Art and Design (With Foundation Year)

This popular course gives you the knowledge and practical skills you need to become an art and design professional while studying in a supportive, collaborative studio environment. Working with live briefs, public projects and industry partners, you learn to present work to professional standards, including project production, and develop the skills needed to network, exhibit and build relationships in the creative community.

Foundation Year
In the Foundation year you will study three days per week. The focus will be on academic writing skills and numeracy, plus subject-specific content to fully prepare you for entry to an Undergraduate degree. The course has been designed to develop your skills and to prepare you for entry onto the first year of your chosen course. It provides a balance between content related to your chosen subject and the range of wider skills required for undergraduate study. This is an integrated four-year degree, with the foundation year as a key part of the course. You will be required to pass the foundation year in order to progress to the first year of your BA (Hons) degree. This course is ideal for those who do not meet our standard entry requirements or those with a non-standard educational background. It will allow you to graduate with a full undergraduate degree in your chosen subject in four years.

Facilities and Specialist Equipment

• Spacious studios and facilities in Alexon House, the previous home of the Alexon and Eastex fashion company.

• 3D workshop complete with a laser cutter; 3D printer; digital pattern cutter; CNC machine; and a variety of drills, saws and other tools.

• Print room with extensive screen-printing equipment and range of materials including textiles, wood and paper.

• Industry-relevant software, including an Adobe package with Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator, provided free of charge.

Partnerships and Collaborations

• Students work with our media, interiors, photography and graphics courses. External collaborators include Luton Culture, Departure Lounge Gallery, The Hat Factory, Wardown House Museum, Stockwood Discovery Centre and MK Gallery.

Your Student Experience

• Learn from a different industry professional every week in talks that map their journey from study to employment.

• Work with live briefs, public projects and industry partners, including Luton Culture, Departure Lounge Gallery, The Hat Factory and MK Gallery.

• Explore visual, social, cultural, environmental and political diversity, expressed through your art and design practice, and engage in critical aesthetic and conceptual debates.

• Gain insights into critical theory, the importance of context and contemporary professional practice.

• Visit artist and design studios, galleries, museums and exhibitions throughout the UK. Study trips have included Tate Modern, Tate Britain, the Royal Academy, Hayward Gallery, Barbican and Gagosian.

• Take your studies global with our International Art School Trip; past trips have gone to Berlin, Amsterdam and Paris.