BA (Hons) Fine Art - Full-time

Your profile
You are an inquisitive, creative, critical and practical thinker. You have a desire to engage in the ever-expanding field of contemporary fine art practice and enjoy making work in and out of a studio environment that affords the free development of your ideas.

Your subject
Contemporary art practice is a broad and ever-evolving field and is an integral part of our culture. It involves making art that relates to the world you live in and requires the development and application of a wide range of attributes, including practical skills, aesthetic and ethical understanding, and an awareness of the way cultural, social and political contexts have a bearing on how your work is produced and experienced.

The BA (Hons) Fine Art at University Centre Colchester is a studio and workshop-based programme that will provide you with generous space and the support of expert tutors and practicing artists, to establish a confident and independent enquiry in contemporary fine art practice.

Innovative tutoring provides an integrated approach between art practice and theory, allowing you genuine opportunities for critical thinking and creative ownership of your progress.

This course is driven by independent enquiry, structured and supportive exposure, self-motivated practice and focused creative thought. Painting, printmaking and sculptural concerns are energised by drawing, lens and time based processes and imaginative use of media/materials supported by a critical theoretical framework.

Delivery is through a combination of lectures, seminars, tutorials, demonstrations, theoretical and practical investigation, studio and workshop practice, exhibitions and field trips, and self-directed study. Students will investigate exhibiting and curation of work in a range of public settings and explore the interaction of audiences with their practices.

Welcome to the BA (Hons) Fine Art programme.

This dynamic studio-centred course will provide you with generous space and fantastic contact time with practicing artists and academics. Via integrated approaches to practice and theory, you will learn to develop a confident and independent sense of enquiry in relation to contemporary fine art and practice-led research.

The lecturing team is focused on developing you artistically, technically and holistically, in other words, as an all-round fine art practitioner.

Interested? Book your place on an Open day or get in touch with University Centre Colchester to arrange an individual visit.

Entry requirements are generally given as GSCE and A Levels. These are the UK standard qualifications that are awarded at the end of a student’s time at school or college, and your country may have equivalent qualifications that can be used to support your application. You must be a minimum age of 16 or over to apply for one of our courses. Check the course finder for the exact qualification for each course.

When you search for courses, don’t worry if the entry requirements don’t specify your qualifications – we can accept alternative equivalent qualifications for many of our courses. We are happy to consider qualifications from other countries for entry onto our courses and an assessment will be made of their equivalence to our UK qualifications.

The creative industries generate £87.4bn a year for the UK economy, representing the third largest employment sector. It is currently the largest source of job growth, contributing one in every nine new jobs.

Your future
As your course progresses, you will increasingly research and explore possibilities for future professional work opportunities and roles in the creative industries or further, postgraduate study. You will graduate as a confident and knowledgeable individual, aware of how your practice contributes to the critical debate in your chosen field. Recent graduates have gone onto exhibit work at FREE RANGE in London, Europe’s largest graduate showcase, while others have gained gallery representation, exhibiting at Manchester Contemporary Art Fair, established their own artist-led projects (such as Art4U), or joined one of the many studio-based artist communities in the area, such as Cuckoo Farm, SPACE and Mother Studios. As a graduate, you can also progress onto teacher training or extend your research interests through other postgraduate level programmes in Fine Art or Contemporary Art Practice at institutions throughout the UK.

The holistic and flexible nature of the BA [Hons] in Fine Art course will enable you to engage independently and professionally as an artist practitioner within that sector. The course will provide you with opportunities to network and experience professional practice environments, with a module in the third year, Professional Development Planning, that is tailored to proactively researching and moving towards your chosen career path such as, community arts; multimedia production; gallery and museum work; art therapy; MA research and independent studio practice.

Course Progression

An MA in Art specialisms, or an MA in Arts Management or Administration.

Applications Open Now!

The application window for Access to Higher Education courses opened on 1st October 2021.

Applications for this course are made via our online application form and you are able to access it from this course page.

Once you are ready to apply then please click the ‘Apply Online‘ button located in the menu section below.

Upon successful submission of an application you will receive an acknowledgement email from our Admissions team. If you do not receive this you should contact the team to check that your application has been received.

We will then process your application and applicants will receive further correspondence from the College about the next stages of the admissions process. These will include details about interviews with the course tutor or any pre-assessments.

Our next Adult Learner Information Evening takes place on Wednesday 4th May 2022, 6pm – 8pm, where tutors will be on hand to discuss the course.

Book onto the next adult learner event here

In the mean time, if you have any further questions about the application process, want to check the progress of your application or if you are unsure about anything please contact us using the enquiry line or enquiry form below.