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Fine Art (Extension Degree)

Entry requirements


A level

C,C

UCAS Tariff

64

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About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Fine art

The Extension Degree (Year 0) has been designed specifically for students from countries outside the United Kingdom. Our aim is to enable you to work independently as an artist, and to generate and develop your own ideas.

**What is Fine Art**
Within a university the term Fine Art describes an area of study in which students make and learn about contemporary art (this means art being made and exhibited today). Fine Art students might create sculpture, painting, video, photography, performance, sound art, installation, drawing, or any other mediums to describe their aesthetic and intellectual ideas. The ideas expressed within the artwork are understood to be as important as the medium which the artist has chosen to use.

**Why study BA Fine Art (Extension Degree) at Goldsmiths**
- The Extension Degree (Year 0) has been designed specifically for students from countries outside the UK. Our aim is to enable you to work independently as an artist and to generate and develop your own ideas.

- It's a small, friendly programme, and we place an emphasis on one-to-one tuition and teaching in small groups

- You'll be introduced to a range of technical and conceptual skills that will help you to develop your critical judgment and establish the basics of your future work, and you'll undertake English Language study where necessary

- You'll make and study contemporary art in a dynamic, critical and interdisciplinary environment

- We'll equip you with the skills that will help you develop independent thought and confidence in your practice, as well as transferable skills suitable for employment in the creative industries

- You'll have your own studio space from day one, and will have access to excellent facilities including specialist art practice areas

- All staff on the programme are practising artists, curators and writers, here to respond to the work that you make and to help you understand how it contributes to, and challenges, the critical debates that exist in the study area and beyond

- Many Goldsmiths students go on to become internationally successful artists. Since 1990, former Goldsmiths students have been nominated for the Turner Prize more than 30 times, and have won the prize on 8 occasions.

Modules

Our aim is to enable you to work independently as an artist, to generate and develop your own ideas and to undertake further study by progressing to year 1 of the BA Fine Art or the BA Fine Art and History of Art degree.

Year 0
Studio Practice
You'll be allocated a studio space, which forms the focal point of your activities, and are assigned a Studio Practice tutor who will support and assess your progress. You take part in regular tutorials (one to one discussions) and studio seminars with staff and other Extension Degree students. You will also be introduced to a range of technical art practice areas to support your work.

Critical Studies
A Critical Studies module designed specifically for the needs of the programme runs throughout the year. You attend lectures and seminars that introduce you to key issues and debates relevant to the understanding of contemporary art and you have seminars based on tutor-led visits to museums and galleries. This helps you to understand the context within which the work that you make is seen and understood. The module also helps you to become familiar with the various modes of writing that are used to discuss contemporary art.

English language
If your first language is not English, the Extension year includes three hours a week of English for Academic Purposes in classes tailor-made for art students; in some cases, and depending on your English proficiency, you may not have to take these. If you need to attend the classes, at the end of the year you take an English Language examination (English for Academic Purposes), which you must pass to proceed to the next level of your degree.

Integration
As an Extension Degree student you'll be integrated into the BA in Fine Art programme through mixed level group presentations and discussions. They enable you to benefit from contact and shared activity with other students working across different levels.

Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.

Assessment methods

You’ll be assessed by a variety of methods, depending on your module choices. These include coursework, examinations, group work and projects.

The Uni


Course location:

Goldsmiths, University of London

Department:

Art

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

60%
Fine art

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

89%
Staff make the subject interesting
85%
Staff are good at explaining things
75%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
66%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

70%
Library resources
86%
IT resources
69%
Course specific equipment and facilities
29%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

57%
UK students
43%
International students
27%
Male students
73%
Female students
99%
2:1 or above
13%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A*
A
A

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.

£18,000
high
Average annual salary
93%
med
Employed or in further education
43%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

30%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
19%
Other elementary services occupations
10%
Teaching and educational professionals

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

£15k

£21k

£21k

£20k

£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.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
University of Southampton | Southampton
Fine Art
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 120
Nearby University
University of East London | Newham
Fine Art
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 96
Lower entry requirements
Goldsmiths, University of London | Lewisham
Fine Art and History of Art
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 48-120
Same University
Goldsmiths, University of London | Lewisham
Fine Art
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 48-120

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here