A foundation course is a one or two-year preparatory course for school-leavers who want to qualify for a place on a bachelor’s degree course in art, design or architecture. The course is almost entirely practical in nature, although increasingly elements of art and design history have been introduced, and it is considered sufficient to qualify those who pass it to move on to a degree course without further study. It is the dominant form of entry to university and art college degree courses in the United Kingdom, but versions of it exist in several other countries, particularly where British influence over art education has been historically strong. In Ireland it is known as the Core Studies course, and versions of the foundation course also exist in Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Malta, Malaysia and New Zealand.