Fine Art and History of Art
Goldsmiths, University of London
UCAS Code: VW31 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Successful completion of three A-levels, or an equivalent qualification. PLUS successful completion of an Art and Design Foundation diploma and portfolio of work. OR Successful completion of a Foundation diploma, BTEC Extended Diploma in Art and Design (completed by the end of the academic year preceding entry) and portfolio of work Please note, students applying directly from A-Levels who have not completed an Art and Design Foundation or BTEC Extended Diploma in Art and Design will not be eligible for this programme. After submitting your application you'll be asked to upload a portfolio and essay online. If selected for interview, you'll be asked to bring along a portfolio of recent work and an essay. Mature students without formal qualifications who have relevant experience are also welcomed.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Successful completion of a Foundation diploma, BTEC Extended Diploma in Art and Design (completed by the end of the academic year preceding entry) and portfolio of work. Please note, students applying directly from A-Levels who have not completed an Art and Design Foundation or BTEC Extended Diploma in Art and Design will not be eligible for this programme. After submitting your application you'll be asked to upload a portfolio and essay online. If selected for interview, you'll be asked to bring along a portfolio of recent work and an essay. Mature students without formal qualifications who have relevant experience are also welcomed.
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About this course
This distinctive degree supports your individual concerns and development and enables you to navigate your way through theory and practice, various fine art media, and thematic strands within the study of art history and visual cultures.
**Why study BA Fine Art & History of Art at Goldsmiths**
- You’ll gain the expertise that will help you develop independent thought and confidence in your practice, as well as transferable skills suitable for employment in the creative industries.
- Studying both the theory and practice of fine art means you’ll be able to take a critical approach to your work and think about it in the wider context of art history.
- We're renowned for our strengths in the creative and visual arts, as well as humanities subjects, so you'll be able to benefit from this wide-ranging expertise.
- We're ranked 18th in the world for art and design (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022).
- Staff on the programme are practising artists, curators, academics and writers, here to help you develop your practice, focus your research and respond to the work that you make.
- Our teaching takes advantage of the many galleries, art spaces, museums, cultural facilities and specialist libraries in London and on campus you'll have access to a studio space and excellent facilities including specialist art practice areas, as well as the newly opened Goldsmiths Centre of Contemporary Art.
- Invited artists, curators, gallerists, administrators and funders will provide you with specialist advice and further information to complement your studies and prepare you for professional life after graduation.
Please note the BA Fine Art and History of Art only accepts applications for first year entry.
Modules
This programme allows you to integrate fine art practice and the study of history of art in the context of contemporary visual culture. Throughout the programme, you'll be required to participate actively in seminars, discussing your own work and that of other students.
The programme is made up of:
Fine art studio practice, taught in the Department of Art, develops your work through experimentation, with the aim of achieving a thorough understanding of your chosen media and their relevance within contemporary culture. Three years of intensive studio and workshop practice culminate in the final year exhibition which is assessed and then opened to the public.
History of art modules taught through lectures, seminars and tutorials in the Department of Visual Cultures.
An interdisciplinary Link Seminar taught across both departments, which explores the dynamic relationships between art history, theory and practice in large seminar and small workshop formats.
Year 1 (credit level 4)
Studio Practice focuses on the acquisition of fundamental knowledge and gives you the basic practical skills necessary to initiate your research. You will gain experience of making art independently and an awareness of the interaction between the history of art and theory as it relates to your studio practice.
Your tutors assess your Studio Practice coursework continuously and your work is also assessed through an end-of-year presentation.
In Art History, you will develop an independent critical involvement with works of art and visual culture. Our first-year modules enable you to examine changing conceptions of art and the artist, historically and also in terms of context, ideas, and kinds of practice.
Each of our first-year modules is taught by a team of four or five different teachers from the permanent faculty. In this way, first-year students soon get to know many of the Department’s core academic staff. You will therefore begin your second year with both rich insights from and a comprehensive overview of Department life as a whole.
All students take a compulsory Art History module:
Modernities
plus
Space and Time
or
Beyond Boundaries.
Your first year will introduce you to history of art as a discipline and engage you in discussion of key aspects of contemporary visual culture – including not just artefacts in museums and art galleries, but also architecture, cityscape and landscape, adverts, TV and film, websites, the body, and street style. You must pass all components to progress to the following year.
Year 2 (credit level 5)
Studio Practice in Year 2 begins to deal with more complex issues and a selective application of acquired knowledge and practical skills. It is a period of experimentation and synthesis, expanding and deepening your practice.
Your tutors assess your Studio Practice coursework continuously and you make a presentation of selected work for a viva voce in the third term, where you will be asked to discuss your work in depth.
History of Art in Year 2 will involve two option modules and the compulsory module The Link.
Year 3 (credit level 6)
Studio Practice at this level reflects an independent, self-motivated practice and your potential to work as an artist. You will demonstrate a high degree of understanding, critical awareness and independent judgement. At this level, you will have consolidated your practical and critical skills in preparation for the Final Exhibition and further independent practice.
Your tutors assess your Studio Practice coursework continuously and at the end of the year you mount an exhibition of your Studio Practice for assessment, which is then open to the public.
In History of Art you either take 45 credits from a list of Special Subjects and option modules, or 15 credits plus a dissertation of 8,000–10,000 words (30 credits).
You will also take the compulsory module The Link.
Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.
Assessment methods
You’ll be assessed by a variety of methods, depending on your module choices. These include coursework, examinations, group work and projects.
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)
History of art, architecture and design
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.
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.
History of art, architecture and design
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
This is a category for graduates taking a wide range of courses that don’t fall neatly into a subject group, so be aware that the stats you see here may not be a very accurate guide to the outcomes for the specific course you’re interested in. Management, finance, marketing, education and jobs in the arts are some of the typical jobs for these graduates, but it's sensible to go on open days and talk to tutors about what you might expect from the course, and what previous graduates did.
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
£21k
£20k
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.
History of art, architecture 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.
£16k
£22k
£27k
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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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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