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Fine Art

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,C-B,C,C

Access to HE Diploma

D:15,M:24,P:6

Pass Access to HE Diploma with 60 credits with 45 at Level 3

GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE Maths and English Grade 4/Grade C (or above) or equivalent qualification

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

DMM

T Level

M

UCAS Tariff

104-112

Offers will be made initially based on your application, including predicted grades and/or grades you have already achieved. Following this, if you submit a strong portfolio we will make you an unconditional offer, to reflect the quality of your work and your potential.

You may also need to…

Present a portfolio

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Fine art

An exciting new artist is about to emerge – you. Discover your distinctive creative voice on this fine art degree by experimenting with a range of media and materials. You will be mentored by some of the best fine art teachers in the country.

WHY CHOOSE THIS COURSE?
The wide-ranging facilities here encourage you to explore and experiment with painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture and installation, sound, film and video, digital media and performance. We only accept around 30 students each year so there is a close-knit community and our teachers have time to fully support you.

IS THIS COURSE FOR YOU?
If you enjoy experimenting with different working methods, materials and processes, Fine Art could be for you. Also, are you brave and inventive? Do you love possibility? If so, you belong at Derby School of Arts.

HOW YOU WILL LEARN
You’ll learn through studio workshops, group and individual tutorials, seminars, lectures and visiting artists. Each year, you can choose to visit a cultural centre in Europe or the USA, as well as national galleries and museums. A series of projects for real clients take you out of the studio – we’ve created sculptures and installations for the National Trust and Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust.

OPPORTUNITIES AND EXPERIENCES
You and your work will be highly visible because we enter national competitions and exhibitions. Our students are regularly offered artist residencies at home and abroad and have gained coveted places at events such as the Students’ International Biennale.

CAREERS AND EMPLOYABILITY
Many of our students go on to become long-term practising artists – undertaking residencies, opening studios, exhibiting nationally and internationally, and lecturing. However, you could also pursue careers in areas like curatorship, art therapy, community arts or teaching. One graduate, Paul Cummins, curated one of the most memorable WWI exhibitions, Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red.

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
£14,900
per year
International
£14,900
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Derby

Department:

Department 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.

54%
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

62%
Staff make the subject interesting
85%
Staff are good at explaining things
62%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
62%
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

69%
Library resources
92%
IT resources
69%
Course specific equipment and facilities
46%
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?

90%
UK students
10%
International students
25%
Male students
75%
Female students
59%
2:1 or above
21%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
D
D

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.

£16,380
low
Average annual salary
97%
med
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

15%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
15%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
9%
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.

£15k

£15k

£19k

£19k

£20k

£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.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
University of Southampton | Southampton
Fine Art
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 120
Nearby University
Staffordshire University | Stoke-on-Trent
Fine Art
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 112-120

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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:

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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

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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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here