Fine Art
Goldsmiths, University of London
UCAS Code: W190 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Goldsmiths, University of London
UCAS Code: W190 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Successful completion of three A-levels, or an equivalent qualification. PLUS successful completion of an Art and Design Foundation diploma and portfolio of work. OR Successful completion of a Foundation diploma, BTEC Extended Diploma in Art and Design (completed by the end of the academic year preceding entry). Please note, students applying directly from A-Levels who have not completed an Art and Design Foundation or BTEC Extended Diploma in Art and Design will not be eligible for this programme. Mature students without formal qualifications who have relevant experience are also welcomed. After submitting your application you'll be asked to upload a portfolio and essay online. If selected for interview, you'll be asked to bring along a portfolio of recent work and an essay.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Successful completion of a Foundation diploma, BTEC Extended Diploma in Art and Design (completed by the end of the academic year preceding entry). Please note, students applying directly from A-Levels who have not completed an Art and Design Foundation or BTEC Extended Diploma in Art and Design will not be eligible for this programme. After submitting your application you'll be asked to upload a portfolio and essay online. If selected for interview, you'll be asked to bring along a portfolio of recent work and an essay. Mature students without formal qualifications who have relevant experience are also welcomed.
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About this course
**Why study BA Fine Art at Goldsmiths**
**Study the practice and theory of fine art in a dynamic, critical and international context.**
- Goldsmiths' Department of Art has a longstanding, worldwide reputation for excellence
- You will have your own studio space from day one, with access to excellent technical facilities, across a broad range of media
- You will employ your analytical capabilities to develop your own studio practice, in combination with a course of critical studies lectures and seminars
- You will be taught by a team of artists, curators and writers, who will help you develop ideas, focus your research, and respond to a range of influences
- You will meet visiting artists and guest speakers, who will provide additional perspectives drawn from a diverse and international context
Please note the BA Fine Art only accepts applications for first year entry.
Modules
The programme has two elements that inform each other:
Studio practice (75% of the course)
Critical studies (25% of the course)
Studio practice
We do not set projects. Emphasis is on the development of your own interests and ideas through individual research and experimentation. This is supported by regular discussions with personal tutors, other tutors from the programme, and visiting artists.
You will make work with access to your own studio 7 days a week.
Studios are organised to enable a mix of year groups and disciplines, so you will be studying alongside students from all years, working in a wide variety of media, including:
Drawing
Painting
Textiles
Printmaking
Sculpture
Ceramics
Photography
Moving Image
Sound
Installation
Writing
Performance
Studio teaching is supported by the Art Practice Areas, open Monday to Friday, to introduce you to the materials, skills and techniques relevant to the development of your work.
Critical studies (25% of the course)
Critical Studies engages and extends your critical skills, enabling you to discuss, analyse and write about contemporary art. We encourage individual research relevant to your studio practice.
The lecture and seminar series in Year 1 offer a space to explore and examine the historical and critical context in which art is made, seen and understood.
You will choose two optional seminars in Year 2. These seminars enable you to expand your critical knowledge of contemporary art, focusing on key debates and practices where written work can be explored and developed.
Tutorials will guide your essay writing in Years 1 and 2 and will support the completion of your dissertation in Year 3.
All staff on the programme support your development and creativity and help you acquire independent learning skills. This approach requires you to be committed, to thrive on constructive criticism exchanged between staff and students, and to participate in discussing your own work and that of others.
Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.
Assessment methods
Studio practice coursework is continuously assessed through individual tutorials and group seminars and crits. This is complemented by studio presentations at Year 1, viva voce at Year 2, and a final exhibition at Year 3.
Critical Studies is assessed through essays (Years 1 and 2) and a dissertation (Year 3).
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if the overall teaching satisfaction score here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Art
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Art
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
Quite a few students of fine art have already retired and are taking the degree for the excellent reason that they love art, and they're willing to pay to study it. You should bear this in mind if the stats you see feature particularly low employment rates. If you need to earn a living once you've finished your fine art degree, be aware that freelancing and self-employment is common - about one in six fine arts graduates were working for themselves. Also common are what is termed 'portfolio careers' — having several part-time jobs or commissions at once - and many courses actually help you prepare for freelancing. One in ten of last year’s fine arts graduates had more than one job six months after graduation — over twice the average for graduates from 2015. Graduates from these subjects are often found in arts jobs, as artists, designers, photographers and similar jobs, or as arts and entertainment officers or teachers — although it's perfectly possible to get jobs outside the arts if you wish, with jobs in events management, marketing and community work amongst the most popular options.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Art
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£15k
£19k
£23k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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