Craft Practices - Ceramics

Study at a specialist college with the assurance of a university qualification. Develop your passions and reach your potential in a small, welcoming environment within a community of like-minded people.

The Course

The Foundation Degree Arts, specialising in Ceramics, is designed to give you a well-rounded, broad experience of ceramic making processes and techniques, from individual hand built objects to small-scale batch production. Alongside this you will be exposed to the conceptual and theoretical knowledge required, to set up as a self-employed designer-maker or craftsperson, to be able to continue your studies in higher education or to find employment in the creative industry sector. Assignments cover issues of design, form, function, decoration, glaze technology and professional practice.

Ceramics-making projects become more challenging as the course progresses and increasingly enable you to specialise in line with your interests and personal direction. You'll be encouraged to understand contemporary and historic craft practice and be able to place your own work in this broader context

On successful completion of this course graduates can advance into the workplace or set up as freelance makers. If however, you wish to progress further, then those interested in making are able to do an additional year to achieve a BA (Hons) Craft Practices, and potentially progress on to our MFA Crafts Practices, which has a ceramics pathway. For those interested in pursuing a career in conservation they can advance onto the Graduate Diploma and MA in Conservation Studies.

Learning Environment

Low student: tutor ratio
Workshop access 8.30am - 9pm, seven days a week*
Interdisciplinary environment
Visits from practising crafts people and artists
Visits to museums and galleries
Work placements and work-related projects

You can expect

To develop excellent practical making and design skills
To learn how material properties influence practice and making
To learn historic and contemporary making techniques in a modern context
To learn from dedicated and experienced tutors who are practising professionals and well- connected in the sector

Interdisciplinary study

Students are encouraged to collaborate with other College departments, making the most of the wide range of specialist knowledge, materials and equipment that is available.

Teaching

You're taught through a combination of lectures, seminars, external trips and visits and workshop practicals. In addition, you have personal tutorials with your subject tutor.

At level 4 you typically have around 18-19 contact hours per week, typically consisting of:

4-5 hours of lectures
1 hour of seminars
8 hours of supervised workshop practicals
1 hour of one-to-one meetings/tutorials
At level 5 you typically have around 16-17 contact hours per week, typically consisting of:

3-4 hours of lectures
1 hour of seminars
7 hours of supervised workshop practicals
1 hour of one-to-one meetings/tutorials

Independent learning

When not attending lectures, seminars and workshop or other timetabled sessions you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. Typically, this will involve continuing to practice in the workshop, reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking research in the library and preparing coursework assignments and presentations.

Overall workload

Level 4: 53% of your time is spent in scheduled teaching and learning activity
Scheduled teaching and learning: 633 hours
Independent learning: 567 hours

Level 5: 50% of your time is spent in scheduled teaching and learning activity
Scheduled teaching and learning: 600 hours
Independent learning: 600 hours

HC-M1: Materials Technology (delivered in pathway workshop and cross-curricular), HC-D1: Drawing and Aesthetics, HC-R1: Study/Research Skills, HC-C1 (CE) Craft Skills, HC-H2: History of Craft, HC-C1 (CE): Craft Skills 1, HC-C2 (CE): Craft Skills 2, HC-M2:
Materials Technology (delivered in pathway workshop and cross-curricular), HC-P3 -Professional Skills incl. Work Placement, HC-C3 (CE) Applied Projects, HC-P4: Professional Portfolio.