Pathways for international students
Complete a pathway course to improve your English, academic skills and confidence before moving onto your dream undergraduate degree.
Start with a strong foundation
If you’re not quite ready for university-level study, start with a pathway course. We can help you improve your English, build your academic skills and boost your confidence. And if you complete Foundation Studies, you’re guaranteed entry into a Federation undergraduate diploma or degree.

My name is Doctor Clement Chihota and I coordinate the Master of Social Work Qualifying program. My favourite part of the program is the wide diversity of students who come to study social work with us, with students from North and South America, Asia, Europe and Africa, and we also have lecturers from different parts of the world, from Africa, Switzerland, the USA and Australia. Of course, such diversity enables us to share a wide variety of living and cultural experiences, a real marketplace of ideas and bazaar of beliefs. It prepares our students for cross cultural engagements in the real world. What makes our program stand out is the wealth of knowledge and expertise that is brought into it by the lecturers and industry partners. Federation University is a cooperative university and we work with industry partners to ensure that our social work courses are strong, relevant and equip our students to work in over 50 fields of practice in the real world. Now I will share a fun fact about myself. Before joining the social work profession, I was actually a writer of short stories a day poetry. I still share quite a lot of stories about my professional experiences in the in the seminars.
English for Academic Purposes
If you don’t meet the English language entry requirements for your preferred course, we recommend completing English for Academic Purposes. Over 10 weeks, we’ll help you improve your writing, speaking, vocabulary, grammar, assignment preparation and note taking.
Foundation Studies
If you haven’t completed Year 12 or an equivalent qualification, our one-year Foundation Studies course is your pathway to higher ed. Develop your communication and study skills and learn about university expectations. Our small class sizes mean extra support.

