About this course
Introduction
The Built and Natural Environments Foundation course gives you a route onto a degree related to the built and natural environments, if you do not have the qualifications normally needed for entry to the first year of a degree course. The Foundation also offers you the chance to explore the wide range of opportunities within the built and natural environments disciplines and professions, before committing yourself to a particular path or career. The Foundation may be suitable if you:
- Wish to study at degree level
- Are interested in the built and natural environments in which we live
- Have achieved at least one A-level or equivalent
The Foundation is designed for a wide range of people with different educational backgrounds. Each application will be considered individually.
The built and natural environments
The built and natural environments are the world around you, the cities and towns, villages and countryside, rivers and coasts.
The built environment comprises urban and rural landscapes as a whole, and all the buildings and structures within them, from design to construction, and the course considers how they are used and managed, and their eventual removal or preservation. The natural environment includes the physical geography and habitats of the world, and the courses look at its management and develop understanding of the impact that man has upon it.
Many different professions help create and shape the built and natural environments, determining how they are developed and managed. The Foundation course gives you the chance to join one of these professions, which offer you opportunities to achieve your ambitions, for an exciting career, financial rewards, professional status and a way to help build a better world.
Interview with a Foundation student
"My name is Alissa Fawcett, and I'm currently in my 4th year of a Planning course. I did my Foundation course in the Built Environment, which helped me to discover that I wanted to do a Planning degree ultimately.
"Unfortunately I didn't do very well in my A-levels and I didn't really want to have to spend a year re-sitting them, so by doing the foundation course I was able to come to university to do a course that would help me get onto a degree course.
"The Foundation year was really good. It was quite a lot of work at the time, but everyone bonds really well and we get an idea of what university life is all about. The course is a lot broader than A-levels. We're able to do different subjects, and these help us to get a broad understanding of different disciplines within the Built Environment.
"I've chosen to be both student rep for my degree and a student ambassador, which is really helpful because although I'm not always the most academic of students, it does look good on my CV and shows that I am willing to get involved.
"In my first year I lived in the student halls on Park Street, that's University managed accommodation. It was really good because it's right in the centre of Bristol, and it allows new students to walk around the city, and get to know everything.
"The benefit of living in University managed accommodation is that you can always go and talk to someone in the University about your money problems, with paying rent or just general problems with the house. Although obviously when you first come to university you tend to live with people that you don't know, everyone tries to get on with each other.
"In my second year I moved to a private rented flat just on Whiteladies Road, this is a really busy student area, the road's lined with bars and restaurants, and it was really easy to find a place to live in.
"I've really enjoyed my time in Bristol; it's a beautiful city with loads of architecture to look at and loads of fun things to do.
"The University of the West of England is a really good university to come to, especially for town planning, where it has some of the highest marks in teaching. The Faculty is a good one, there's loads of support staff there to help you."
Structure
Content
You will take six modules which introduce you to a range of knowledge and issues which underpin the built and natural environment professions:
- Land and property issues, to give you an awareness of the roles of property managers and valuers, quantity and building surveyors in the life cycle of a building.
- Social change and urban issues, to help you to understand the impact of social and economic changes.
- Government systems, where you consider the effects on government legislation, policies and practice.
- People and their Environment, which looks at physical and human geography, and tourism.
- Technology, to develop skills which you will need in your degree level studies.
- Architecture, where you will learn to communicate ideas and information graphically, in preparation for studying a wide range of disciplines, including architecture, planning, geography and real estate.
Modules are regularly reviewed to ensure that they remain up to date and relevant, so some of them may change before the course starts or whilst you are on it, but the overall aims and broad content of the course will remain the same.
Teaching and learning
Teaching methods are varied depending on the module; lectures, project work and tutorials all have a part. Assessment is achieved through a balance of coursework and examinations. Examinations are held in either January or May/June. Coursework will be a variety of essays, reports, surveys, design projects, teamwork or progress tests.
You are encouraged to do 'formative work' to prepare for assessments: this does not count towards your marks but the feedback which you receive will help you to improve your performance. Support is available for students who have difficulties with numeracy, IT, literacy and study skills.
The teaching staff provide a friendly, enabling environment for learning. They are also actively engaged in research or professional practice, ensuring that you learn directly from the latest academic and business developments.
Special Features
Study facilities
A range of specialist facilities are provided by the Department. A suite of computer rooms supports software for word processing, data analysis and spatial enquiry. They provide access to e-mail and internet, including Faculty and University websites which enable you to use a vast number of specialist electronic journals and publications, and resources provided by lecturers to support their modules. A Project Room provides space for students to work on individual and group assignments, together with a range of materials and equipment. An audio-visual group provides support for photography, digital imaging, filming and sound recording.
You may also use the well equipped laboratories for concrete and environmental services, environmental physics, earth sciences, and surveying technology, each with specialist technicians supporting both teaching and research.
The Department is based in a large modern building, to which a new set of studios and teaching rooms (designed by a member of the Planning and Architecture Department) have recently been added:
"The Studios are more of a textbook than a building, an object lesson in functional and sustainable design. They are to function as a learning tool and provide an opportunity for research through their construction, the use of innovative materials and performance monitoring," Royal Institute of British Architects Journal, September 2002.
Student representatives sit on a wide range of committees at University and Faculty level, where they can influence discussions and decisions which affect your learning experience.
Careers/further study
The Built and Natural Environments Foundation forms the preliminary year to the BA/BSc(Hons) Built and Natural Environments degree course. If you pass the Foundation on your first attempt, you are guaranteed a place on the BA/BSc(Hons) Built and Natural Environments degree course. Subject to satisfactory results from the Foundation year, you can join one of the other degree courses, which cover the following disciplines and professions:
- Architecture
- Civil Engineering
- Construction
- Design technology
- Environmental management
- Property investment
- Human geography
- Tourism and leisure
- Physical geography
- Planning
- Property development
- Real estate
- Regeneration
- Surveying
- Sustainability
- Transport
Many of these courses are accredited by professional bodies such as the Royal Town Planning Institute, the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, the Chartered Institute of Building, the Chartered Institute of Housing.
Entry
Typical offers
- Tariff points: 180
- GCSE: English Language at grade C or above, Maths at grade D or above required.
- Specific subjects: None specified
- Access: Achievement of the Access to HE Diploma; achievement of level 2 credits in Maths and English Language
Advice on typical offers
In addition to the 'typical offer' given here, please read the general information about entry requirements.
Fees
Details regarding fees and funding are available on the Money matters webpages.
How to apply
Please see the general information about applications.
We welcome applications from students without the conventional entrance requirements but who do have substantial relevant work or other experience and whose motivation and skills would enable them to succeed on the course.
Students with disabilities
We welcome applications from people with disabilities, and are committed to supporting students with disabilities. Wherever possible we will make reasonable adjustments to the activities involved in the course to enable students with disabilities to successfully complete the course. We encourage applicants to disclose any disabilities or support needs in their application forms, so that we can offer information, advice and support. There is a Disability Service at UWE Bristol and a Disability Support Co-ordinator in the Faculty.
Open Days
We run open days throughout the year, when you can meet lecturers and current students, see the facilities and resources that we offer, and visit the student accommodation. Please ask for details.
For further information regarding the course, you are welcome to contact:
Richard Mourne (Programme Leader) Richard.Mourne@uwe.ac.uk
Admissions team Fet.admissions@uwe.ac.uk +44 (0)117 32 84242.
For further information
Page last updated 14 December 2011