Art and Design Foundation Diploma

Typical entry requirements

A good portfolio of work, or evidence of recent experience in art and design and normally One A Level or equivalent, in an art and design subject at a grade C or above, and:

Five GCSEs grades 9-4 including English Language or Literature at grade 4 or above, OR a BTEC First Diploma plus two GCSEs including English Language or Literature at grade 4 or above.

International Baccalaureate: 24+ Points.

We also accept the BTEC First Diploma plus two GCSEs including English Language or Literature at grade 4 or above.

Applicants who are 18 or under must also hold a GCSE Maths and English, grade A*–C (9-4).

All equivalent qualifications are welcome as are mature students with alternative experience

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, an IELTS score of 6.0 overall with 5.5 in each band (or equivalent) when you start the course is essential.

English language tuition, delivered by our British Council-accredited Centre for English Language Learning, is available both before and throughout the course if you need it.

Interview and portfolio

Interview required: No

Portfolio required: Yes

To find out more what we're looking for in a portfolio, head to our portfolio advice page.

Progression

Within the first six months of attending the course you will have the opportunity to take part in our progression event, where you can learn more about the courses on offer at DMU. This event will give you the opportunity to tailor your progression plans and interests according to your art and design specialism. You will gain automatic progression^* onto your choice of more than 30 of DMU’s art and design degrees. These range from Art and Architecture to Fashion and Textiles.

^{*subject to passing the foundation diploma and meeting the degree entry requirements.}

Graduate careers

Our graduates go onto achieve amazing things. Jemisha Maadhavji, a figurative painter, completed her Art and Design Foundation Diploma, bachelors in Fine Art and masters in Fine Art at DMU, graduating in 2022. She has since had her work displayed in the South London Gallery in London, at the BOSS Flagship store on Regent Street and the Humber Street Gallery in Hull and has attracted a myriad of press attention in publications including Vogue Indian and Harper’s Bazaar Art Magazine.

Graduate, Tim Fowler, bolstered the skills he had learnt on DMU’s Art and Design Foundation Diploma at Sheffield Hallam University, where he studied Contemporary Fine Art. Fowler has since established himself as an independent artist, and his work has evolved over the years from buildings, portraits and skulls to now focus on plants. Tim has shown his work in New York, LA, Germany, London and Ibiza and sold work all over the world.