Pathway programmes, also commonly referred to as foundation programmes, are more and more on the radar of international educators in recent years. There is a fair bit of variability in the pathway segment but such programmes often share a couple of basic characteristics:

• They are targeted to students preparing for admission to English-medium undergraduate studies; and especially those requiring English training or other preparation for academic studies; and
• They typically combine academic content with English language studies, study skills, and cultural adaptation courses.

The vast majority of pathway programmes are offered in English-speaking countries. Looking strictly at number of available pathways, as opposed to enrolment or anything else, the UK is far and away the leading destination for foundation studies with 748 (63%) of the 1,192 foundation programmes tallied in the study. Oceania – that is, Australia and New Zealand – follows at a distance with 16% of all pathways and then North America with 12%.

Foundation programmes by region, January 2015. Source: StudyPortals/Cambridge English