From Foundation to Graduation: Understanding the Transition of International Foundation Year STEM Students

This project is a longitudinal study of International Foundation Year (IFY) STEM students’ perceptions of the impact of their IFY STEM course through the duration of their undergraduate lifecycle. Much existing literature examines impact through the transition into or from a generic foundation year programme to a first year undergraduate programme across a range of discipline areas (Jones et al., 2018; Chivers, 2019). There is growing recognition of the need to consider longer-term impact of IFY provision. One such study undertook a more novel approach by shadowing IFY students through their undergraduate journey (Stickels, 2025). However, to date, there has not been much exploration of the longer-term impact of IFY, much less from an English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) context through student perspective. The aim of this project is to explore the experiences of students transitioning to and from an International Foundation Year (IFY) STEM pathway to a STEM related undergraduate course and how this journey shapes their development and success throughout the undergraduate student lifecycle.