Fine and Applied Arts is a broad-based, highly practical undergraduate programme designed to recognise your individuality, encourage your independence and enhance your creative and technical expertise. All staff are practicing artists and place a high priority on giving you sound tutorial support aimed at helping you to achieve your creative potential.
Fine and Applied Arts differs from many other undergraduate programmes because, from the outset, your options will not be restricted to one specialist area. You will have time to consider how best to channel your creativity. You may decide to follow a predominantly Fine Art course of studies focusing on drawing, painting, sculpture or printmaking or you may wish to apply your creative skills to more design, craft, theoretical or sociallybased outcomes. For example, you might choose to work with materials such as ceramics, glass, wood, metals and stone and gain technical skills in such creative processes as modeling, carving, casting, welding, printmaking, digital and lens-based media, illustration or even mural design. As the course progresses, there will also be opportunities, should you wish, to apply your creativity to wider social contexts such as community arts and educational activities.
Whether you choose to focus on one specialist area or enhance your versatility by gaining skills across a range of disciplines, one thing that will stay constant is our desire to see you underpin your learning through effective drawing and visual research. We also expect you to ensure your technical skills are supported by sound theoretical understanding. To this end, studio teaching is complemented by visual theory, art history and contextual studies which provide a background, through essays and discussions, for reflecting on your individual practice.
Students who opt to combine their undergraduate studies with another academic discipline have the opportunity to work alongside Single Honours Students and this, we feel, enriches the intellectual climate of our studios and workshops. Attention is given throughout the programme to the developmental needs of students, both as individuals and as aspiring professionals.
We seek to foster the intellectual, general and personal skills needed for independent creative practice and professional employment.
Content and StructureLEVEL 1
Level 1 of the programme is designed to foster many of the fundamental skills that lie at the heart of creative endeavor in the visual arts. During this stage modules are aimed at developing the depth and range of your visual literacy and your understanding of various techniques and processes. You will explore ways to express ideas and feelings, observe, analyse and communicate information and use your inventiveness to resolve problems. You will learn through a mixture of formal taught classes, studio and workshop inductions and individual tutorial guidance, all aimed at enabling you to respond to set projects in a more personal way. This means that, with the help of specialist staff, you can begin building a personal skills profile and developing a strong and individual creative identity.
LEVEL 2
Level 2 modules allow you the scope to concentrate on deepening your skills within one area or broadening your skills across a number of disciplines. Whether you go for depth or breadth, you will be expected to clearly demonstrate your intentions through drawing, visual research and critical reflection and negotiation. During this year, you may wish to negotiate a work-placement in order to apply your skills in a different context. Teaching and Technical staff will provide expertise and thoughtful guidance to encourage your emerging creative identity in readiness for progression to your final year.
LEVEL 3
By Level 3 you will have a very clear idea of what genuinely interests you as a practicing artist. This will allow you to embark on major project work that will showcase the skills you have acquired and say more about the issues that drive your creative concerns. The year culminates in a final major assessment in the form of a public exhibition
Entry is competitive and normally subject to a portfolio inspection and interview.
You will need a good portfolio plus any one of the following:
200 UCAS points made up of 2 GCE A levels (including Art), supported by 3 GCSEs (grade A-C)
a Diploma in Foundation Studies (Art and Design) at Level 3
a relevant BTEC National Diploma
a relevant Access qualification
an International Baccalaureate with 24 points or an equivalent qualification or experience
The Department of Art welcomes applications from mature students and those from overseas. All equivalent international qualifications are acceptable, as are applications from students possessing alternative qualifications and/or work experience.
For an explanation of qualifications, have a look at our IAG page on this site www.creativeway.org.uk/quals.
A Progression Agreement is a formal arrangement between two or more
education providers. It spells out what a learner needs to do to be
considered for a place on a named programme of study. Progression Agreements
may vary in the conditions they specify but they all aim to give guaranteed
pathways into higher education.