This four-year degree course includes an intensive foundation year (Year 0), which will enable you to progress onto one of our art or design undergraduate degree courses at our School of Art, Architecture and Design. It is both preparatory and diagnostic, allowing you to explore a number of different directions prior to choosing a specialism at the end of the year. It will also provide you with the skills required for your subsequent three years of study.
More about this course
As a start you’ll undertake a broad range of short studio and workshop projects in visual imagery and practical making. These will help you to develop techniques that are common across all of our foundation year courses and introduce you to a work ethic of experimentation and open-mindedness. Following this you will approach open-ended, interpretive projects that will help you to establish a personal perspective and sense of direction.
Foundation year programmes allow you to develop techniques in:
- observational, technical and creative drawing
- 2D and 3D composition
- framing, sequence/series and narrative
- studio and workshop skills
During your subject-specific projects you’ll also have the opportunity to explore:
- conceptual modelling
- performance
- colour
- materials
- collage
- composition
- curating
- exhibiting
Your lectures and seminars will frame the creative practice within historical, contemporary, conceptual and cultural contexts.
Throughout the course you’ll present work-in-progress and finished projects to peers and tutors on a regular basis, which will prepare you for the public exhibition at the end of year. This will be a chance for you to explore your abilities and guide you towards establishing an individual focus and direction.
By the end of your foundation year you’ll have produced a substantial portfolio of work that will allow you to progress on to one of the School’s art or design undergraduate degree courses. This introductory year will also see you develop into a confident, creative and socially-engaged practitioner, and you’ll continue into your chosen field of study equipped with the skills to make more informed decisions about your own work within its specific context.
Once you have progressed onto the three-year course after the foundation year, you’ll study the same course content as those who take the three-year course. On completion of your chosen degree course you’ll graduate with the same title and award as those who undertook the same traditional three-year degree without the foundation year
Accreditation of Prior Learning
Any university-level qualifications or relevant experience you gain prior to starting university could count towards your course
Modular structure
The modules listed below are for the academic year 2022/23 and represent the course modules at this time. Modules and module details (including, but not limited to, location and time) are subject to change over time.
Year 0 modules include:
Critical & Contextual Studies: Foundation (core, 30 credits)
Formats (core, 30 credits)
Project (core, 30 credits)
Techniques (core, 30 credits)
Where this course can take you
The course is suitable for anyone planning a career in art and design and the cultural and creative industries. Please see the career opportunities under the various relevant undergraduate degree courses on to which you can progress.
The opportunities for careers are extensive – one out of every 12 jobs in the UK is in the creative sectors, with employment growing faster here than in the rest of the economy.
