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Fine Art

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,C

Any subject.

The Access to HE Diploma. Plus GCSE English at grade 4 / C or above.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

5 GCSEs at grade 4 / C or above to include English.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

29

Any subject.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DMM

Any subject.

Scottish Higher

C,C,D

UCAS Tariff

112

[1] 4 qualifications for tariff points allowed [2] May also include AS level and EPQ [3] Specific subject not required

You may also need to…

Attend an interview

Present a portfolio

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 | 2024

Other options

4 years | Sandwich | 2024

Subject

Fine art

Fine Art is an exciting course that enables you to develop your creative voice, by exploring both, traditional and innovative approaches to contemporary art, reflecting the ever-evolving creative industries.

From day one of this practice-based course, the programme team will encourage you to develop your creativity, by challenging and inspiring you to cultivate your technical, critical reflective and enterprising skills to support you in forging a successful and sustainable career in contemporary art. 

On this studio-based course you:

* Have the opportunity to experiment with digital, intermedia and traditional art forms, within our new spacious studios*.

* Have access to a range of professional workshops, industry-standard software, photographic and media resources*.

* Will be taught by practising artists and creatives who have exhibited at several prestigious venues across the world.

**Key Course Benefits**

* Fine Art is a leading-edge undergraduate programme that is distinctive and innovative in its approach. It critically positions art practice as a catalyst within society, and artists as ‘activators and activists’ in global, social, cultural, political, economic, and civic contemporary and future contexts.

* This practice-based course will challenge and inspire you to develop your creative, technical, critical, and reflective skills through 2D, 3D and 4D art practice. You will gain valuable employability attributes to support you in forging a successful and sustainable career and you will learn how, as a graduate, you can contribute to and expand traditional roles assigned to artists to initiate cultural change.

* Following the university’s recent major investment in art and design, Fine Art is now located in the newly re-configured, state of the art, city centre development. It benefits from a vibrant array of advanced facilities, including world class teaching spaces and technical workshops, innovative technology, multi-use, lens-based, immersive technology, and hyper studios as well as a public gallery space*.

* You will become part of a community of artist practitioners, who taught by practising artists, art historians, and writers who have exhibited and published their work internationally. In addition to this, our exciting visiting lecture series has Simon Pope, Jane and Louise Wilson, John Stezaker, Peta Murphy Burke, Terry Atkinson, Merlin James, Harry Pye, Zineb Sedira, Bob & Roberta Smith, Thompson & Craighead, (subject to availability).

* The course offers you lots of different career paths both in fine art, but also across the creative industries. Past graduates have won the prestigious John Moore’s Painting prize and the ‘Independent Vision Award for Curatorial Achievement; secured positions such as curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp, editor of ‘Madame Wang’ an international journal for collaborative arts practice, and Cultural Events Organiser for Coventry Cathedral; and had artwork selected for the International Neu/Now Festival in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Many graduates have progressed on to post-graduate study inhouse or at other internationally respected institutions.

*For further information please check the course page on the Coventry University website

Modules

This course has a common first year

The common first year enables you to work alongside students doing similar courses to you, to widen your knowledge and exposure to other subject areas and professions. You will have the opportunity to collaborate with other students, so you can share your insights and experience which will help you to develop and learn.

If you discover an interest in a specific subject you have studied, upon successful completion of your first year, you could swap degrees with another course in your common first year (subject to meeting progression requirements).

Common first year courses

Fine Art BA (Hons)
Illustration BA (Hons)
Photography BA (Hons)

Year One Modules
Inspiration
Process
Play
Narrative
Audiences

Year Two
In year two, you will continue to develop the skills and knowledge you’ve learnt. We do this by embedding the following four principles into the curriculum and developing your:

Technical skills – digital fluency, backed with the right academic knowledge
Study skills – to be an adaptive, independent and proactive learner
Professional skills – to have the behaviour and abilities to succeed in your career
Global awareness – the beliefs and abilities to be a resilient, confident and motivated global citizen

In year two, you will develop more advanced knowledge and skills to do with: considering the role of an artist in a contemporary society, engaging with global audiences, and environments, amongst others.

Modules
Chance
Society
Global Audiences
Locating Research
Environments
Interruptions

Placement Year

There’s no better way to find out what you love doing than trying it out for yourself, which is why a work placement can often be beneficial. Work placements* usually occur between your second and final year of study. They’re a great way to help you explore your potential career path and gain valuable work experience, whilst developing transferable skills for the future.

If you choose to do a work placement year, you will pay a reduced tuition fee* of £1250. For more information, please go to the fees and funding section. During this time you will receive guidance from your employer or partner institution, along with your assigned academic mentor who will ensure you have the support you need to complete your placement.

Final Year

Year three aims to bring you to the level to enter the world of work by consolidating your knowledge and skills from year one and two.

Modules
Critical Connections
Dialogues
Communities
Consolidations
Launch

We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated. Before accepting any offers, please check the website for the most up to date course content. For full module details please check the course page on the Coventry University website.

*For further information please check the course page on the Coventry University website

Assessment methods

This course is assessed using a variety of methods that recognise module-specific skills and learning. You are predominantly assessed by coursework and assessment methods prepare you for diverse contexts.

Assessment methods can include:

Practical coursework 
Digital coursework 
Individual work  
Group work  
Live presentations  
Video presentations  
Video essays
Academic essays 

The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.

Tuition fees

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

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
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:

Coventry University

Department:

School of Art and Design

Read full university profile

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.

37%
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

52%
Staff make the subject interesting
52%
Staff are good at explaining things
61%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
65%
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

60%
Library resources
82%
IT resources
59%
Course specific equipment and facilities
20%
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?

88%
UK students
12%
International students
12%
Male students
88%
Female students
85%
2:1 or above
11%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
C

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.

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.

£19,000
high
Average annual salary
100%
high
Employed or in further education
45%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

21%
Other elementary services occupations
18%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
12%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals

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.

£16k

£16k

£21k

£21k

£24k

£24k

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 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

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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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