Visual Arts and Film
Durham University
UCAS Code: VA01 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Specific subjects excluded for entry: General Studies and Critical Thinking. Information: Applicants taking Science A-levels that include a practical component will be required to take and pass this as a condition of entry. This refers only to English A Levels.
Access to HE Diploma
We require 60 credits with a minimum of 45 credits at level 3 (or equivalent).
Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Seventeen points (6, 6, 5) in Higher Level subjects
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Scottish Advanced Higher
Scottish Higher
Departments will normally make offers based on Advanced Highers. In the absence of 3 Advanced Highers, where these are not offered by the applicant’s school, offers comprising of Advanced Highers and Highers or a number of Highers may be made on a case by case basis.
At Durham we welcome applications from students of outstanding achievement and potential from all educational backgrounds. We will consider applicants studying T level qualifications for entry to many of our courses. Where a course requires subject specific knowledge and this is not covered within the T level being studied, you may need to supplement your T level studies with a suitable qualification to meet this requirement, for example at A level. Where this is needed this will be clearly stated in our entry requirements. Detailed entry requirements can be found on individual course entries on our courses database.
UCAS Tariff
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About this course
Combining still and moving images, advanced academic study and practical skills development, this BA is a degree like no other. It draws on staff research spanning historical periods from classical Rome to the present, and is almost global in its geographical reach. There is an emphasis not only on Western art, film and visual culture, but also those of the Middle East, Russophone Eurasia and East Asia.
The concepts of the ‘visual’ and the ‘image’ you will explore on this course are fundamentally shaped by this transnational perspective. With this scope in mind, the degree offers extensive language-learning opportunities, as part of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures. You will have the opportunity to draw on the outstanding collections of the University’s internationally renowned Oriental Museum, its distinguished Western Art collections, and the curatorial expertise of its staff. No previous study of art is required, just a desire to explore the exciting world of visual art and film.
You will have the opportunity to study the art, film and visual culture of Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, East Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. As such, alongside the language-learning opportunities, you can also apply to add a placement year or a year abroad to your degree, increasing the course from three years to four.
There is a practical and professional focus too. Depending on your own module choices, field trips, placement opportunities and skills-based modules will give you insights into how art is made, exhibited, bought and sold.
**Year 1**
You will study 3 core modules that lay a broad foundation for the study of visual arts and film, and 2 optional modules from within or beyond the Faculty. This may include a language.
**Year 2**
You will study 3 core modules that build on your knowledge and skills in film studies, exhibition display and curating, and digital research skills. Optional modules give you the opportunity to further develop their language skills or expand their knowledge of visual culture and film into more specialised areas, with a particular emphasis on historical and geographical diversity.
**Year 3**
You must undertake a dissertation project and special subject module. This gives you the chance to apply your existing knowledge in two distinct modules that encourage depth of research. Optional modules allow you to deepen your knowledge and understanding of exhibitions, to further extend your practical skills base in the filmmaking module, or to expand the geographical, historical, or thematic range of your studies.
For more information on this course, please see our website.
Modules
Year 1
Core modules:
Introduction to Visual Culture Studies examines the central issues in visual culture, film studies and the history of art, paying particular attention to the relationship between these three linked areas. Central to the philosophy of the module is an emphasis on global visual cultures and the role translation plays in the study of transnational phenomena.
The Art of the Moving Image (1): Key Concepts explores the moving image in a range of formats, genres, histories, media, national contexts, and styles. It will help to develop your ability to analyse and critique moving image texts. You will be familiarised with the complexity and specificity of the moving image by focusing on aspects such as audiences, auteurs, cinematography, editing, industries, performance, sound and staging. You will also be introduced to key theories in the fields of film and visual studies in the wider context of cultural studies. You will develop your research skills and methodologies in the field of visual cultures and the moving image. This may include animation, documentary film, narrative and short film, streaming platforms, television, video and video art.
Art- and Film-Writing in Context covers the numerous forms and venues in which people write about art and film. It will equip you with the understanding and skills required to be an effective communicator, able to write in a knowledgeable and medium-appropriate way for a variety of audiences.
Examples of optional modules:
People and Cultures
Introduction to Middle Eastern Cultures
Cities in Antiquity
Medieval to Modern: An Introduction to the Archaeology of the Medieval to the Post Medieval World
Lives of Objects – Greek and Roman Antiquity
Introduction to Chinese Culture
Year 2
Core modules:
Digital Skills for Visual Culture Research develops your appreciation of the relationship between technology and different modes of aesthetic experience. You will explore digital technology and the digital revolution, reflecting on both the ‘therapeutic’ and ‘toxic’ dimensions. Alongside the technical skills for deploying digital methods you will consider the need for responsibility in the uses of technology.
Introduction to Museums and Curating gives you a holistic understanding of the multi-faceted nature of museum/gallery collecting and curating. You will be introduced to a range of exhibition types and contexts and associated educational and public engagement programming. This will equip you with the conceptual and practical tools to plan a coherent and viable professional exhibition.
The Art of the Moving Image (2): Theories and Contexts explores the moving image in a range of formats, genres, histories, media, national contexts and styles. You will develop your ability to analyse and critique the art of the moving image. You will also investigate how the evolution of the moving image has intersected with political, social and cultural developments across the globe.
Examples of optional modules:
Objects of Desire: Making Sense of the Collections at the Oriental Museum
Thinking Through Art Objects
Middle Eastern Cinema
Violence in German Literature, Film and Visual Art
The Body and the Extremity of the Senses: Through Japanese Literature, Performance and Media Arts
Introduction to Anime: Aesthetic, Technology, Seriality
Renaissance and Baroque in Image and Word
Year 3 (Year 4 if undertaking a placement or year abroad)
Core module:
Your 12,000-word Dissertation will cultivate your independent, research-led learning and in-depth knowledge by researching and writing about a particular area of interest, for which the department can offer research supervision. It will also enhance your employability by allowing you to demonstrate your independence and your project-management experience of planning, documenting and writing an extended piece of work.
Examples of optional modules:
Photography and Modernity Between the Wars
Performance and Topography
The Spanish Imaginary
Assessment methods
Modules are varied in their assessment methods, and include essays, commentaries, portfolios, fieldwork reviews, projects, film production, examinations and a dissertation.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
Durham City
College allocation pending
Modern European Languages
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