BA (Hons) Fine Art with foundation year

Program Overview

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Course Details

Our BA (Hons) Fine Arts with foundation year course will encourage you to develop your individual artistic identity and explore new creative possibilities. We offer a supportive environment where you can develop your creative skills and knowledge, learn to evaluate and draw inspiration from historical, philosophical and cultural influences, and establish the foundation of your professional practice as a working artist.

Starting with foundation studies that offer a structured introduction to a wide range of materials, processes and techniques, we’ll support you as you develop your own line of visual enquiry, explore different areas of art and design, and develop a sound portfolio of creative work.

As you progress through the course, our dedicated team will work to help you develop technical skills in the traditional fine arts media of painting, drawing, printmaking and sculpture. You’ll also have opportunities to learn about and practise a broad range of new media and we encourage critical thinking so you learn to evaluate and understand your own work and that of others.

Career and transferable skills are also essential to your future success so we aim to ensure you gain relevant experience towards running a small business enterprise, creative studio management and a wider knowledge of the arts sector. You’ll be exhibiting your work in a public setting from level 4, and organising your own shows by level 5. Exhibiting your work in our Creative Showcase at the end of your final year will allow you to show off your projects to the public and impress the industry.

Alternatively, on successful completion of the foundation level, you can opt to transfer to one of our related art and design degrees, for instance, animation and illustration, fashion, graphic design, photography, or textiles and surface design. You can also explore transferring to another subject area offered by the University of Bolton, such as film FX or games art.

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Highlights

Our Art and Design courses are placed fourth in the UK and top in the North West of England for teaching quality by the Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021.

Our Art courses have also been placed in the top ten in the UK for student-to-staff ratio for the third year running by the Guardian University Guide 2021, so you'll have access to individual tutor support and small group teaching.

Previous students have won regional and national competitions and awards, and prestigious commissions and artists’ residencies as a result of the industry connections offered by the programme.

We use our direct connections with public art commissioners to give you access to a number of exclusive commissions each year. These ‘live briefs’ provide you with invaluable experience in this important creative field.

Exhibition is vital, and you will be expected to play an active role in the department’s exhibition committee and have the opportunity to present your work to the public, including during Bolton School of the Arts’ Creative Showcase during your final year.

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Key Features

Theory is combined with practice, and traditional techniques with modern technologies. As well as taught practical workshops in a wide range of media and materials, you will receive tuition in using industry-standard digital software.

Our large, well-lit open studios have adjacent 2D facilities that include printmaking and drawing workshops and 3D facilities that include ceramic, casting, wood and metal and glass workshops.

Staff are practising artists working in group and private studios. With extensive experience of exhibiting nationally and internationally, they have strong connections to arts organisations and commissioning agencies.

Prominent guest speakers from a range of fine art disciplines are invited each year to talk about their practice, and the department has strong links with arts groups, including the Bolton-based neo:artists studios and galleries, which were set up by graduates of the course.

We offer opportunities for you to participate in foreign study trips, as well as visit current exhibitions and events at galleries, public art installations, sculpture parks and arts centres around the UK.

By choosing to study with us, you'll have the chance to enjoy Bolton's many shops, bars, restaurants and leisure facilities. Manchester, one of the UK's most multicultural and lively cities, is less than 20 minutes away by train. Not forgetting, the North West of England is renowned for its beautiful countryside, coastline and heritage. This makes Bolton an ideal base from which to explore some of the best cultural and outdoor activities the UK offers.

Program Outline

Fine arts graduates are highly regarded for their abilities to visualise, think creatively and ‘outside the box’, and for their acquisition of specialist skills in both 2D and 3D areas. As a graduate, you’ll possess strong observational and analytical skills, and be able to critically evaluate your work and the work of others.

You’ll also have experience of showcasing your work at events and exhibitions, working to briefs, meeting deadlines and organising your time effectively. These skills are required across a range of sectors and demonstrate your ability to generate new ideas.

What can I do with this qualification?

Graduates with a fine art degree are increasingly embracing an interdisciplinary approach, finding new ways to blend different media and mediums. Fine art graduates can fill a wide range of roles in public and community art, illustration, photography, curatorial positions in galleries and museums, art therapy, exhibition design and teaching.

Graduates from the University of Bolton have gone on to set up their own studio spaces and obtained positions within local arts groups such as Hospital Arts, Bolton at Home’s Percent for Art and Artists in Schools. Another group of graduates has established ‘Neo:Artists’ and have set up their own Bolton-based art gallery.

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Alternative career options

Creative flair is something that many employers outside of the creative industries value, especially as visual content is so central to the success of any online operation. Graduates can use the qualification as a stepping-stone a range of other careers, and for some of these roles, both relevant experience and/or postgraduate study may be required. They include:

Advertising

Marketing

Arts administration and management

Interior and spatial design

Exhibition work

Multimedia programming

Publishing

Web design

Arts consultancy

Commercial art