Art and Design BA Hons

Programme title:	BA (Hons) Art and Design
Apply:	via UCAS
Code:	W201
Start (ft):	September
Mode:	full-time
Duration:	3 years full-time
Location:	Luton campus, Park Square
Faculty:	Faculty of Creative Arts, Technologies & Science
Department:	Bedfordshire Institute of Media and the Creative & Performing Arts: Division of Art & Design

Summary

This broad-based course helps you to explore a range of contemporary visual art practices in which there is a clear emphasis on the relationship between art and design.

You will benefit from working alongside other visual art courses. You will also be introduced to traditional practices, as well as new technologies and media. You will learn about design and visual communication, to help you explore and present creative ideas in a visually effective and personal way. As you develop your skills, you will be able to focus on those media that best suit your creativity.

Your own personal creativity and artistic expression are the main focus on this course. You will be able to negotiate your own programme of areas of study from within the Art and Design area to suit your own particular interests and aptitudes.

Through a wide-ranging programme of studio activities that help you to acquire practical expertise, you will be encouraged to develop your own artistic and design interests and will learn to think and work in an independent, creative and critical way, helping you to produce distinctively personal work.

A particularly distinctive feature of the teaching and learning at level one and two is the interdisciplinary approach in which you will be expected to work. You will incorporate fine art, graphic design, illustration, product design and interior design on common projects so that you can learn from different approaches to similar visual problems and issues.

At stage three you will be developing work for your degree show and this may be either specialised in one area or a hybrid of practices.

You will have access to a range of studio facilities including, materials workshops, a model-making workshop, a state-of-the-art non-toxic silkscreen printing studio supported by digital and photomechanical processes, well equipped photographic facilities both digital and chemical, video and digital editing and large scale digital colour printing.

An exciting and highly topical programme of contemporary artistic and design issues will provide you with a contextual background for your practical studies. You will be expected to make visits to exhibitions during the course as this is fundamental to the understanding of current art and design practice. By taking advantage of the excellent transport links between Luton and London you will be able to experience contemporary art and design in world-class galleries and museums.

There will occasionally be organised visits to other galleries, museums and exhibitions including visits abroad to centres of culture, cities such as Barcelona, Berlin or Paris.

You will also have access to a well-stocked learning resources centre that will support your contextual learning.

Areas of study include:

- Traditional Media such as Painting, Silkscreen Printing, Model-making, Textiles and Fibre-based Materials
- New Media, including Video, Photography and Digital Imaging
- Visual Communication, including Drawing, Visualising and the use of Imaging Software
- Contextual Studies that link Theory and Practice in Developing Creative Ideas
- Professional Practice and Personal Development

Why choose this course?

Cross-disciplinary approach, with the opportunity to explore a range of creative media for specialist study.
Predominantly practice-based study regime.
Dedicated studio spaces within a lively and stimulating studio environment.
Professional practice and personal development.
Teaching staff are practising artists and designers who regularly exhibit.
You will acquire knowledge and experience of using up-to-date technologies and software.
An emphasis on developing personal creativity and self-expression, and on professional practice.

Career Opportunities

This qualification is principally conceived as the means by which you construct your own course and develop your own particular expertise within the art and design field, so the career opportunities open to you may vary slightly.

This course provides you with knowledge, skills and expertise that is highly transferable within the creative industries. As you will be used to thinking and working creatively and critically with a keen sensitivity for visual communication you may find employment in graphic design, film and video production, multi-media/web design, editorial illustration, publishing, animation, advertising, public or community arts participation arts education.

You will also be equipped to enter further study with a view to teaching or art therapy. As an undergraduate you will have acquired transferable skills that will equip you to enter other types of employment where a wide range of graduate attributes are sought.

Assessment

Portfolio assessment, studio critique, written assignments, student peer assessments, degree exhibition.

Further details about the programme

The following module information refers to current programmes running 2007/8. This information is therefore subject to review.

STAGE 1
Studio Practice & Key Skills
Introduces the basis of practical and critical skills of studio methods of production. Introduction to the key tools of studio practice, media/materials and basic theoretical engagement, provides the first steps towards mediation between the conceptual and practical demands of professional art practice.

Art and Design PPaD (level 1)
Enables needs, aspirations and expectations to be identified in working in the professional world of art and design. Understanding the coherence of the art and design programme.

Studio Practice & Research
Emphasis on introducing Research activities as part of the ethos of studio practice at an early stage. Further to develops experience and ability to identify a range of sources and processes leading to the creation and production of fine art objects.

Contemporary Issues 1
Introduces both European and non-European key concepts and models of twentieth and twenty-first century art and design practice. It is intended to encourage a critical engagement with some visual arts/design issues.

Visual Research 1
Introduces working attitudes, procedures and concepts essential for effective visual research. Provides knowledge, skills, and conceptual strategies to be able to identify, investigate, organise and interpret visual information.

Skills for Academic Writing
Develops core study skills, irrespective of discipline, involved in producing academic essays/reports and oral presentations.

STAGE 2
Studio Practice
Advances and develops the general experience of level 1 - focus on understanding of the relationship between theory and practice. Encourages and supports students in positioning their practice within a particular theoretical and creative/practical context.

Studio Practice 2
Fosters specialist development through a more individual approach to the discipline of art and design/fine art. This will be combined with a self-directed student programme that includes the reflection on the progression of art work at this level and the analysis of students' own practice within a contemporary context.

Contemporary Issues 2
Advances and develops ability to reflect critically upon contemporary art and design concepts and practices and become familiar with the language and use of visual/oral and textual analysis.

Art and Design PPD
Prepares for the dissertation in the following year as well as developing an understanding of the professional context of art and design specialisms.

STAGE 3
Advanced Studio Practice
Advances previous research and production, into a more coherently defined programme of study -fosters a more independent and rigorous approach to a level of professional standards. Helps to clarify the student's main working concerns, concepts and skills and prepare to build upon them for the final project.

Art and Design Dissertation
Independent learning through the writing of a dissertation of approximately 8,000 words.

Art and Design Major project
Production in a body of creative art/design work that is intended to be represented in a public exhibition.

Entry requirements

Standard entry requirements apply for this course.

Special entry requirements

Applicants will be invited to attend an interview and a portfolio of work should be presented for discussion and perusal by the course team. In the portfolio we are particularly interested in seeing visual evidence of how you have responded to the world around you, in whatever media you have found appropriate.

These could include drawing and painting but might also include lens-based media such as photography or video. We are also interested in seeing how you have developed ideas in a visually creative way.

Applicants seeking entry on the basis of experiential and non-certified learning will need to submit a personal Art and Design portfolio/portfolio of learning.

Find out more

Please contact John Stephens, Principal Lecturer, for detailed questions about the course content:

E: john.stephens@beds.ac.uk
T: + 44 (0) 1582 743185

Related Links

• Read the full course information (programme specification)

Further Study Opportunities

The Art and Design graduate may choose from a variety of postgraduate level courses, including the School's MA in Art and Design.

Should you wish to continue your studies at a higher level, you will be advised on the options available to you by the programme team.

This will include guidance on preparing applications and submissions for consideration by the University of Bedfordshire or other institutions.

• Art and Design MA
• MA by Research (topics in the field of Art and Design)

General Enquiries

• www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply for information about standard entry requirements, application routes, open days, fees and funding.
• T: +44 (0)1582 489286 UK/EU Admissions
• T: +44 (0)1582 489326 International Admissions
• Order a prospectus form. Enquire about courses and order a printed undergraduate or postgraduate prospectus.
• T: +44 (0)1234 400 400 University switchboard