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The Foundation Degree in Government

What they are?

Foundation degrees are work based degrees with a successful track record in the public, private and charitable sectors of improving organisational performance and developing careers. The Foundation Degree in Government is the premier Foundation degree for the Civil Service. For students they’re the way to get ahead and translate their years of experience into a qualification. For employers they’re the way to greater productivity and stronger organisational performance and are named in the Leitch Report as one of the ways forward in higher education.

Participating organisations

Foundation degrees are proven in practice. Public sector organisations with students participating in the Foundation Degree in Government include:
DWP • DIUS • HO • MoJ • CO • DEFRA • ONS • HMRC • Teacher Training Agency • GO London • CPS

Information for students and employers

For much more information about the Foundation Degree in Government including FAQs, click on the links below.

Information for Employers

Information for Students

How it works

The Foundation degree in Government is based on a framework of work-based learning which makes maximum use of e-learning and minimises time spent away from the office. To deliver it we have formed partnerships with the University of Chester and the University of Portsmouth both of which have excellent reputations in this field. Time spent at the selected university is minimal.

Choosing a University and applying

Applications should be made directly to one of the universities following the instructions on their website. Click on the links for the universities at the bottom of this page for more details on them, their courses and to download an application form. Please feel free to contact the tutors should you wish to find out more.

Start Dates

University of Chester
Group inductions are planned for future intakes, as well as admitting individual learners through induction tutorial sessions. The group induction takes the form of two linked day sessions at Chester, which are planned as follows:
  • Autumn intake –12 December 2008 and 27 January 2009
  • Spring intake - 23 April 2009 and 21 May 2009
  • Autumn intake – 3 November 2009 and 9 December 2009

All workshop dates are subject to demand. For further details or application forms, please contact the administrator for the Foundation Degree in Government, Lizzy Williams 01244 512122 or email lizzy.williams@chester.ac.uk


University of Portsmouth
An application form can be downloaded from our website, the link for which is below. There are two registrations each year:
  • September/October
  • February/March

For more information about the application process click here to visit our website or contact Stephanie Johnson, Course Administrator at stephanie.johnson@port.ac.uk

The Universities

The University of Chester and the University of Portsmouth both enjoy prodigious reputations nationally for running work-based learning. To learn more about them and how they deliver the Foundation Degree in Government, please click on the links below.

The University of Chester

The University of Portsmouth