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Art and Design Foundation (Swansea College of Art)

Entry requirements


UCAS Tariff

32

Grades are important; however, our offers are not solely based on academic results. We are interested in creative people that demonstrate a strong commitment to their subject area and therefore we welcome applications from individuals from a wide range of backgrounds. To assess student suitability for their chosen course we normally arrange interviews for all applicants at which your skills, achievements and life experience will be considered as well as your qualifications and portfolio of work.

About this course


This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.

Course option

1year

Full-time | 2024

Other options

2 years | Part-time | 2024

Subject

Design

The course provides an introduction to study within art and design and bridges study at Level 3 and progression to study on a degree programme within art and design. Predominantly visual and practical, with elements of written work, this course develops students' understanding of concept, contexts and making. It is the preferred route into specialised study within higher education. Students are introduced to specialist study areas including: Fine Art; Visual Communication; Lens-based Media; 3D Design; and, Fashion and Textiles. All students then specialise and progress onto courses of study at degree level, including: Fine Art; Painting and Drawing; Illustration; Graphic Design; Advertising and Brand Design; Games Design; Digital Arts, Animation; Film and Video; Photography; Automotive; Furniture; Interior; Product; Production and Theatre Design; Architecture; Fashion and Jewellery Design; and, Textiles and Surface Pattern.

Modules

Year One - Level 4 (Cert HE)

• Academic Writing and Practical / Written Research (20 credits; compulsory)
• Developing Personal Practice (20 credits; compulsory)
• Developing Specialist Practice and Preparing for Progression (20 credits; compulsory)
• Exhibition Outcomes (20 credits; compulsory)
• Introduction to Art and Design (20 credits; compulsory)
• Practical and Written Experimentation (20 credits; compulsory).

The modules are delivered through contextual introductions to projects, a range of workshops and classes, lectures and study visits. Students are guided and assessed through group and individual tutorials and critiques. Contextual and historical studies are embedded in all the modules.

Assessment methods

Each of the six modules earns twenty credits, and all will be assessed through Coursework.

Coursework is presented in the form of: Sketchbooks/Visual Diaries, Preparatory Work, Workshop & Drawing Class Work, Project Outcomes, Digital Documentation, a Selected and Collated Portfolio, Written Assignments

Critiques

Group critiques are scheduled regularly to conclude projects and form part of the assessment. They provide the opportunity for formal presentation of outcomes and preparatory work, and for peer and staff criticism

Selected and Collated Portfolio

Students, working with staff, select and collate a Portfolio of work for presentation at interviews for progression onto further courses/other. The main body of the portfolio will be project work and in particular specialist outcomes and preparatory work. Drawings and project work are selected to show additional skills and ability. Sketchbooks, visual diaries and any 3D preparatory work will accompany the portfolio.

Written Assignments

Formats for written assignments may include: essays on proposed themes, exhibition reports, project proposals and reviews. Presentation formats may include: illustrated and fully referenced academic essays and less formal reports and/or blogs.

Tuition fees

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

Channel Islands
£9,000
per year
England
£9,000
per year
EU
£9,000
per year
International
£13,500
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,000
per year
Scotland
£9,000
per year
Wales
£9,000
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Alexandra Road, Swansea

Department:

Swansea College of Art

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.

72%
Design

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.

Design studies

Teaching and learning

87%
Staff make the subject interesting
82%
Staff are good at explaining things
83%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
85%
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

64%
Library resources
53%
IT resources
72%
Course specific equipment and facilities
57%
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?

97%
UK students
3%
International students
29%
Male students
71%
Female students
70%
2:1 or above
10%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
A
B

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.

Design studies

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.

£15,912
low
Average annual salary
97%
med
Employed or in further education
65%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

47%
Design occupations
21%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
7%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Design studies

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£14k

£14k

£17k

£17k

£18k

£18k

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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Course location and department:

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Teaching Excellence Framework (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?

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