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Fine Art

Arts University Plymouth

UCAS Code: W101 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)

Arts University Plymouth

UCAS Code: W101 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)

Entry requirements

UCAS Tariff

104-120

Although many of our students do come in with top grades and high UCAS points, these aren’t necessarily essential for entry. We typically ask for a minimum of 104 UCAS points, but we understand that talented artists, designers and makers can have a wide range of relevant strengths and skills beyond formal qualifications. We’re just as interested in exploring your portfolio as we are in seeing your grades.

You may also need to…

Present a portfolio

image

About this course

This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.

Course option

3years

Full-time | 2025

Other options

6 years | Part-time | 2025

4 years | Sandwich | 2025

Subject

Fine art

Our **BA (Hons) Fine Art** course is rigorous and questioning, encouraging diversity of approaches in thinking and making. Embark on a dynamic journey of artistic exploration with our interdisciplinary Fine Art course. We champion ambitious, self-directed, and critically engaged approaches to contemporary art, fostering an environment where creativity knows no bounds.

Throughout the course, you'll cultivate invaluable skills to critically question and actively create within a supportive community of like-minded artists. Explore diverse modes of practice and gain hands-on experience in the creative sector, forming lasting professional networks for your creative future.

**Why Choose this Course?**
Our dynamic Fine Art degree prioritises contemporary art practice and critical inquiry, offering a studio-centred, interdisciplinary environment fostering artistic freedom and exploration. Through strategic partnerships with ambitious art spaces, you'll have opportunities to test, experiment, and exhibit your work in real-life settings. This course fosters individual artistic growth and exploration, focusing on practice-based study to nurture diverse artistic expression.

From traditional to cutting-edge techniques, access a range of practices spanning 2D, 3D, 4D, as well as workshops in sound drawing, performance painting, scale sculpture, performance, video, projection mapping, sound, traditional printmaking, welding, mould making, casting, critical and reflective writing. Refine your artistic practice in a nurturing environment that intersects creativity with social justice. Master working to briefs, exploring creative ideas solo and collaboratively, and expertly managing projects from inception to fruition.

This course provides opportunities for working collaboratively, deepening cultural understanding and exploring new processes in workshops. Students on this course will work in a learning environment that provides a meaningful link between your studio practice and contemporary art theory.

Led by a dynamic community of creative practitioners, our experienced academic team are active artists, writers, and researchers in contemporary fine art practice. Our curriculum celebrates diversity in thought and creation, encouraging collaborative exploration and the pursuit of new concepts and materials.

**Gain Real-World Experience and Industry Exposure**
As a student you will develop an unrivalled understanding of the professional art world through our ongoing partnerships which include emerging and established galleries, museums, creative organisations and practising artists. In previous years, Fine Art students and staff have participated in Tate Exchange at Tate Modern, as part of the university’s commitment to socially-engaged forms of art and cultural practice. The university’s on-site public exhibition space, MIRROR, also draws a range of national and international artists and exhibitions, allowing you the opportunity to engage with artists through related workshops, talks and screenings.

You will learn to develop your understanding and relationships with regional and national organisations and practitioners as well as opportunities to engage with regional and national galleries and museums including KARST, Ocean Studios, Plymouth Arts Cinema, The Box Plymouth, Tate St Ives, Newlyn Gallery and The Exchange, Cornwall.

Recent international trips have included Berlin and the Venice Biennale. In addition, a visiting artist programme supports the progression and development of our students, creating strong regional and national links to professional partners and institutions, through residencies and exhibition projects that provide professional and graduate opportunities.

Graduates go on to become professional artists, curators, artists’ assistants, arts facilitators, exhibition organisers, arts administrators, lecturers and teachers, art conservators and framers, art handlers, community artists, gallery owners and more.

Modules

Our programme provides a dynamic and stimulating learning environment from which to test new models of practice, while investing in the rich relationship between practice and theory.
We are committed to encouraging studio and post-studio practices, creating artwork that can inhabit a range of settings including galleries, artist-run spaces, and site-specific or event-based projects.
You will be able to place your work within the wider context of contemporary fine art practice, helping to prepare you for your artistic career or continue your journey through postgraduate study.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£16,500
per year
International
£16,500
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni

Course location:

Arts University Plymouth

Department:

Arts, Design and Media

Read full university profile

What students say

We've crunched the numbers to see if the overall teaching satisfaction score here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

90%
Fine art

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Art

Teaching and learning

94%
Staff make the subject interesting
97%
Staff are good at explaining things
97%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
91%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

86%
Library resources
91%
IT resources
91%
Course specific equipment and facilities
83%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

96%
UK students
4%
International students
20%
Male students
80%
Female students
71%
2:1 or above
18%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
B

After graduation

The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Fine art

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£18,000
low
Average annual salary
80%
low
Employed or in further education
55%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

Quite a few students of fine art have already retired and are taking the degree for the excellent reason that they love art, and they're willing to pay to study it. You should bear this in mind if the stats you see feature particularly low employment rates. If you need to earn a living once you've finished your fine art degree, be aware that freelancing and self-employment is common - about one in six fine arts graduates were working for themselves. Also common are what is termed 'portfolio careers' — having several part-time jobs or commissions at once - and many courses actually help you prepare for freelancing. One in ten of last year’s fine arts graduates had more than one job six months after graduation — over twice the average for graduates from 2015. Graduates from these subjects are often found in arts jobs, as artists, designers, photographers and similar jobs, or as arts and entertainment officers or teachers — although it's perfectly possible to get jobs outside the arts if you wish, with jobs in events management, marketing and community work amongst the most popular options.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Art

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£15k

£15k

£19k

£19k

£18k

£18k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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UCAS Points: 104-120

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here