Course specification and structure
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UDFINART - BA Fine Art

Course Specification


Validation status Validated
Highest award Bachelor of Arts Level Honours
Possible interim awards Bachelor of Arts, Diploma of Higher Education, Certificate of Higher Education, Bachelor of Arts
Total credits for course 360
Awarding institution London Metropolitan University
Teaching institutions London Metropolitan University
School School of Art, Architecture and Design
Subject Area Art
Attendance options
Option Minimum duration Maximum duration
Full-time 3 YEARS 7 YEARS
Part-time 6 YEARS 7 YEARS
Course leader  

About the course and its strategy towards teaching and learning and towards blended learning/e-learning

The BA Fine Art course is highly student focused, where individualised learning opportunities and student choice in subject matter and approach to study is tailored. This takes into consideration the students cultural background and identity as outlined in the university’s Education for Social Justice Framework (ESJF). Employability is fostered through learning from direct experience and real-world contact with external partners and live project opportunities. Independent and critical thinking and an awareness of our social responsibility to consider the impact of our decision and actions is fundamental to the course’s principles.
The course is designed to create a supportive, engaging, enjoyable, deep and creatively and professionally relevant learning experience. It will allow the student to construct a unique and personal creative identity through fine art practice, based on the student’s interests, concerns, ideas, experiences, background and identity. We work together with the student as part of a community to understand and develop the best version of the student as a creative and professional practitioner. Peer-to-peer and group learning is at the core of the teaching, creating the possibilities for future collaborations and professional opportunities.
The course is studio-based, where the learning is built on listening, dialogue and a fostering of critical thinking, enabling the students to become autonomous practitioners considerate of others. The student will learn advanced technical skills in a number of material disciplines, such as drawing, painting, printmaking, video, sound, photography, ceramics, textiles, sculpture, installation and performance art throughout the three years. Thus, creating the possibility for the student to develop professional level technical skills for career development. The teaching methods include lectures, seminars, study trips, group critiques, workshop activities, group and individual tutorials with tutors, industry professionals and subject specialists. The critical contextual studies module is integrated with the studio practice modules as we aim to foster a critical thinker and maker, who is equipped with knowledge and understanding of the historical, political, cultural and socio-economic context of contemporary art practice that informs their own stainable and professional practice.
The course aligns with the University’s Strategic Plan, the Education for Social Justice Framework and Student Partnership Agreement in promoting accessible and inclusive education in an environment that respects and values the identities of our students and accommodates diversity in all its forms. Consideration has been given to the QAA Subject Benchmark Statement for Art & Design (2019), the QAA Higher Education Qualifications Framework, and the University’s Academic Regulations.

Course aims

The BA Fine Art course aims are to provide a high quality, specialist undergraduate education in art in the most plural, inclusive way, by which we mean the course accommodates all methods of enquiry in art, via critical practice as well as studio practice. The course seeks to ensure its graduates are knowledgeable, creative, culturally and environmentally aware, technically able and of value to future employers, as a part of any team in the world of work. The course fosters curiosity and a sense of enquiry, competence in research, analysis and presentation, independence of thought, self-reliance, confidence and openness to professional development.

The graduate will have developed knowledge and understanding of contemporary and historic fine art discourse and practices. They will have an understanding of art practice as diverse, post-colonial and global, and able to interrogate aspects of our inherited world with social justice in mind; consider who they and their work are in the world, and what role display and being public has with respect to their identity and practice. They will understand how this may be applied with investigation and experimentation with fine art and creative processes in order to create fine art works relevant to the principles and expectations of contemporary practice.

They will be able to set their work, personal experience and individual cultural capital within critical and cultural debates whilst considering the needs and perspectives of diverse specialist and non-specialist audiences.

On completing the course graduates will have developed a strong set of transferable skills that will enable them to have the resilience to plan, engage in, manage, self-motivate and drive forward professional level careers. They will have developed the necessary skills and understanding to communicate and to work effectively and collaboratively in a variety of creative sector and broader professional settings.

Course learning outcomes

On completion of the BA Fine Art course, the student will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding
1. recognise the relationship existing between culture, politics and the economy both historically and contemporaneously and its relevance to concepts, principles and theories of fine art;
2. describe, explore, test and challenge a range of methods of enquiry associated with fine art process;
3. assimilate into practice the principles, codes and ethics necessary to the practice of fine art;

Cognitive Intellectual Abilities
4. employ a range of intellectual skills that contribute to both convergent and divergent forms of thinking, observation, investigation, research and analysis, independently appraising and articulating reasoned arguments to select, organise, structure, reference and formulate responses to historical, theoretical, practice-based or technical questions about art;
5. apply and test art ideas by understanding the context and critical issues that surround them and make decisions in art practice based upon social, ethical, environmental and economic issues;
6. consider the needs and views of the art spectator, audience, community, culture or wider public and assimilate them in relation to specific art projects, attending talks and events to analyse, appraise and challenge how contemporaries address these needs and views;

Transferable Skills
7. interact collaboratively on art projects with other artists, associated professionals, community, as well the wider public;
8. communicate art ideas, principles and concepts effectively by oral, written and visual means with clarity and confidence;
9. exercise self-directed management skills in art, including self-reflection, evaluation, time management, team negotiation and collaboration;
10. Demonstrate confidence, resilience, ambition and creativity and will act as inclusive, collaborative and socially responsible practitioners/professionals in their discipline.

Subject-Specific Practical Skills
11. organise and apply tools, equipment, materials and techniques relating to painting, sculpture, installation, video, printmaking, photography, performance, ceramics, sound or other hybrid, non-medium-specific art projects, using both traditional and digital techniques;
12. develop employability and entrepreneurial skills to effectively communicate, present, publish and exhibit project work made by artists, understanding the roles and expertise of the extended team within the art world;
13. arrange and curate artworks and materials for the build and installation of exhibition spaces open to the public, using professional display devices, lighting, fixtures and fittings where appropriate, with due care for space and health and safety, making good on departure.

Course learning outcomes / Module cross reference

All the BA Fine Art course's assessment and feedback practices are typically informed by reflection, consideration of professional practice, as well as subject-specific and educational scholarship. The assessment strategy for the course has been designed holistically, to ensure fairness, accessibility and inclusivity as well as manageable timing, workloads and clarity of expectations for students. Students will receive a combination of formative and summative assessment strategies to monitor and measure their progress.

The assessment regimes for the modules and tasks are designed together with the briefs, prior to the start of the year, considering student, external examiner, professional collaborator and colleague feedback from previous instances. The requirements of briefs and their components, the assessment criteria, grading scheme and descriptors are published and explained to students at the start of the year and are designed to be used as consistently as possible, to avoid unnecessary complication. All Fine Art students are provided with regular opportunities to develop an understanding of best academic practice and the necessary skills to demonstrate it. Where possible there is flexibility in submission requirements in order to cater for divergent personal circumstances and learning styles and approaches. The volume, timing and nature of assessments enable students to demonstrate the extent to which they have achieved the intended learning outcomes and formative assessment is clearly designed to support students in developing for successful summative assessment.

Formative Feedback on assessment is timely, constructive and developmental. In every case, there is required formative feedback opportunities prior to summative assessment at set points. This is recorded so that it can be used by both students and staff to track further progress and engage support where it is required. Feedback follows good pedagogic practice in that it is constructed as ‘feed-forward’, with a focus on specific actions and strategies as to how to improve, not only on what requires improvement.

For Summative assessment students are informed of the procedures that include first and second marking as well as Subject and School parity assessment discussions. Together with external examiner scrutiny of the assessment process and marks, this ensures that the student understands and has confidence in the probity of the process and security of the final marks.

Principle QAA benchmark statements

Organised work experience, work based learning, sandwich year or year abroad

Course specific regulations

ACADEMIC PROGRESSION: As a condition of progressing from Level 4 to Level 5 and from Level 5 to Level 6, students are required to have gained 120 credits per level, that is, by achieving pass marks (40% or above) in all four modules in the preceding level of study."

COURSE COMPLETION
Level 6: to achieve an honours degree award on this course, students must have completed and passed each Level 6 module at 40% or above.

Up to 30 credits at Level 4 may be condoned
Up to 30 credits at Level 5 and Level 6 may be condoned
The classification average is calculated from the average of the best 90 credits at Level 6 weighted at two thirds, and the average of the next best 90 credits at Level 5 or 6 weighted at one third.

PART-TIME MODE OF STUDY
Part-time study is defined as 60 credits per year. Consequently, in part-time mode, the duration of study for a 360-credit degree will be 6 years. The pattern of study in this instance shall be as follows:

Year 1 – FA4P02 Directed Studio Practice
Year 2 – CP4013 Critical Contextual Studies: Art + FA4010 Fine Art Techniques
Year 3 – FA5P02 Developing Studio Practice
Year 4 – CP5013 Critical Contextual Studies: Art + FA5009 Fine Art Professional Practice
Year 5 – CP6013 Critical Contextual Studies: Dissertation + FA6011 Planning Studio Practice
Year 6 – FA6P02 Consolidating Studio Practice

Part-time Structure

Year 1: FA4P02 Directed Studio Practice

Year 2: CP4013 Critical Contextual Studies: Fine Art + FA4010 Fine Art Techniques

Year 3: FA5P02 Developing Studio Practice

Year 4: CP5013 Critical Contextual Studies: Fine Art + FA5009 Fine Art Professional Practice

Year 5: CP6013 Critical Contextual Studies: Dissertation + FA6011 Planning Studio Practice

Year 6: FA6P02 Consolidating Studio Practice

Modules required for interim awards

All modules on the course are core and compulsory (there is no flexibility in choice or in the order in which modules may be taken), interim awards are therefore defined by the course structure. The part time route is prescribed (section 23).

LEVEL 4 CORE MODULES:
FA4P02 Directed Studio Practice
FA4010 Fine Art Techniques
CP4013 Critical Contextual Studies: Art

LEVEL 5 CORE MODULES:
FA5P02 Developing Studio Practice
FA5009 Fine Art Professional Practice
CP5013 Critical Contextual Studies: Art

LEVEL 6 CORE MODULES:
FA6011 Planning Studio Practice
FA6P02 Consolidating Studio Practice
CP6013Critical Contextual Studies: Dissertation

Arrangements for promoting reflective learning and personal development

The course’s principle of guiding learning through a practice-led curriculum promotes ongoing reflection and personal development. This is supported by regular formative feedback on work in progress that enables students to understand their progress and find opportunities for multiple and individualised routes to successful outcomes. Most modules are year-long, with first semester summative assessment points. Mid semester points of review, ensure that students, together with their tutors, can devise study strategies appropriate to individual learning styles, while ensuring monitoring of engagement and progress. The system is highly individualised but also benefits from peer engagement in group critiques.

Students are required to employ strong reflective skills across multiple modules. Within the Studio Practice modules at all levels students reflect on their own making, identifying ways in which their work can be iteratively developed. Students complete specific reflective journals in which they are required to demonstrate an understanding of the use of reflection to connect learning experience to the improvement of future performance.

The course’s engagement with external partners and employers ensures that personal development for career planning is effectively contextualised and suitable for the contemporary workplace. The School’s programme of employability events and embedded work-related learning within the curriculum supports students’ personal development planning. Through these initiatives, students are increasingly able, as they progress from year to year, to understand the professional environment of their disciplines, the various opportunities available to them, and how to shape their learning according to their ambitions.

Throughout the modules and the course therefore, in this way, students build bodies of work, including reflections on progress and achievement, and planning for their future achievement of targets.

Career, employability and opportunities for continuing professional development

The course recognises the importance of equipping students for future employability within the creative industries and beyond and the course continues to seek opportunities with outside agencies to widen the opportunity to provide professional contexts for the student. For example, working with Arebyte gallery staff and IMT gallery to learn curatorial and exhibition practices. You will develop an excellent understanding of how to make the most of your creative identity within diverse professional contexts. You will build a wide array of professional and transferable skills needed for a career as a professional artist, as well as within the world of museums and galleries, curatorial practices, writing for art publications. Furthermore, you will develop the essential knowledge and understanding that will enable you to begin a career in associated professions, ranging from being a photographer, an editor, community practitioner, educator or academia to environmental design. This is supported by tutors and visiting professionals who are all practicing artists, writers and curators. Across the team you will be able to draw on their many years’ experience working within the fine art, editorial, gallery and museum, design, documentary and academic fields.

Students can also benefit from support and guidance from the Careers and Employability services and the University’s business incubator unit, ‘Accelerator’. Sessions run in conjunction with the Careers Service addressing the skills necessary to plan and pursue careers within the creative sector are delivered at L5 and L6 as part of the Professional Practice module.

Both early career and more established visiting creative professionals will give you insights and knowledge that will enable you to plan and pursue your career on graduation. Simulated and live briefs teach you how to manage a creative commission and help you build knowledge and understanding that can be applied equally as a practicing artist as they can working within creative production and commissioning. Students enjoy many opportunities to engage with real world clients from community groups to NGO’s to commercial commissions.

Students typically take-up careers in art or the creative and cultural industries or progress to further study at MA and PhD level.

Career opportunities

Many organisations value a Fine Art BA graduate’s creativity very highly and you’ll be joining our proud list of alumni, which includes famous artists such as Tracey Emin, Sam Taylor-Wood, John Cecil Stephenson and Professor Gerard Hemsworth.

There are a wide range of job opportunities as artists, curators, art critics and art journalists, as previous graduates will testify. Others have gone on to become artists' assistants, art technicians, gallery administrators, art event organisers, marketers, auctioneers, print technicians, photographers, video producers and studio managers.

Alternative career paths include arts officers for local government, art teachers, art tutors and lecturers. Some graduates have even pursued rewarding roles as art therapists, working in hospitals, day care, rehabilitation, prisons and the probation service.

There’s also the chance that your work may one day be displayed alongside our past students. Organisations that host work by our graduates include the Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Venice Biennale, ICA, Henry Moore Foundation, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim, Art Basel, Frieze, Parkett, Artforum, The English Arts Council and the Pompidou Centre.

Entry requirements

In addition to the University's standard entry requirements, you should have:

  • a minimum of grades BBC in three relevant A level subjects such as the arts, humanities and social sciences (or a minimum of 112 UCAS points from an equivalent Level 3 qualification in relevant art and design subjects)
  • a portfolio interview
  • English Language GCSE at grade C (grade 4) or above (or equivalent)

We also accept mature students with diverse backgrounds and experiences, and encourage applications from international/EU students with equivalent qualifications.

If you live in the UK, you will be invited to a portfolio interview. If you live outside the UK you will be required to submit a small portfolio of work via email.

If you do not have traditional qualifications or cannot meet the entry requirements for this undergraduate degree, you may still be able to gain entry by completing our Fine Art (including foundation year) BA (Hons) or Art and Design (including foundation year) BA (Hons) degree.

Official use and codes

Approved to run from 2013/14 Specification version 1 Specification status Validated
Original validation date 01 Sep 2013 Last validation date 01 Sep 2013  
Sources of funding HE FUNDING COUNCIL FOR ENGLAND
JACS codes W100 (Fine Art): 100%
Route code FINART

Course Structure

Stage 1 Level 04 September start Offered

Code Module title Info Type Credits Location Period Day Time
CP4013 Critical & Contextual Studies 1 (Art) Core 30 CITY AUT+SPR THU AM
FA4007 Visual Intelligence Core 30        
FA4008 Techniques: Fine Art Core 30        
FA4P01 Project Work 1 Core 30        

Stage 2 Level 05 September start Offered

Code Module title Info Type Credits Location Period Day Time
CP5013 Critical & Contextual Studies 2 (Art) Core 30 CITY AUT+SPR TUE PM
FA5009 Fine Art Professional Practice Core 30 CITY AUT+SPR MON PM
FA5P02 Developing Studio Practice Core 60 CITY AUT+SPR MON AM
          CITY AUT+SPR THU AM&PM
          CITY AUT+SPR THU AM
          CITY AUT+SPR MON AM

Stage 3 Level 06 September start Offered

Code Module title Info Type Credits Location Period Day Time
CP6013 Critical & Contextual Studies 3: Dissertation (... Core 30 CITY AUT WED AM
          CITY AUT WED PM
FA6011 Planning Studio Practice Core 30 CITY AUT MON AM
          CITY AUT MON AM&PM
FA6P02 Consolidating Studio Practice Core 60 CITY SPR THU AM
          CITY SPR MON AM&PM