- UCAS Code
- W100
- Location
- Falmouth Campus
- Length
- 3 years full-time
- Direct line
- 01326 213730
- Admissions
- admissions@falmouth.ac.uk
Fine Art at Falmouth has a long and very distinguished reputation, and continues to grow and develop to meet the challenges of the contemporary art world. The course offers a rich and diverse creative environment for its students – many of whom have gone on to success and critical acclaim at national and international level.
At Falmouth, our aim is to support the development of your creative work and to help you prepare for a career in the arts. Emphasis is placed on nurturing your creativity underpinned by the development of appropriate skills. You’ll be encouraged to grow a self-motivated and critically aware approach as your personal programme of independent study takes shape. The multidisciplinary structure of the course will enable you to select and develop your work from a range of different forms and media: drawing, painting, sculpture – objects and installations – printmaking, digital imaging, video, performance and sound.
From day one you’ll be encouraged to develop a professional approach to your work, with exhibitions and other industry-facing opportunities supported during the course. This focus on career is further enhanced by the provision of professional practice workshops and seminars.
How is the course taught
The studio is at the centre of your learning and teaching. The course is taught through individual tutorials, group critiques/seminars, lectures and student-led initiatives in exhibitions and presentations of work. At the beginning of the course, you'll take part in introductory studio-based exercises and media workshops. The course consists of integrated modules in Studio Practice and Critical Studies. All staff on the course are practising artists, performers and/or writers, whose experience, commitment and professional expertise ensure that you'll receive the highest quality of tuition.
Careers
You'll graduate well placed to consider opportunities that require creative, independent and innovative thinking, including:
- Becoming a self-employed artist
- Setting up your own studio or creative project
- Working in numerous roles in the creative industries
- Postgraduate study to provide a gateway into teaching, arts administration, curating, gallery/events management and conservation
Assessment
Your studio practice will be continuously assessed and you'll complete written assignments, as well as a final year dissertation and exhibition.
The continuous assessment of your progress is closely integrated with the activities of learning and teaching, which aim to support and benefit you throughout. You'll be expected to actively contribute to this process by developing skills of independent learning and self-evaluation.
Experience you'll get
- Public exhibitions
- Creative, practical and theoretical skills
- Skills and experience in research, reflection, evaluation, professional practice and independent, innovative thinking
By choosing to study for a degree in Fine Art at Falmouth you will:
- Be taught by staff who are practising artists, performers, writers and/or researchers, whose experience, commitment and professional expertise ensure that you'll receive the highest quality of tuition.
- Be taught through individual tutorials, media workshops, group critiques/seminars, lectures, visiting artists, and student-led initiatives in exhibitions and presentations of work.
- Have opportunities to participate in international exchanges, visits and workshops.
- Build on your existing strengths and establish new interests and skills in the practical and conceptual development of your work.
- Be encouraged to develop a self-motivated and critically aware approach to the formation of a personal programme of independent study.
- Develop creative and innovative thinking alongside self-evaluation skills.
- Be based at our inspiring Falmouth Campus, where the well-equipped and spacious studios will be at the centre of your learning experience.
Interview and selection process
We ask all applicants to submit an online portfolio of 20 images, with the title of each piece, context, size and media used.
If you are successful at this stage, you will be invited to interview.
You will be interviewed individually by a panel of up to two members of staff for around 20 minutes. We encourage you to ask our staff and students as many questions as you like while you are here. There will also be the opportunity to tour the campus and facilities.
You will need to bring a well-organised portfolio of your recent work, development sketch books and a written essay. Your portfolio should represent the development of your own independent studio work and evidence of work made in selected course projects. We'll be looking for evidence of your ability in drawing, variety in the use of materials and development of your ideas and images.
Interviews are currently taking place.
Location: Falmouth Campus
What you'll do
Stage 1
In the first year, you'll build your confidence, learning in a studio environment of shared experience, with tutor-led projects for the first part of your studies. You'll develop a critical understanding of the relationships between your own studio practice and the wider context of your work. Staff will introduce the study skills you'll need for written assignments and a series of lectures and seminars will cover the historical and theoretical contexts of the visual arts.
Stage 2
Taking increasing responsibility for your own learning, your second year will see a broader exploration of conceptual and practical inter-relationships, with emphasis on professional practice. Through a deepening knowledge of sources, methodologies and personal ideas, you'll begin to develop your individual studio practice. Public exhibitions, self-funded international field trips to Berlin and New York, and a number of international exchanges also offer great professional opportunities.
Stage 3
By the time you reach your final year you'll be ready to consolidate and extend your independent learning. You'll undertake a 7,000 word dissertation related to your studio practice, and professional practice lectures and visits by our alumni will prepare you for opportunities after graduation. The year will culminate in a public exhibition of your visual work.
