Creative Arts Practice (with Foundation Year)

Explore, innovate and push boundaries with this stimulating contemporary arts degree.

• Develop a range of skills, including innovative and expansive approaches to making, alongside professionalism within the creative industries.

• Experiment in our inspiring studio spaces and well-equipped workshops, with access to exceptional facilities.

• Learn from practising artists and makers with outstanding national and international reputations.

This studio-based creative arts degree places making at its heart.

You'll gain a practical grounding in a range of creative fields of study. Students are encouraged to explore and develop a range of making skills across these main disciplines: ceramics, print, textiles, wood, metal, plastics. You’ll also explore the critical, conceptual, ethical and environmental issues in contemporary craft through the role of making within social, cultural and historical contexts.

Throughout your studies you’ll learn a broad range of skills to help you flourish in the workplace, including social networking, photographing your work, creating digital portfolios, applying for competitions, marketing, creating a web presence, setting up a business, working on commissions, pricing your work, approaching galleries, exhibiting, and fundraising. As we’re an Adobe Creative Campus, you’ll also have free access to a suite of industry-standard creative apps.

You’ll graduate with the confidence and transferable skills to establish your own practice as a creative artist or maker, or go on to pursue a career within the creative industries.

More about the Integrated Foundation Year
The preliminary and intensive Integrated Foundation in Art and Design is designed to develop your ideas, skills and confidence in readiness for progressing to year one of your degree programme.

Year 0 – the foundation year.
Develop your ideas, skills and confidence during this Foundation year, in readiness for your chosen degree course. Begin with a fast-paced introduction to experimentation and play as forms of investigation through active drawing, observation, making and recording.

Year one
In your first year the focus will be on upskilling, learning about different materials, and gaining the skills to work both independently and in collaboration.

You’ll explore materials and methods of making, including ceramics, textiles, wood, metal, plastics and printing. You’ll spend time in the workshop with tutors and technicians, as well as on your own, to allow you to immerse yourself in the making processes. You’ll also broaden your knowledge of contemporary craft professionals, and begin to critically assess your work, and the work of others, through discussion and written tasks, including critical studies essays.

During the year you’ll choose which discipline you would like to focus on for the remainder of your studies.

Year two
During your second year you’ll delve deeper into your chosen area of study, attending classes delivered by a range of tutors who are specialists in their field and current practitioners.

Visiting lecturers will share their knowledge of a range of career paths and experiences. Professional practice is a key component of study this year, and you’ll develop an on-line presence and gain experience of hosting and marketing an exhibition, event or publication. Live opportunities will also provide briefs for the students within their chosen discipline, working with partner organisations and/or industry.

Year three
In your final year, you’ll hone your making skills to professional standards and you’ll be actively marketing your work alongside your making.

You’ll set your own brief or will explore opportunities to work in collaboration with any area you feel relevant to your personal discipline, with support from your tutors.

You’ll work on a dissertation, and also participate in the degree show which will provide a showcase and open doors for networking opportunities. Professional practice is closely aligned to your final exhibition and focuses on supporting your career aspirations post university.

Your progress is evaluated by regular feedback, formative assessment and summative assessment (at the end of each semester), through a mixture of exhibitions, live projects, verbal/visual presentations, research folders and written assignments.