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Fine Art

Entry requirements


GCSE/National 4/National 5

3 GCSEs at grade C/4 (or equivalent) including English Language.

UCAS Tariff

104

You may also need to…

Attend an interview

Present a portfolio

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Fine art

Become an artist with ideas generated through critical thinking and experimentation. Discover what drives your practice and learn to exhibit your work.

Push the boundaries of creativity and explore new ways of thinking and making art. Your time in the studio is a chance for you to experiment and find expresses your creativity through art. Explore the histories and theories of art and consider how they connect to the work you do.

From the beginning of this course you will experiment with contemporary ways of making and embracing artistic practice. You will explore different materials and styles as you engage with:

Drawing
Painting
Printmaking
Sculpture
Photography
Performances and video.
As you progress through the course you will refine your skills, finding your personal style. As you discover the mediums and processes you enjoy working with, we will encourage you to pursue them. Alongside your practical work you will explore theories and histories of fine art. You will investigate ideas and research projects that build your understanding of art practices.

When you become a fine art student, you gain access to our creative workspaces. We have a studio space for each student, giving you the foundation you need to explore your creativity. We also have workshops dedicated to sculpture and printmaking. Our darkroom lets you explore traditional photography methods. The digital suites have Adobe Creative Suite installed for your use.

We also give you amazing opportunities to prepare for your future in the creative industries. These include opportunities to:

Work on live projects with gallery spaces and industry professionals
Showcase your work at our annual degree show and national graduate exhibitions.
Visit cities around the world to enrich your cultural awareness and see a variety of art practices
Take part in work placement opportunities and internships

Modules

Modules may include:

Year 1:
Critical Contexts
Fine Art Fundamentals
Critical Contexts 2
Fine Art Explorations

Year 2
Critical Enquiry 1
Fine Art Practise and Development
Critical Enquiry 2
Fine Art Exposition

Year 3
Independent Research Project
Advanced Studio Practice
Situated Professional Practise

Tuition fees

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

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£14,000
per year
International
£14,000
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

York St John University

Department:

Art and Design

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.

100%
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

100%
Staff make the subject interesting
87%
Staff are good at explaining things
93%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
67%
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

80%
Library resources
93%
IT resources
93%
Course specific equipment and facilities
67%
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?

99%
UK students
1%
International students
6%
Male students
94%
Female students
56%
2:1 or above
8%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A*
B
C

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
med
Average annual salary
97%
med
Employed or in further education
32%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

28%
Other elementary services occupations
13%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
9%
Secretarial and related occupations

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.

£16k

£16k

£20k

£20k

£21k

£21k

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
Teesside University, Middlesbrough | Middlesbrough
Fine Art
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 96-112
Same University
York St John University | York
Illustration
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 104

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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