Select your course options:
Summary:
Applying through UCAS? Apply here (W201)
Course Code: W201
Applying through UCAS? Apply here (W1FY)
Course Code: W1FY
Where Are You Applying From?
How Would You Like To Study?
When Do You Want To Start Your Studies?
Which Campus Would You Like To Study At?
Which Options Would You Like With Your Course?
Why choose the School of Arts and Creative Industries
The Art and Design course tutors are professional artists and photographers who teach and exhibit their work internationally.
Staff use their industry links to develop live briefs, mirroring contemporary working environments.
Our recent graduates have worked with Adidas; Stormzy; Sam Fender; U DOX Creative agency; The Design Museum; MK Gallery; Concordia University, Montreal; Estonian Academy of Arts; The Culture Trust; Arts Council; and Whitstable Biennale.
About the course
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.
1.015 Nicola Johnson GALLERY
2.Fineart21 Emma Taylor 01 GALLERY
3.Karolina Lebek Photo GALLERY
5.Natalie Andrews GALLERY
6. Holger Kilumets Pruning GALLERY
9.Beth Holden2 GALLERY
4.Alisha Hodge Main Poster GALLERY
7. Holger Kilumets Suprematist Composition GALLERY
8.Beth Holden2 GALLERY
with Professional Practice Year
This course has the option to be taken over four years which includes a year placement in industry. Undertaking a year in industry has many benefits. You gain practical experience and build your CV, as well as being a great opportunity to sample a profession and network with potential future employers.
There is no tuition fee for the placement year enabling you to gain an extra year of experience for free.
*Only available to UK/EU students.
with Foundation Year
A Degree with a Foundation Year gives you guaranteed entry to an Undergraduate course.
Whether you’re returning to learning and require additional help and support to up-skill, or if you didn’t quite meet the grades to pursue an Undergraduate course, our Degrees with Foundation Year provide a fantastic entry route for you to work towards a degree level qualification.
With our guidance and support you’ll get up to speed within one year, and will be ready to seamlessly progress on to undergraduate study at Bedfordshire.
The Foundation Year provides an opportunity to build up your academic writing skills and numeracy, and will also cover a range of subject specific content to fully prepare you for entry to an Undergraduate degree.
This is an integrated four-year degree, with the foundation year as a key part of the course. You will need to successfully complete the Foundation Year to progress on to the first year of your bachelor’s degree.
Why study a degree with a Foundation Year?
- Broad-based yet enough depth to give you credible vocational skills
- Coverage of a variety of areas typically delivered by an expert in this area
- Gain an understanding of a subject before choosing which route you wish to specialise in
- Great introduction to further study, and guaranteed progression on to one of our Undergraduate degrees
The degrees offering a Foundation Year provide excellent preparation for your future studies.
During your Foundation Year you will get the opportunity to talk to tutors about your degree study and future career aspirations, and receive guidance on the most appropriate Undergraduate course to help you achieve this; providing you meet the entry requirements and pass the Foundation Year.
Course Leader - Nigel Grimmer
I am a mixed media artist researching the language of the photographic portrait. Historically my investigation focused on domestic photography, specifically the family album. Recently I have begun to study the self-portraits produced for use within social media, particularly dating apps and Instagram stories.
Course Leader - Nigel Grimmer
I am a mixed media artist researching the language of the photographic portrait. Historically my investigation focused on domestic photography, specifically the family album. Recently I have begun to study the self-portraits produced for use within social media, particularly dating apps and Instagram stories.
What will you study?
Studying our Art and Design BA (Hons) course will equip you with in-depth knowledge and skills in the world of art and design - ranging from traditional drawing and painting to a new era of digital art. In your first year, you will partake in a digital photography and video unit called Making Images that will teach you to work with lens-based media while also developing good practices and skills in recording your work. Context and Ideas will also introduce you to key theories on art and design as well as its effect on culture and society. You will then apply this theory to practice in our Thinking Through Making unit that aims to encourage you to take creative risks and develop an aesthetic sense through using various technologies, processes and ideas. You will have the freedom to discover your own creative processes through experimentation and as a result, use a range of media to communicate your ideas. As a creative student, you will be exposed to a variety of art and design practices. Within the unit, Art and Design: Exploring Materials and Methods, you will explore, test and experiment with a range of techniques used to produce art based on researching the works of key practitioners in the field. Through working collaboratively in groups and on your own, you will embrace diversity and cultural difference within contemporary arts practice.
To build on this, the subsequent unit, Art and Design: Developing Materials and Methods, will give you the opportunity to cultivate creative risk by experimenting with creative production methods. This process will help you establish and develop your own studio practice. Another area of project work involves our Collaborative Enterprise unit, where you will collaborate in group settings to apply your knowledge and expertise in a wider professional community. To help you with the research and analytical skills needed for project work, our unit in Context and Meaning will allow you to critically examine a range of texts on art, design and visual culture while placing this theory and practice into global contexts. This will also be helpful in critically evaluating your own creative work. To add to this, our unit in Developing Professional Practice will teach you to incorporate independence and professionalism in the presentation of your creative portfolio or exhibitions.
In your final year, you will further deepen your insight on contemporary art and design practices, in our Critical and Creative Contexts unit that will allow you to explore issues and critical debates in the field. This will be particularly useful for your Final Major Project in Art and Design. This research-based project is a brilliant opportunity for you to showcase a body of work in line with your creative interests at public exhibitions. Our career-focused units in Creative Futures will provide you with the relevant skills and knowledge for your career in a professional creative role. Whether you aspire to become a freelance artist or designer, or to pursue further study, this unit will support you in developing a career that suits your ambitions and interests. Furthermore, you will be encouraged to participate in live projects, competition briefs and other group work while developing your ability to professionally present and market yourself and your portfolio using online media tools.
Thinking Through Making
This unit introduces you to practical working methods in Art and Design - where you will be encouraged to develop a personal understanding of your discipline through testing, experimenting and making.
The unit will enhance your ability to communicate and ‘play’ in a range of formats the capacity to be creative and to develop an aesthetic sensibility through engagement with technology, processes and ideas.
Using a practice-based approach you will be encouraged to take creative risks, allowing you to develop practice that enriches your work, giving you the freedom to explore and discover creative processes that are both discipline and non-discipline specific.
You will learn how to test and translate your ideas using a range of media that articulate and communicate visual ideas and develop an understanding of your practice.
Collaborative Enterprise
This unit allows you to apply your acquired knowledge and expertise in your discipline, to a collaborative interdisciplinary project.
The work and learning of this unit are seen as an important link between your academic work and the professional world.
You will negotiate your learning with your supervising tutor who will take account of your agreed role within group scenarios. The unit tests your abilities to work both independently and collaboratively in the wider professional community.
Final Major Project: Art And Design
This unit will give you the opportunity to pursue your personal creative interests and artistic concerns in the production of a body of work for public exhibition.
The unit allows you to demonstrate your acquired skills and abilities through individual research and practice. The production of a self-initiated research-based project will enhance your personal development as an art and design practitioner.
You will explore the relationship between practice and theory in relation to art and design and your Final Major Project.
How will you be assessed?
A range of appropriate assessments will enable you to grow in confidence and demonstrate your acquisition of knowledge and skills. The formative and summative assessment methods used across the course include:
- Coursework to include examples of Art and Design visual communication possibly 3-D work or installation research portfolios notebooks research assignments essays contextual writing.
- Assessments based on individual and group presentations.
- Portfolio reviews are a key means of assessing but they are also important for collating work for a professional portfolio. This instils the right attitudes towards professional work whereby you can use your portfolio to promote yourself in professional contexts.
- Essays and reports feature in developing writing skills helping you to express ideas in a variety of ways and styles and to develop academic writing skills that are of particular benefit in producing the final year contextual rationale for your major project.
A midpoint Formal Formative Assessment to review all work in progress Key skills are embedded in the teaching and learning of the course and will be taken into account in all assessments. The assessments will develop incrementally across the course and allow you to gain skills confidence and knowledge receive feedback and develop thus allowing you to implement this knowledge and feedback into subsequent assessments. At the end of the course completion of the assessments will demonstrate your ability to analyse current art and design practice and communicate this in both written and visual formats as well as demonstrate a range of transferable skills relevant to your professional employability.
Careers
Employability skills are integrated into the course and provide you with an awareness of the real-world context of the creative industries in general. You will be helped to develop a strategy for obtaining appropriate employment at the end of your course.
Entry Requirements
Entry Requirements
Fees for this course
UK 2024/25
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2024/25 is £9,250 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance
Merit Scholarship
We offer a Merit Scholarship to UK students, worth £2,400* over three academic years, which is awarded to those who can demonstrate a high level of academic achievement, through scoring 120 UCAS tariff points or more.
Bedfordshire Bursary
If you aren’t eligible for the Merit Scholarship, this Bursary is there to help UK students with aspects of student living such as course costs. The Bursary will give you £1,000* over three academic years, or £1,300* if you are taking your course over four academic years (including those with a Foundation Year).
Full terms and conditions can be found here.
Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding please email admission@beds.ac.uk
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2024/25 is £15,500 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
Fees for this course
UK 2024/25
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2024/25 is £9,250 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance
Merit Scholarship
We offer a Merit Scholarship to UK students, worth £2,400* over three academic years, which is awarded to those who can demonstrate a high level of academic achievement, through scoring 120 UCAS tariff points or more.
Bedfordshire Bursary
If you aren’t eligible for the Merit Scholarship, this Bursary is there to help UK students with aspects of student living such as course costs. The Bursary will give you £1,000* over three academic years, or £1,300* if you are taking your course over four academic years (including those with a Foundation Year).
Full terms and conditions can be found here.
Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding please email admission@beds.ac.uk
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2024/25 is £15,500 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
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