Fine Art with Foundation Year
UCAS Code: W10F
Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
A maximum of 4 subjects are considered. These can be other A/S Levels (as long in a different subject) A-Levels or Level 3 equivalents.
Considered with a maximum of 3 other Level 3 qualifications (AS Levels must be in different subject to A-Levels) to obtain 80 pts
Pass with 60 credits overall. At least 45 credits at Level 3. Arts, Media and Publishing subjects preferred but other subjects also considered.
Must be in a topic related to the degree subject being applied for Considered with a maximum of 3 other Level 3 qualifications to obtain 80 pts
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Obtain a minimum of 24 points overall For students who do not already hold a GCSE in English Language at Grade C/4 or above Standard Level English Language (not literature) English A - Grade 4 or above or English B - Grade 5 from the IB Diploma will be accepted For students who do not already hold a GCSE in Mathematics at Grade C/4 or above Standard Level Maths, grade 5 or above from the IB Diploma will be accepted
Pass the Irish Leaving Certificate with a minimum of 80 tariff points, achieved in five Higher level subjects. This must include English Language and Maths taken at either Ordinary Level (minimum grade O1-O4 (or A-C/A1-C3)) or Higher level minimum grade H1/H7 (or A-D / A1-D3 up to and including 2016
See level 3 entry under Irish Leaving Certificate for full details
Considered with a maximum of 3 other Level 3 qualifications to obtain 80 pts
Considered with a maximum of 3 other Level 3 qualifications to obtain 80 pts
OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma
Considered with a maximum of 3 other Level 3 qualifications to obtain 80 pts
Considered with a maximum of 3 other Level 3 qualifications to obtain 80 pts
Considered with a maximum of 3 other Level 3 qualifications to obtain 80 pts
Considered with a maximum of 3 other Level 3 qualifications to obtain 80 pts
Considered with a maximum of 3 other Level 3 qualifications to obtain 80 pts
Considered with a maximum of 3 other Level 3 qualifications to obtain 80 pts
Pearson BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF)
Considered with a maximum of 3 other Level 3 qualifications to obtain 80 pts
Considered with a maximum of 3 other Level 3 qualifications to obtain 80 pts
Considered with a maximum of 3 other Level 3 qualifications to obtain 80 pts
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Considered with a maximum of 3 other Level 3 qualifications to obtain 80 pts
Considered with a maximum of 3 other Level 3 qualifications to obtain 80 pts
Achieve a minimum of 80 tariff points achieved in either three Advanced Highers or from a combination of two Advanced Highers plus two Highers. Where three Advanced Highers have been taken achieve a minimum of grades DDD Where a combination of Highers and Advanced Highers have been taken you must achieve (grades of DD in two Advanced Highers plus grades of DD in two Highers).
Achieve a minimum of 80 tariff points achieved in either five Highers or from a combination of two Advanced Highers plus two Highers. Where only Highers have been taken a minimum of grades CDDDD is required. Where a combination of Highers and Advanced Highers have been taken you must achieve grades of DD in two Advanced Highers plus grades of DD in two Highers.
UCAS Tariff
Contextualised reduced tariff offer: Please visit: https://www.bcu.ac.uk/student-info/offer-making-strategy for more information about contextual offers.
Considered with a maximum of 3 other Level 3 qualifications to obtain 80 pts
About this course
Our Foundation course will focus on your personal and creative development based around a broad exploration of visual disciplines, leading directly to a BA course in the School of Art or the School of Visual Communication within the Art, Design and Media Faculty at BCU.
Working in a lively and energetic environment you will be given the freedom to expand your knowledge in conceptual development, practical skills and creative exploration underpinned by broad critical understanding and emerging theoretical principles.
You will work individually and collaboratively to develop a stimulating visual portfolio of work that evidences your enthusiasm for further study within a specific subject area.
BA teaching staff from across both schools will work with you throughout the course and you will have full access to all the University facilities.
Our Fine Art BA course gives you the support of professionals to choose your own creative journey and flourish as an artist, curator, teacher or working in other creative fields.
Situated in our historic Grade I-listed art school, based in Margaret Street, you'll enjoy the freedom, space and support needed to establish your own artistic voice. There are no set pathways to learning and this means you’ll have genuine freedom to experiment in any media appropriate to your ideas, encouraging you to experiment in or across painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, photography, installation, film and video.
This course encourages you to experiment in or across painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, photography, installation, film and video. You'll be supported throughout your studies by our experienced and talented tutors and technical staff - all professional artists in their own right. As well as learning important skills for your future career development from our practical and professional practice modules, you’ll also be introduced to the context and curation of art.
You will enjoy our close links to the Ikon Gallery, Ort Gallery, New Art Gallery Walsall and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and be inspired by the studios and galleries set up by former students, such as The Lombard Method, Grand Union, Stryx and Ort Gallery.
The course concludes in a public professional exhibition of your practical work supported by individual websites. You will curate exhibitions, have the opportunity take part in work placements and exchanges, and go on national and international study visits. Each year the onsite project space, the International Project Space (IPS), will be the hub for a series of residencies, exhibitions and events, and we will work with a number of local, national and international partners to deliver a range of projects with our students.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
Parkside Building Campus
Birmingham School of Art
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
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
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
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.
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.
Creative arts and design
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
£20k
£21k
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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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).
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
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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?
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