Plymouth College of Art
Fine Art (Extended Degree) BA (Hons)
Plymouth College of Art

Key Course Facts

Student Reviews

Below you can see course specific reviews for 10 graduates of Fine Art (Extended Degree) BA (Hons) at Plymouth College of Art for each of the survey questions in comparison to the average for all UK degree courses in Art.

Overall student satisfaction
94 /100
10 total respondents
The NSS is commissioned by the Office for Students

Salary

Salary of Graduates in Art

Important: Salary data below is not course specific, but contains data of all students of Art at the university. Due to data collection methodology, salary data is mainly based on data related to undergraduate students.

  15 months after graduation 3 years after graduation 5 years after graduation
Median salary £18000 £16500 £19000
25-75 percentile range £13000 - £25500 £8000 - £19500 £10500 - £24000


Salary of all UK Graduates of Art

  15 months after graduation 3 years after graduation 5 years after graduation
Median salary £19948 £16221 £19536
25-75 percentile range £17428 - £24000 £11190 - £21313 £13583 - £25698

Course Description

Arts University Plymouth is an arts university for the 21st century, preparing students who are uniquely placed to provide creative solutions to the complex global challenges of a changing world. Formerly known as Plymouth College of Art, we were granted full university title in Spring 2022. We are now the city of Plymouth’s first and only specialist arts university, allowing us to offer our students a dynamic and unique learning experience.

If you want to pursue a creative degree at Arts University Plymouth but feel you have yet to acquire the experience and range of skills necessary, our Extended BA course will prepare you for entry to one of our BA (Hons) undergraduate courses. This four-year route offers an exploratory year, developing your insight into a range of art, design and media skills and approaches, before focusing on your Fine Art degree.

Our Fine Art course is, at its core, rigorous and questioning, encouraging an ambitious diversity of approaches in thinking and making. Promoting an interdisciplinary exploration of contemporary art, we encourage an ambitious, self-directed and critically engaged approach to developing creative practice. This is a dynamic course where you will gain skills to critically question and actively create.

The course is characterised by its focus on the development of individual practice-based study through exposure to a wide variety of material methods and modes of art practice. Led and supported by a stimulating community of creative practitioners, the core academic team are experienced artists who are active makers, writers and researchers in contemporary fine art practice. The course encourages diversity in thinking and making, based on the potential in material exploration, collaborative working, cross-fertilisation of ideas and the exploration of new concepts and materials.

With opportunities for working collaboratively, deepening cultural understanding and exploring new processes in workshops, you’ll be working in a learning environment that provides a meaningful link between your studio practice and contemporary art theory. The course is interdisciplinary, enabling you to engage in workshops for drawing, sound, glass, installation, video, clay, performance, painting, scale and sculpture, projection mapping, wood, video, printmaking, critical writing, 3D casting in plaster, alginate, rubber and traditional sculptural practices.

The Fine Art course includes a framework of professional practice opportunities; you will develop an unrivalled understanding of the professional art world through our ongoing partnerships which include emerging and established galleries, museums, creative organisations and practising artists. You will develop a professional understanding of the creative activity of external partners and will be very well placed to enter the professional creative sector upon graduating.

We are committed to encouraging studio and post-studio practices, creating artwork that can inhabit a range of settings including galleries, artist-run spaces and site-specific or event-based projects. During your studies you are given and will also create regular opportunities to exhibit and test your practice in the public domain. We currently work with KARST gallery in Plymouth, and we have collaboration projects with Otis College of Art and Design in LA, Alfred University in New York and Winthrop University in South Carolina. The college’s onsite public exhibition space, MIRROR, also draws a range of national and international artists and exhibitions, allowing for the opportunity to engage with artists through related workshops, talks and screenings.

The course will teach you to take risks; this will situate you in the world as and active agent, and instil in you a sense of yourself as a thinker and maker. Study with us and you’ll expand your critical approach alongside developing rich skills in questioning, making and analysis.

Jobs & Career Perspectives

15 months after graduation, graduates of this course were asked about what they do and, if they are working, about their current job and their perspectives.

Current jobs

Required skill level of job after 15 months

Jobs of graduates of this course (15 months after graduation)

Example below based on all graduates of Fine Art (Extended Degree) BA (Hons) at Plymouth College of Art

30% Business and public service associate professionals
30% Protective service occupations
5% Administrative occupations
5% Secretarial and related occupations
5% Welfare and housing associate professionals
5% Managers, directors and senior officials
5% Teaching and Childcare Support Occupation

Grading Distribution

Students of the course received the following grades

Entry Requirements / Admissions

UCAS Tariff of Accepted Students for this course

English language requirements

test Grade Additional Details
IELTS (Academic) 6

IELTS (Level B2):overall score of 6.0 with minimum scores Listening: 5.5, Speaking: 5.5, Reading: 5.5, Writing: 5.5

Trinity ISE

Integrated Skills in English II (Level B2), minimum grades required: Reading: Pass Listening: Pass

PTE Academic 50

PTE Academic (Level B2), minimum grade required: Listening: 50, Reading: 50, Writing: 50, Speaking: 50

Plymouth is the largest city in the county of Devon, and the safest big city in south-west England, listed in the top ten safest cities in the UK. The city has excellent travel links via car, train and ferry, with direct train services to London Paddington and the rest of the country and easy access to three nearby airports (Bristol, Newquay and Exeter). Plymouth is the gateway to the South West of England and is approximately 3 hours from London by train. The best airport to fly into is London Heathrow, which has a direct rail line to Paddington station. Our dedicated international team will be able to support you throughout your application and enrolment with us, giving you expert advice and guidance on everything you need, from accommodation to what to do once you arrive in the UK.
Get advice on which foundation courses are best for you to still study Fine Art (Extended Degree), BA (Hons), if you do not meet the minimum requirements in terms of UCAS score, A levels, or English language requirements.

Costs

Tuition Fees Fine Art (Extended Degree) BA (Hons)

Ireland £9250 year 1
EU £16500 year 1
Channel Islands £9250 year 1
England UK £9250 year 1
Northern Ireland £9250 year 1
Scotland £9250 year 1
Wales £9250 year 1
International £16500 year 1

Average student cost of living in the UK

Rent £518
Water, gas electricity, internet (at home) £50
Supermarket shopping £81
Clothing £35
Eating out £33
Alcohol £27
Takeaways / food deliveries £30
Going out / entertainment (excl.alcohol, food) £24
Holidays and weekend trips £78
Transport within city £17
Self-care / sports £20
Stationary / books £13
Mobile phone / internet £13
Cable TV / streaming £7
Insurance £51
Other £95
  
Average student cost of living £1092

London costs approx 34% more than average, mainly due to rent being 67% higher than average of other cities. For students staying in student halls, costs of water, gas, electricity, wifi are generally included in the rental. Students in smaller cities where accommodation is in walking/biking distance transport costs tend to be significantly smaller.

How to apply

Application deadline:

January 1, 2025

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Possible Entry Points:

  • Foundation

About Plymouth College of Art

Plymouth College of Art is a specialised school of art and design, located in the English city of Plymouth. Their campus can be found in the city centre, divided over four separate buildings. Each building provides the modern facilities that are used for subjects such as Fine Art, Filmmaking, Animation, among many others.

List of 36 Bachelor and Master Courses from Plymouth College of Art - Course Catalogue

Student composition of Plymouth College of Art

undergraduates:
910
postgraduates:
45
Total:
955
  • Alex's Student Vlog
  • Postgrad student talks about life at Plymouth College of Art

Where is this programme taught

Main Site
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