Southampton Solent University & Warsash Maritime School - Careers at Sea Open Day (On-Campus)
14 Mar 2026, 09:30
Southampton
The Art and Design Foundation Year builds the fundamental skills, behaviours, and creative confidence needed for successful progression into higher-level study or early-stage industry engagement. Through a practice-led curriculum, you will learn to generate ideas, experiment across a range of media, and communicate visually through a developing portfolio- key expectations within creative professions. You'll also learn to interpret contextual research, reflect on your practice, and engage constructively with peers and tutors, mirroring industry processes of collaboration, critique, and iteration.
You'll be supported to develop resilience, adaptability, and self-awareness and by the end of the year, you will have a portfolio demonstrating creative progression, an understanding of how research informs experimentation, and the confidence to participate in a creative community. These foundations position you strongly for degree-level study and for exploring future opportunities within the creative industries.
Most students progress from the foundation year into their chosen creative degree, leading to careers in areas such as fine art, photography, graphic design, illustration, interiors, fashion, make-up and prosthetics, and related creative industries. However, the course also develops strong transferable and employability skills, including creativity, adaptability, communication, problem-solving, and teamwork.
Who this course is for
This course is ideal for students who are interested in creative study but may be unsure of their chosen pathway or need additional preparation before starting a degree. It suits applicants from a wide range of educational backgrounds, including those returning to education or lacking confidence, who want to develop practical skills, build a portfolio, and explore creative disciplines in a supportive university environment.
FOUNDATION YEAR
CORE MODULES
Creative Industries Launchpad
Metamorphosis
Utopia and Dystopia
Creative Showcase
YEAR ONE
CORE MODULES
Thinking Like a Designer
Interior Stories
Architectural System and Context
Responsive Interiors
YEAR TWO
CORE MODULES
Ergonomics
Interior Design in Industry
Urban Walkway
Professional Projects and Practice
FINAL YEAR
CORE MODULES
Sustainable Interior Futures
Adaptive Reuse
Major Project - Research
Major Project – Presentation
You may be assessed at the end of each block by:
Design based portfolios
Creative design projects
Group presentations
Research projects
Reports
Individual presentations
As part of this course, you will study one module at a time, giving you the chance to build a deeper understanding and see the results of your hard work more quickly. With regular assessments and feedback, rather than exams all at once, you’ll also benefit from improved focus, and a more manageable workload.
The following entry points are available for this course:
For information about applying to Solent as an International applicant, please visit https://www.solent.ac.uk/how-to-apply/entry-requirements/help-for-international-students
Find out more about qualification requirements for this course.
| Test | Grade | Additional details |
|---|---|---|
| IELTS (Academic) | 6 | with 5.5 in each individual component. |
| TOEFL (iBT) | 80 | with a minimum of 20 in each individual compoenent. |
We understand that each student is unique. At Solent we encourage individuality and have adopted a balanced approach to Admissions, by considering exam results alongside portfolios / interviews or auditions.
Our contextual offer scheme allows offers below our standard academic entry criteria to those who have faced challenges which has impacted their performance and predicted higher grades, by taking into account additional selection criteria such as a strong portfolio, interview or audition.
This section shows the range of grades students (with UK A-Levels or Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diplomas) who received offers were previously accepted with (learn more). It is designed to support your research but does not guarantee whether you will or won't get a place. Admissions teams consider various factors, including interviews, subject requirements, and entrance tests. Check all course entry requirements for eligibility.
We are unable to show previous accepted grades for this course. This could be because the course is new, it's a postgraduate course, there isn't enough historical data, or the provider has opted out of sharing their entry grades data for this course - learn more.
| Location | Fee | Year |
|---|---|---|
| England | £9790 | Year 1 |
| Northern Ireland | £9790 | Year 1 |
| Scotland | £9790 | Year 1 |
| Wales | £9790 | Year 1 |
| Channel Islands | £9790 | Year 1 |
| Republic of Ireland | £9790 | Year 1 |
| International | £19081 | Year 1 |
Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website.
No additional fees or cost information has been supplied for this course, please contact the provider directly.
Solent University offers a number of bursaries, grants and scholarships. For more information, please visit https://www.solent.ac.uk/finance/grants-bursaries-scholarships/bursaries
East Park Terrace
Southampton
SO14 0YN
Visit our website Visit our course page
Email:admissions@solent.ac.uk
Phone:+44 (0) 23 8201 5066
At Southampton, Solent University