Contemporary Art Practice with foundation year
University of Greater Manchester
UCAS Code: W121 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
University of Greater Manchester
UCAS Code: W121 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
UCAS Tariff
Any subjects are acceptable at Level 3. Creative subjects are strongly preferred.
You may also need to…
Attend an interview
Present a portfolio
About this course
**In December 2024, the University of Bolton was granted permission by the Office for Students (OfS) to change its name to the University of Greater Manchester with immediate effect. While we work to update our systems, you may see both names used in the information we provide.**
Explore your creativity and experiment with drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics, photography, installation, performance, digital, digital 3D, video and sound art at the University of Bolton. Our BA (Hons) Contemporary Art Practice with foundation year course employs traditional fine art methods, processes, and theoretical frameworks for contemporary and ever-evolving public-facing contexts. You’ll create outward-facing work every semester and gain creative sector experience.
The University of Bolton's BA (Hons) Contemporary Art Practice with foundation year course supports you in developing professional creative practice ready to capture, analyse and challenge complex social and political issues. Our experienced staff are practising artists who will encourage you to explore themes and contexts in broader art history, allowing you to locate your practice in a historically informed contemporary context.
We offer a supportive environment where you can develop your creative skills and knowledge. Using our well-equipped workshops and dedicated studio space, our expert team will support you in developing outward-facing output in each semester of every level of study.
The foundation year allows you to discover and strengthen research, design, practical and communication skills that are essential for success as you study Contemporary Art Practice. You'll explore an array of core techniques relating to the creative arts industries, including drawing, painting, sculpting, and finishing techniques, investigating both traditional and digital technologies. The foundation year also aims to build your confidence in academic skills such as literature searching, academic referencing and written and oral communication techniques.
As you progress through the course, we'll help you develop technical skills in drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics, photography, installation, performance, digital, digital 3D, video and sound art, and new and emerging technologies. We embed relevant and appropriate strands of professional practice throughout each level, so you'll gain the knowledge and skills to curate, document, promote, market, and critique exhibitions of art.
We'll encourage you to explore public engagement strategies and use the University's excellent industry links. You'll have the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with a range of industry specialists. Our tutors have a wealth of experience delivering contemporary art for public display. They will support you in building your portfolio, ready to deliver a professionally presented and industry-ready creative show in your final year.
Throughout the BA (Hons) Contemporary Art Practice with foundation year, we'll nurture your curiosity and encourage you to become a socially engaged and community-facing contemporary artist who responds to current social-political issues and concerns. We'll focus on building your confidence from the very start. We'll help develop your self-belief so that you can make work for public engagement, interact with people outside of the studio through your art, and prepare you for a wide variety of careers. We aim for you to graduate with an inquisitive mind, the inclination to collaborate, and an expanded and broad transferable skillset.
Modules
Information about the modules offered as part of this course is available on the University of Greater Manchester's website.
Assessment methods
Details of the learning activities and assessment methods for this course are available on the University of Greater Manchester's website.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
University of Greater Manchester Main Site, Bolton
Art and Design, and Fine Art
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?
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Art
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Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
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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
£18k
£20k
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:
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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:
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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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