BA (Hons) Fine Art

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BA (Hons) Fine Art

Institution code: N39
Course 3 Year UCAS code: W101
Course 4 Year UCAS code: W102
Course length: 3 or 4 year options

Explore your creativity, ideas and instincts in a vibrant community of artists, makers and thinkers at NUA, one of the UK’s longest-established Fine Art degrees.

You will shape your own distinctive career path as an artist on our BA (Hons) course and join generations of graduates who have achieved national and international success.

From Turner Prize nomination, to inclusion in the UK’s annual New Contemporaries exhibition, our graduates are renowned for their unique voice and vision.

Explore Fine Art

Whatever your choice of medium, we will encourage and support you to develop your own practice and develop a substantial portfolio.

Purpose-built studio spaces will provide the perfect environment to realise your creative direction.

You’ll have access to the tools you need to make and create, including:

Printmaking facilities
3D studios and a foundry
Our historic Munnings Life Drawing Studio
Painting studios
Augmented and Virtual Reality.

Throughout your studies, we will support you with one-to-one contact time with expert academic staff and technicians.

And you’ll develop curatorial skills, exhibiting work on-and-off our campus, including NUA’s project spaces and artist-run spaces in the city.

Build your career in the creative arts

Your creative development will run in parallel with gaining valuable professional competencies like communication skills, independent working, writing, organisation and team working.

You will also develop business skills related to promoting and selling your work and growing your audience, covering curation, contracts, terms for pricing and selling work, presenting work, and networking.

And you’ll have the chance to make the most of our close links with regional and national galleries like Tate Modern, Wysing Arts Centre, Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts and OUTPOST.

Through our visiting lecture series and symposia you’ll have a unique opportunity to network with leading contemporary artists, curators and academics as you prepare for a successful career.

Graduates work in a broad range of careers including

Practising Artist
Community Artist
Exhibition Organiser
Arts Administrator
Lecturer
Art Consultant

Gallery Manager
Researcher
Curator
Teacher
Image Retoucher
Art Handler

You’ll also get specialist creative careers advice from our Careers Team in the Ideas FactoryNUA to help support you as you plan your career.

Course specifications
Three year degree
Four year degree
Course costs

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Course content

Year 1
An emphasis on 'thinking through making' using traditional and new media techniques will help you identify your artistic interests
Comprehensive workshop inductions
Grow your understanding of critical theories such as psychoanalysis and aesthetics
Visit galleries and events nationally and internationally
Contextualise your work and think more practically about audience
Exhibit in the NUA Project Spaces
Explore collaborative, collective and socially engaged approaches
Introduction to the 12 essential skills of the Fine Art innovative programme.

Year 2
Workshops in either painting, print, sculpture, mixed media or video
External exhibitions, publication or placement
Learn advanced drawing techniques
Opportunities to use project spaces and external venues for experimentation, collaboration, display, critique, curation, performance and discussion.

Year 3
Prepare a comprehensive Research Report related to your practice
Regular student-led presentations for sharing individual practice
Opportunity to be part of the curation team planning the Degree Show
Professional practice conference
Degree Show, attended by curators, collectors, buyers and gallery owners
Opportunity to showcase your work in London.

Student work

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Visit the Degree Show website #Disrupt
Convention

Entry requirements
Portfolio guidance
Fees and funding
Four year degree

Typical UK offers

A / AS Levels – GCE
GCE A/AS Levels 3 A-level qualifications at grades BBB. Where candidates are not taking 3 A-levels, NUA will consider combinations of A-level/AS-level and other Level 3 qualifications.

BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF or RQF)
Distinction, Merit, Merit in an art, design or media related subject

BTEC Diploma (QCF or RQF)
Distinction*, Distinction* in an art, design or media related subject

UAL Extended Diploma
Merit

UAL Level 3 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Merit

UAL Level 4 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Pass

Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Merit

Access to Higher Education Diploma (Art and Design)
Pass

International Baccalaureate Diploma
A minimum of 27 points

NUA welcomes applicants of all ages from all backgrounds. Your application will be primarily assessed through interview and portfolio review so even if you have no formal qualifications or do not meet our typical offers it can still be worth applying.

If you are studying at the time of your application and your interview is successful, it is likely that you will receive a conditional offer.

If the qualification that you are studying is not shown, do not worry as we are able to accept other pre-entry qualifications as well as combinations of different qualifications. Please do contact our Student Recruitment Team if you have any queries.

International applications

We accept qualifications from all over the world. To find our entry requirements from a specific country, please check our dedicated international pages.

Most international students are required to hold an English language qualification. Applicants are required to have a minimum UKVI approved IELTS exam score of 6.0 overall, with a minimum of 5.5 in each section. Equivalent English language qualifications are acceptable such as, IB English language syllabus A or B/English Literature (Grade 4).

We also accept some alternative English qualifications. Learn more about our English entry requirements.

You can email us on international@nua.ac.uk if you’d like to discuss your application individually.

BA (Hons) Fine Art degree portfolio guidance

Your portfolio should be relevant to this course, but you can include a wide range of work that shows your creativity, technical competence and understanding of space.

You may wish to include some of the following:

Evidence of working independently, using your own ideas or inspirations
Drawing, which could include literal images from observation or imaginative work
Sculpture, model making or installation in any medium
Painting
Printmaking
Collage and mixed media
Textile work
Photography
Sound design
Film and/or animation work
Performance, installation or interactive work
Work created using Adobe Creative Suite or other appropriate design software package
Collaborative work

Further portfolio advice and tips

Get more advice on presentation formats, layouts and when to submit your portfolio in the application process.

Your interview

After you apply to study BA Fine Art at NUA we’ll invite you to an interview on campus or by Skype or telephone, depending on your circumstance.

If you apply by the UCAS deadline of 15 January your interview will usually take place in February. We’ll ask you to prepare your portfolio ready to bring with you or submit online ahead of your interview.

Read our tips for interviews at NUA

Fees and Funding

The cost of your course is determined by your status as either ‘UK/EU’ or ‘International’, so it’s important to check your fee status. If you’re unsure, the UKCISA website will help you determine whether you’re eligible to pay a UK/EU fee (also called a ‘home’ fee). If you’d prefer to speak to NUA directly, please contact student.finance@nua.ac.uk

UK/EU students are eligible for a tuition fee loan from the UK government, meaning you won’t have to pay your fees up front. Further details about tuition fee loans are provided below. International students are not eligible for the UK government tuition fee loan.

2020/21 Tuition Fees For New Entrants

Citizen status	Course	Fee
UK/EU nationality	Undergraduate degree (full-time three and four year degree)	£9,250

International (non-EU)

Undergraduate degree (full-time three and four year degree)

£15,000

Fees will remain the same for each year of your course.

International students

Find out more about 2020 fees for international students and the support available.

Financial support for UK/EU students

Tuition fee loans and loans for living costs are available, as well as non-repayable NUA bursaries that take into account family income. Find out how to apply for funding.

Tuition Fee Loan for Undergraduate study

Tuition fee loans are available for UK and EU students.

Available to cover the full cost of your tuition
You don’t have to pay for your course up front yourself
Only start paying back when you are earning over £25,725 per year

Maintenance Loan for Undergraduate study – 2020/21

Student Maintenance Loans are available for UK and eligible EU students to help with living costs such as accommodation, food, clothes, travel and course expenses. The amount students receive is dependent on household income and any maintenance grant received.

A loan of up to £9,203 may be available if you live away from home.
A loan of up to £7,747 may be available if you live with your parents.

How can you find out more?

To learn more about loans, repayment calculations and other financial support, visit Student Finance. If you have any questions about fees, please email student.finance@nua.ac.uk

Scholarships

Find out about scholarship programmes available to NUA applicants.

Bursaries

For new entrants whose household income is assessed as £25,000 or less, the university will offer a contribution towards the costs of studying at NUA (such as equipment, materials and other course-related costs). This will be £200 for new entrants to Year 0 and Year 1, rising to £300 in Year 2, followed by £500 in Year 3. Find out more about bursaries at NUA.

NUA alumni, staff and feeder staff discount

All NUA alumni are eligible for a £1,000 discount on NUA postgraduate degree fees. All NUA staff and staff from feeder institutions are eligible for a £500 discount on NUA postgraduate degree fees.

Four year degree

Our innovative four year degrees are exactly the same as our three year degrees but include an extra year of study at the beginning – Year 0.

Year 0 is about developing the skills, foundation, knowledge and the confidence you need to successfully complete your degree course. Building on your experience from A Level or equivalent courses, the Year 0 curriculum allows time to develop the practical, creative and conceptual skills that are critical to successfully completing an undergraduate degree at NUA.

While studying Year 0 BA (Hons) Fine Art you will begin to establish your individual creative voice and follow your own direction through projects designed to challenge and stretch you. You’ll undertake both studio and research led projects that will inform the development of your work and enhance your contextual awareness.

You’ll benefit from inductions in the workshop areas used throughout your degree, and you will also have mixed year critiques with Year 1 Fine Art students. You will also be able to engage with the Fine Art lecture programme, which is open to all years, as well as having the opportunity to curate and realise an exhibition outside the confines of the University.

Typical UK offers and entry requirements for Year 0 entry

GCE A/AS Levels
2 A-level qualifications at grades CC or higher.

BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF or RQF)
Merit, Merit, Pass in an art, design or media related subject

BTEC Diploma (QCF or RQF)
Distinction, Merit in an art, design or media related subject

UAL Extended Diploma
An overall Pass

UAL Level 3 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
An overall Pass

Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Pass

Access to Higher Education Diploma (Art and Design)
Pass

International Baccalaureate Diploma
A minimum of 24 points

Find out more

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Ruby Jaye-Wood

"NUA is surrounded by this warm creative atmosphere that is filled with quirky bars, shops, galleries and spaces fitting every mood and style."

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Alveera Rahman

"The course has enabled me to broaden my idea of what art is and what it can be in terms of its physical and non-physical form. In my first year I’ve gained a more defined perspective on the issues and concepts I want to explore in my own practice."

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Bethany Freer

"Networking and being able to study in such a creative hub at NUA has allowed me to find new talents and work collaboratively to broaden my own skills and ideas."

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Robert Grayson

"The city is a hub of creativity including brilliant music venues and museums. It's a perfect city to develop my interest in community and public art."

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Facilities