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Fine Art: Studio Site and Context (Swansea College of Art)

Entry requirements


UCAS Tariff

120

Grades are important; however, our offers are not solely based on academic results. We are interested in creative people that demonstrate a strong commitment to their subject area and therefore we welcome applications from individuals from a wide range of backgrounds. To assess student suitability for their chosen course we normally arrange interviews for all applicants at which your skills, achievements and life experience will be considered as well as your qualifications and portfolio of work.

About this course


This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.

Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Other options

6 years | Part-time | 2024

Subject

Fine art

Fine Art at Swansea operates at the cutting edge of contemporary practice. The experience of studying here will challenge and support you to extend your knowledge and enable you to develop your own voice as an artist. Swansea College of Art has unparalleled facilities which include the opportunity to work in glass, ceramics, metal and 3D printing, together with video, photography, painting and performance. We also have dedicated spaces to develop and test site-specific work together with your own individual studio spaces based in our expansive Fine Art hub and available throughout the three years of the course. Staff and students work closely together on research projects and activities, within and beyond the institution, and staff integrate their international expertise into their teaching practice. Swansea is increasingly recognised as a city with a vibrant culture and counter culture and our College of Art is at the centre of a matrix of galleries studios and artist-led initiatives which extend outward linking Swansea nationally and internationally through exchange and dialogue. Within Fine Art it is also possible to extend your studies internationally through our ‘study a semester aboard’ scheme.

Modules

Year One – Level 4 (Cert HE, Dip HE & BA)

• Contemporary Challenges: Making a Difference (20 credits; compulsory; Graduate Attributes Framework module)
• Learning in the Digital Era (20 credits; compulsory; Graduate Attributes Framework module)
• Materials, Construction & Deconstruction (20 credits; compulsory)
• Site & Audience (20 credits; compulsory)
• Visual Studies 1 (10 credits; compulsory)
• Visual Studies 2 (10 credits; compulsory)
• Ways of Perceiving (10 credits; compulsory)
• Ways of Thinking (10 credits; compulsory).

Year Two – Level 5 (Dip HE & BA)

• Changemakers: Building your Personal Brand for Sustainable Employment (20 credits; compulsory; Graduate Attributes Framework module)
• Changemakers: Creativity and Value Creation (20 credits; compulsory; Graduate Attributes Framework module)
• Concept & Process (20 credits; compulsory)
• Research in Context (10 credits; compulsory)
• Research in Practice (10 credits; compulsory)
• Stimulus & Response (20 credits; compulsory)
• Visual Enquiry 1 (10 credits; compulsory)
• Visual Enquiry 2 (10 credits; compulsory).

Year Three – Level 6 (BA)

• Advanced Creative Enquiry (20 credits; compulsory)
• Independent Project (40 credits; compulsory; Graduate Attributes Framework module)
• Major Project (60 credits; compulsory).

Assessment methods

Assessment is carried out through coursework, both written and practical. There are no exams on this course. Students are formatively assessed throughout a module, summative assessment takes place at the end of a module. A variety of teaching and learning methods are used throughout the course which include;

Lectures

Usually at the start of a scheduled contact period, lectures will generally consist of a formal presentation giving information relevant to the module, accompanied by visuals, and followed by a screening or group tutorial/activity.

Group Tutorials

Depending on the cohort size, module content and individual lecturer preferences, these are usually in groups of no more than six students at a time and delivered over a set period.

Individual Tutorials

Most often scheduled for level 5 and level 6 students, individual tutorials offer a more focused and in-depth opportunity for student feedback and development of ideas. Most often arranged in relation to individual practice modules such as Student Led Projects.

Critiques

Group critiques are scheduled regularly for all year groups. For level 4 these often form part of the assessment at the end of short projects, for levels 5 & 6 they are scheduled for the purpose of interim reviews and work-in-progress feedback, involving student participation and peer criticism.

Workshops

Delivered to teach specific skills to students, group size will depend on subject and room size, can include project work. These are not usually formally marked, but can be subject to group criticism, and informal feedback will be given.

Presentations

Formal presentations by students to peers and staff are used for research and development through to finished work. Students usually begin doing presentations at level 4 in small groups to build confidence in the process. There are then assessed research presentations to peers at level 5 and Major Project Presentations to staff and other year groups in level 6. The presentation is an ideal vehicle for developing individual confidence and transferable skills.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,000
per year
England
£9,000
per year
EU
£9,000
per year
International
£13,500
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,000
per year
Scotland
£9,000
per year
Wales
£9,000
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Dynevor, Swansea

Department:

Swansea College of 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.

79%
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

79%
Staff make the subject interesting
93%
Staff are good at explaining things
86%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
93%
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

46%
Library resources
46%
IT resources
86%
Course specific equipment and facilities
79%
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?

93%
UK students
7%
International students
30%
Male students
70%
Female students
74%
2:1 or above
11%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
B

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.

£15,616
low
Average annual salary
100%
high
Employed or in further education
41%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

36%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
11%
Other elementary services occupations
9%
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.

£14k

£14k

£17k

£17k

£18k

£18k

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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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