Types of course

If you don’t have the formal qualifications for immediate entry to a degree course, you can take a foundation course.

Sometimes known as extended degrees, foundation courses help you prepare for degree-level studies and gain the necessary academic background. On successful completion, you will then progress to the relevant degree course.

If you’re an international student and you don’t have the right qualifications to start an undergraduate degree course, you may be able to study on one of our International Foundation Year programmes. 

A Joint Honours course is an interdisciplinary degree that allows you to study two subjects in approximately equal proportions. These courses are designed to offer flexibility and breadth, enable undergraduates to pursue multiple academic interests simultaneously and develop a diverse skill set. 

As a Joint Honours student:

• You’ll complete the same number of credits as a single honours student, with your modules split between your two chosen subjects.
• You’ll study alongside single honours students in each subject area.
• You may have the opportunity to choose from discovery modules that will allow you to try something new in a third subject area.

Most Joint Honours courses last three years, but programmes that include a modern foreign language extend to four or five years and include at least one year abroad. Even if you are not studying a language, you may still have the opportunity to study abroad.

In your final year, you’ll typically undertake a major project or dissertation, with a wide range of topics available across both disciplines.

Joint Honours graduates are highly valued by employers for their versatility and the unique skills that are developed when studying two disciplines. Completing a Joint Honours course proves you can meet high standards in both subjects, and it opens doors to a wide range of career paths or further study. 

Use Course Search to explore available Joint Honours combinations and find the path that suits your academic and career ambitions.

We offer a small number of part-time undergraduate courses.

Part-time study can enable you to work and balance other commitments while you study, and can also make it possible for you to gain an academic qualification while developing your career at the same time.

The Lifelong Learning Centre provides free, confidential and impartial advice and taster events as well as support throughout your studies.

If you are a medicine or dentistry student, you can take time out of your course to study for an intercalated medicine degree.

By combining your training with a year’s study in a complementary subject, you can develop your skills and knowledge and improve your employability. Students at Leeds and other institutions are welcome to intercalate at the University.

Integrated degrees are available at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, and bursaries and other financial support are available to selected students.

Please check the entry requirements for your chosen course as they differ between undergraduate and postgraduate courses. For more information, email the Intercalation team at intercalate@leeds.ac.uk.

Some of our degree courses are offered as integrated Masters – you undertake three years of undergraduate study, then the fourth year is taught at postgraduate level, converting your undergraduate degree to a postgraduate one. This is most common in scientific disciplines.

Search for ‘integrated Masters’ in Course Search to see what’s on offer.