I am the Accessibility Tutor and also the EDI tutor for the STEM Foundation Year along with running the Laboratory Skills module. When I’m not playing with the “toys” in the lab I enjoy relaxing with some science fiction and a good board game.

Dr Harmony Lansdown

STEM Foundation Year Deputy Programme Director and Senior Tutor
I have 7 years of upper-school teaching experience, and 8 years of Higher Education teaching experience on the STEM Foundation Year. I hold a first class MPhys Physics with Astrophysics degree, PhD in Physics and a distinction-level Master's degree in Educational Leadership and Innovation. I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and received a Citizen Reward in 2022 for my contributions to the FS0050 module.

Dr Mike Barkley

Programme Director
I arrived in Leicester in 1998 as a foundation year student, before going on to complete a Physics degree and PhD. In 2010, I was appointed as lecturer in the School of Physics and Astronomy. I had an active and successful research career focussing on satellite remote sensing and the modelling of the atmosphere. I have always found teaching and interacting with students both exciting and extremely rewarding. In 2018 I became the director of the STEM Foundation Year. My goal now is to give students the best start to their forthcoming academic studies and professional life.

Dr Emma Ferguson

Teaching Fellow
I have a Master’s degree in Chemical Physics and a PhD, where I wrote computer simulations to investigate the microscopic behaviour of aerospace materials. I did a postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, using similar techniques to study liquid crystals for solar cells. I joined the STEM Foundation Year in 2022, and am mainly involved with teaching the Computer Programming and Data Analysis aspects of the course.

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