International Year Zero (IYZ)

The course will give you the opportunity to develop a broad, creative skillset that will enhance your creative potential in readiness for your degree. A series of technical and creative tasks provide students with the tools and perspectives needed to develop personal, creative portfolio.

The course will boost your confidence and prepare you in academic writing, numeracy skills and presentation skills. The provision of formative and summative assessments will prepare students to understand different types of assessments.

The course gives you the core skills in science, mathematics, design and IT, required to study engineering or physics at undergraduate level. In the second term students study different curriculums within the specialist Engineering module –either Electrical and Electronic Engineering or Mechanical Engineering.

This course gives you the core skills in mathematics, and IT, required to study computing at undergraduate level a range of formative and summative assessments will support and demonstrate students’ learning.

Students will explore how theory and research informs psychology and learn about basic research methods and related issues such as ethics. Assessed through a range of formative and summative assessments the module will provide students with the necessary knowledge base for further study in psychology.

It is essential that you can communicate in English and that you can understand your tutors and lectures. You will therefore study English during both terms in modules that integrate with your academic study skills and specialist pathway modules, supporting your learning – and progress to your degree.

The English for Academic Purposes (EAP) module is terms 1 and 2 will develop your English language skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking. This curriculum will be integrated and contextualised within a content-based syllabus, which uniquely uses the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a topical teaching framework.

This term 1 module helps students make the transition from their previous educational context to studying in British Higher Education with particular focus placed on studying at De Montfort University. Students are provided the opportunity to practice and develop a range of academic study skills essential for successful university study, whilst supporting learner self-awareness and giving them insight into the use and effectiveness of learner platforms and academic forums.

In term 1, all Business & Law, Engineering, Computing and Social Science student will study a bespoke curriculum of maths and statistics that will consolidate existing knowledge and support students’ learning for their subsequent modules and their degrees. Art and Design students have different requirements and so study a separate module that introduces them to a range of technical and skills-based art and design processes that form an essential part of a shared creative practice ‘toolkit’ for Level 4 study and beyond.

In ‘Creative Portfolio’ students are provided with the opportunity to develop their specialist knowledge and degree specialism within the Art & Design Pathway. Project 1, Creative Brief will introduce and develop the students’ understanding of both responding to, and writing creative briefs – related to their degree specialisms.

Project 2, Personal Project is comprised of two related parts – a short essay and a personal art or design project portfolio - related to the student’s degree specialism. The essay’s research will begin alongside Project 1 in order to inform and contextualise their negotiated project brief in Project 2.

The ‘Context of Business’ gives students a broad understanding of how companies work, function, and operate. This overview will also provide knowledge of the legal contexts and accountancy requirements for businesses. We will draw upon examples from challenges executives face in the contemporary business world to illustrate the module's key points.

Throughout the module, we aim to develop a critical perspective on issues through the lens of case studies and specialist academic publications.

In ‘Problem Solving and Programming’, students will work on practical examples of computing applications, so that even with little or no prior experience with computer programming they will begin to understand what is interesting and important about algorithms.

Students will gain an understanding of data representation, problem solving skills and logic combined with hands-on experience of developing and executing simple programs that will prepare them to undertake the programming components at undergraduate level using transferrable skills relevant to the principles of programming.

The ‘Foundation Engineering Applications and Mathematics’ provides students with fundamental concepts, knowledge and skills in mathematics and engineering theory and practice necessary to study engineering at undergraduate level. Students will develop a detailed understanding of indices, Logarithmic and Exponential Functions and their graphs. Also, Polar coordinates and differences with the Cartesian system - and matrices, including: scalar multiplication, addition and subtraction.

Further study of Determinants, multiplying matrices, inverse matrices and solving simultaneous equations will be followed by a focus on Sequences and Series, Differentiation and Integration.

'Foundations in Psychology' introduces students to the main theoretical approaches and perspectives in psychology. Students will learn to discuss and evaluate these by applying them to everyday experiences and by considering their real-world application. The curriculum also explores how theory and research informs the different viewpoints within psychology. Furthermore, students will explore basic research methods and related topics such as ethics. The curriculum will familiarise students in five core areas including biological, cognitive, developmental, personality, and social psychology. Students will consider how research is used to justify the claims made in psychology, whilst considering ethical principles in research.