Is a foundation course a good choice for you?

One of the shortest preuniversity courses, the duration of a foundation course is just one year, after which students can enrol in a relevant degree programme. This course is most suitable for students who are sure of their career paths and will give them a head start in obtaining a degree.

However, this is also its biggest disadvantage as students who are unsure of their career choices may have to enrol in an entirely new course should they be interested in a different education field midway through their foundation programme.

For example, a student who enrolled in a foundation in arts or foundation in business programme will have to enrol in a new programme altogether if he decides that his passion lies in engineering.

In addition, students need to be sure of which university they want to obtain their undergraduate degree from. Foundation courses in one university are tailored to prepare students for bachelor programmes offered at that university only, thus making it difficult for students to switch universities between foundation and degree programmes, even if they want to pursue the same field of study.

As foundation subjects of the previous university may not be recognised by the new university, the student may have to retake a few subjects or worse, retake an entire foundation programme. However, this is not a hard and fast rule since there are certain foundation courses that are accepted by other universities. It is advised that students check their options before enrolling.

While this route may be risky for school-leavers who do not have a clear idea of their future, it remains a popular choice among Malaysian students.

Puteri Yasmin Suraya (pic), who works as an online content writer, shares why she chose this pre-university course over others.

“I knew the degree course I wanted to do was only available in that particular university, so I decided to do the university’s foundation as it was a fast-track option. The foundation led me directly into the degree programme in one year.”

For students such as Puteri Yasmin who are sure of their career direction, there is more than one benefit of choosing this course.

“I did a foundation in arts and found the course quite balanced as I managed to learn many different subjects that may or may not be related to the degree course I wanted to pursue. I wanted to do a degree in English literature, but the foundation course covered subjects such as management, law and politics. These subjects were difficult but still I found them interesting.”

She enthusiastically recommends the foundation course because assessments are in the forms of coursework and examinations, so students can learn to manage their time more efficiently.

“Besides, it is a fast- track programme of one year or less, so you can advance to your degree programme faster,” she

concludes.