A fold out book of drawings on a shelf

Drawing BA(Hons)

Become a rigorous and innovative critical thinker and practitioner.

Key details
Location
Falmouth Campus
Course duration
3 years / 4 years
Attendance
Full-time / Professional Placement
UCAS code
W110 / FY10 / PY18

Course overview

Study drawing as an expanded practice within contemporary art. By exploring processes and approaches including life drawing, printmaking, etching, digital methods and moving image, you’ll become a rigorous and critical thinker, identifying where your practice is taking you and creating ambitious work in specialist fields. You’ll be encouraged to take creative risks and challenge convention as you develop informed opinions, technical expertise and a portfolio emphasising the dynamic possibilities and relevance of contemporary drawing practice.

You will:

  • Work in our purpose-built, dedicated suite of studios with like-minded peers
  • Study a variety of processes and approaches to the discipline, including life drawing, printmaking, etching, digital methods and the moving image
  • Develop a portfolio that emphasises the dynamic possibilities and relevance of contemporary drawing practice
  • Work alongside internationally recognised visiting artists
  • Benefit from placement opportunities in your second year, making industry connections while exploring the real-world applications of drawing across sectors
  • Have the chance to exhibit your work throughout your Drawing degree – previous spaces have included Wheal Martyn Clay Works, Gallery Tresco, the Robert Burt Gallery and ShelterBox Truro

Course details

BA(Hons) Drawing course video

On this Drawing degree, you'll have the opportunity to gain a BA(Hons) degree over three years or the option to study Drawing BA(Hons) with Integrated Foundation Year and/or a professional placement.

You'll be supported by expert practitioners and researchers. You'll build your technical skills, critical understanding and career opportunities through exploring wide-ranging areas of drawing practice and contemporary critical studies.

Working individually and collaboratively, you’ll consider the world around you and develop presentations, shows and portfolios that showcase a boundary-pushing approach to drawing. 

Working closely with your tutors, and alongside internationally recognised visiting artists, you'll take on a series of projects to develop drawing-specific skills and concepts within a range of contemporary arts contexts. You'll also have opportunities to show your work in the studios and engage with peers across all three years.

Modules

Observing Worlds

This module focuses on drawing as a way of observing and uncovering the world. Through workshops, studio practice and field trips, you’ll explore the structures of your immediate built environment and the related social and cultural histories. 

You’ll develop your observational and technical skills through individual and collaborative projects, considering approaches to still-life drawing, composition and the anatomy of humans and animals.  

Practice in Context 1

In this module, which is shared with the Fine Art course, you'll benefit from a wider pool of ideas, perspectives and creative disciplines. Through lectures and group discussions surrounding contemporary and historical art contexts, developments and debates, you'll develop a self-reflective approach to studio practice.

You'll also be introduced to academic writing and research conventions. Through this, you'll develop your own critical analysis skills and learn to communicate your ideas professionally and effectively.

Sensing Worlds

In this module, you’ll take projects from concept through to completion as you explore drawing as a means for idea development and communication. 

Tapping into the expertise of professional drawing practitioners, you’ll work collaboratively to design a 3D object, as well as utilising innovative storytelling approaches to develop a book-based project. Throughout this work, you’ll begin to establish processes and ideas to develop your individual drawing practice. 

Practice in Context 2

This is part two of the Practice in Context module, where you'll have access to expertise from across Falmouth School of Art. You'll be introduced to a range of themes and trends that have shaped contemporary artistic practices, such as socially engaged practices and recent philosophical shifts in the role and value of artistic production. You'll also engage with a greater range of academic source material and strategies for analysing, researching, and writing about art.

In the second year of your Drawing degree, you'll be introduced to various strategies for developing drawing as a process. You'll plan and conduct your own projects with support from tutors, developing the ability to self-direct and manage creative projects. You'll also have the opportunity to work on a live and collaborative project with Fine Art students.

Modules

World Building

You’ll explore the idea of using drawing for ideation, creation, critical thinking and problem solving. You’ll be introduced to various strategies for developing drawing as a process rather than simply an end product, applying and extending the scope of your technical skills.

Sustained Personal Enquiry 1

In this module, you'll develop a broader critical and contextual understanding of the uses and history of the drawing discipline. You'll undertake a theoretical and critical field of enquiry, exploring new research areas and evolving your studio practice. You'll also prepare, write and deliver a presentation to peers and staff, developing vital professional skills.

Testing Ground: Collaboration

Through the development of a public arts festival, you’ll learn the skills to promote and elevate your work. Planning, executing and evaluating your arts festival in collaboration with other students, this is your chance to showcase your current practice while getting practical experience of group curation. 

New Territories

This module focuses on developing your ability to self-direct and manage creative projects. You’ll plan and conduct your own project; presenting a pitch, developing it with support from tutors and considering the conditions and issues of presenting your work. Throughout the module, you’ll maintain a journal alongside your practical studio work.

Sustained Personal Enquiry 2

This module will support you in creating a Research Portfolio. You'll develop subject specific critical and contextual knowledge and hone your reading and writing skills by studying a range of research methodologies.

You can choose to take an optional professional placement after your second year on a three-year programme, or after your third year if you’re studying for a degree with an Integrated Foundation Year. 

You’ll be responsible for finding your own placement, with support from the employability team. 

Choosing this option will enhance your industry experience and skills while studying. 

How you’ll study during your professional placement

You’ll spend time working in a professional context, as part of a business or organisation. This can be in one role, or up to three, and must be for a minimum of 24 weeks. 

You’ll develop in-demand workplace skills, deepen your insight into industry and grow your network of contacts, all of which could help you get ahead in your career after graduation. 

Throughout this year, you’ll develop a portfolio of work that includes critical self-reflection on what has been learned from the experience. You’ll be required to evidence your experiences, the skills you’ve learned and your professional growth. 

The modules in your final year give you the opportunity to demonstrate originality, skills and professionalism in producing a distinctive body of work and showcasing your ideas. You'll work on a project reflecting and building on your personal discoveries and ambitions, complemented by your dissertation and supporting personal tutorials. You'll also work on a major negotiated project, which will culminate in a public exhibition.

Modules

Agencies & Audiences

This module is centred around the variety of professional applications connected to the discipline of drawing, with an emphasis on its transdisciplinary nature. You'll have the opportunity to lay out the professional context for your practice as an autonomous or applied practitioner and develop a research project in relation to this context.

Critical Worlding

Through challenge and exploration, this module will enable you to understand and mobilise research as integral to a drawing practice - culminating in a set of outputs distinctive to your own critical concerns. You'll develop strategies for knowledge generation through making and align your practice with one of three methodological pathways: Practical submission and critical essay, written submission, art writing submission.

Realisation

This module aims to consolidate your ability to be an independent critical thinker; ambitious, rigorous, and able to confidently synthesise and articulate your practice. At this stage, you'll need to harness all the skills, knowledge and attitudes you've acquired across three years of study. You'll continue to follow a clear line of enquiry in your practice and research, supporting practical excellence with creative and critical thinking related to a professional and theoretical context of your choice.

Public Platforms

In this module, you'll apply your professional skills to the curation, presentation and dissemination of your drawing practice in social, public and professional contexts. You'll create a distinctive body of work that will be staged in a public exhibition at the end of the academic year.  

Why study an Integrated Foundation Year route?

If you’re taking on a new subject that you haven’t studied in depth before, have been out of education for a while or have a non-standard educational background then an Integrated Foundation Year degree may be the right choice for you. It is a four-year degree with an Integrated Foundation Year to start, which allows you to explore the primary elements of your subject before progressing on to the remaining three years of the BA(Hons) degree.

What you'll learn

If you choose this pathway, you'll study five core modules in your Foundation year. These are all designed to help you explore the foundational elements of your subject. You'll gain relevant technical skills, learn to experiment and take risks, develop an understanding of professional practice, have opportunities to work across disciplines and collaborate with other students on live project briefs.

Modules

Explore

You'll begin your foundation year by working collaboratively with others to explore themes of the future. You'll take risks, experiment through play and be supported to break through barriers.

Technique

You'll take subject-specific workshops and develop essential technical and practical skills in your area of study. You'll also enhance your analytical and organisational abilities.

Apply

You'll work with your peer group to think beyond discipline by addressing a societal or global issue. You'll then showcase your work to your peers and deliver an accompanying evaluation of your process.

Industry

You'll enhance your creative and practical skills in your subject specialism by responding to typical industry briefs, underpinned by focused research and experiments. You'll also gain industry insights through guest lectures and workshops.

Launch

You'll develop your unique identity in your specialism through the production of a self-initiated body of work. Your final project will be the bridge to your next year, fully supported by evaluative reviews and critical analysis of the work you have created.

After the Foundation year, you progress into Year One of the full three-year degree, equipped with a deeper knowledge of your subject, a clear understanding of your strengths, and develop a practical and technical skillset and the confidence to excel in your chosen subject.

 

If you apply for and enrol onto a degree with an Integrated Foundation Year, you’ll have the option to switch onto a five-year version including a placement year. That means you’ll complete the first three years of your course before completing a placement in industry in your fourth year and returning to Falmouth for the fifth year of your programme. 

The modules above are those being studied by our students, or proposed new ones. Programme structures and modules can change as part of our curriculum enhancement and review processes. If a certain module is important to you, please discuss it with the Course Leader.

Drawing students drawing together
Drawing students drawing together

How you'll learn & be assessed

This studio-based Drawing degree brings together practical approaches, structured learning, dedicated tutor support, and opportunities for national and international placements, along with optional visits to museums, galleries and other artistic locations, and elective study trips to European museums and gallery collections. As you progress, you'll take greater ownership of your work through self-directed projects.

Our visiting lecture series has featured speakers like drawing commentator Deanna Petherbridge, artists Anita Taylor and Jessie Brennan, and illustrator Sue Coe.

At Falmouth, we use a 'digitally enhanced learning & teaching' approach. Your experience will always be predominantly in-person, including seminars, tutorials and studio teaching, with some, more targeted elements, being online either live (synchronous) or pre-recorded (asynchronous). You can read more here.

100% of your assessment will be coursework. 

Assessment methods

  • Foundation year assessments are 100% coursework based
  • Continuous monitoring
  • Twice-yearly studio practice
  • Written assignments
  • Self-evaluation
  • Final-year dissertation, project and exhibition
Drawing student sketching skull
Drawing student sketching skull
Drawing students working together
Drawing students working together

This course could be for you if...

  • You've got a love of drawing
  • You're looking to develop your observational drawing skills
  • You like to learn about drawing's history as well as other visual art and design practices
  • You want to develop your creative voice
  • You want to work with other creatives to share ideas 

 

Ask Georgina a question

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Facilities

  • Dedicated individual studio space.
  • Digital imaging suites, photography studios and equipment.
  • Printmaking equipment and technical workshops.
  • Life drawing studio.
  • Extensive archives and library resources.
Student working in metal work studio
Art Facilities_01

Art & Design Facilities

Primarily located at the Falmouth Campus in a subtropical garden, our studios and workshop facilitie...

Art & Design Facilities
Library facilities
Library facilities

Library Facilities

Offering extensive collections, our two libraries provide a wealth of digital resources, magazines, ...

Library Facilities
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Sports Centre - Outside
Sports Centre

Sports Centre

Our Sports Centre, on Penryn Campus, includes a spacious gym with up to 90 of the latest, new statio...

Sports Centre

Staff

Our team of academics, practicing artists and researchers, and award-winning practitioners have showcased their work internationally through practice-based research projects, commissions and residencies that engage drawing through dance, sculpture, painting, performance, ceramics and printmaking.

Dr Tom Baugh

Head of Art

Thomas is the Head of Art at Falmouth University. Thomas situates his artistic research ac...

Dr Tom Baugh
Rossella Emanuele picture

Rossella Emanuele

Course Leader, Drawing BA(Hons)

Sitting at the intersection of idea, material and process, Emanuele’s practice departs from the tr...

Rossella Emanuele
Dr David Paton headshot

Dr David Paton

Senior Lecturer in BA Drawing and BA Fine Art. 1st Year BA Drawing Module and Year Lead

David is an artist-researcher and a craftsperson with a specialism in Cornish granite. He has been a...

Dr David Paton
Charlie Duck staff image

Charlie Duck

Module Leader and Lecturer, Drawing BA(Hons)

Working across painting, drawing, printmaking and ceramics, Charlie's practice is dedicated to exper...

Charlie Duck
Tabatha Andrews staff image

Tabatha Andrews

Associate Lecturer

Tabatha Andrews makes sculpture and installation that visualises memory and the energy of sound, exp...

Tabatha Andrews

John Howard

Associate Lecturer: BA(Hons) Drawing

An award-winning painter and printmaker, John has exhibited regularly for over 25 years and has won ...

John Howard
Joanna headshot

Dr Joanna Griffin

Associate Lecturer, Drawing BA(Hons) & Fine Art MA (Online)

I am an artist and educator from the UK with a research interest in the experiential dimension of sp...

Dr Joanna Griffin
Karen Abadie headshot

Karen Abadie

Associate Lecturer, Drawing BA(Hons)

Karen Abadie is an artist, educator and researcher. She is an installation and moving image artis...

Karen Abadie
Elizabeth Tomos headshot

Elizabeth Tomos

Lecturer, Fine Art BA(Hons)

Elizabeth Tomos has been working in Higher Education since 2010 and is currently working as a Lectur...

Elizabeth Tomos

Some members of staff only teach on specific modules, and your course might not feature every staff member who teaches on the course.

Careers

Our graduates have worked as:

  • Artists and researchers
  • Practitioners in professional fields, including botanical illustration, medical drawings, surface and pattern design, fashion and textiles
  • Educators in primary, secondary, further and higher education, as well as in museums and community settings

What can you do with a drawing degree?

A drawing, art or design degree will teach you skills that are relevant for multiple industries so you can follow a career path that is truly fulfilling for a lifetime. 

Explore career prospects

How to apply

Ready to join us? You can apply for September 2024 through UCAS. You'll need to reference the course and University code (F33).

Apply via UCAS

Course route UCAS code
Drawing BA(Hons) three year degree W110
Drawing BA(Hons) with Integrated Foundation Year FY10
Drawing BA(Hons) with professional placement PY18

We consider all applications on their own individual merit and potential. We invite all applicants to an interview day or audition to give them the opportunity to demonstrate this along with what inspires and motivates them in their field. Applicants will also be able to show their portfolio or give a performance depending on the course. We welcome applications from all subject backgrounds, whether you’ve specialised in STEM, the arts or humanities.  

Course route Entry requirements
BA/BSc(Hons) three year degree 104 – 120 UCAS Tariff points
BA/BSc(Hons) four year degree with professional placement 104 – 120 UCAS Tariff points
BA/BSc(Hons) four year degree with Integrated Foundation Year 80 – 120 UCAS Tariff points

Check the title of your course to see if it's a BA or BSc award. UCAS Tariff points will primarily be from Level 3 qualifications such as but not limited to A-levels, T Levels, a BTEC/UAL Extended Diploma or a Foundation Diploma. 

Check how many points your qualifications are worth

For applicants whose first language is English we require you to have or be working towards GCSE English Language Grade 4 (C), or equivalent. 

If English is not your first language you will need to meet the same standard which is equivalent to the IELTS Academic 6.0 overall score, with at least 5.5 in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. We accept a range of in country equivalencies and approved tests.  

If you need a student visa to study in the UK, you may need to take a recognised language test. You can read our English Language Requirements for more information.

For starting your studies in 2024

UK applications: 31 January 2024 (for equal consideration)

Applications after the 31 January will be considered on a first-come, first-served as long as there are places available. Apply for this course now.

International fee payers

International fee payers can apply throughout the year. But we recommend applying as early as possible, to make time for visa and travel arrangements.

Fees, costs & funding

Tuition fees for September 2024 entry

Annual tuition fee Student
£9,250 per year Full-time UK
£17,950 per year Full-time EU/international
£1,850 per professional placement year Full-Time UK and EU/international

Tuition fees for September 2025 will be confirmed in summer 2024.

Tuition fees are set annually and are subject to review each year. The University may therefore raise tuition fees in the second or subsequent years of a course, in line with inflation and/or the maximum permitted by law or Government policy. Students will be notified of any changes as soon as possible. 

The figures above don't include accommodation and living costs

Typical course costs

  • £250 - Recurring annual costs (materials and local study visits etc)

If you need to bring equipment or materials with you, these will be outlined in your Welcome Letter.

Additional typical course costs for Integrated Foundation Year pathway

  • £250 for materials
  • A laptop/desktop computer
  • Adobe Creative Suite

To engage in the digital learning activity, although you will be able to access IT suites on campus, you will benefit from a laptop to access the platforms and tools we use. Depending on your subject, you may need a specific type of computer. If you're unsure about what you might need, please contact our course advisors.

Ask a student

What better way to find out about life at Falmouth University than by asking our current students?

From course details and academic support, to the social scene and settling in, our students are ready and available to answer any questions you might have. Simply set up your account, send them a question and they'll get back to you within 24 hours.

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