RGS CAREERS
GUIDE TO FOUNDATION COURSES IN ART AND DESIGN
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CONTENTS CONTENTS Courses Applications Financial support Entry requirements Preparing for interview Where to study
Foundation courses in Art and Design are essentially a transitional experience in art, design and communication preparing students for a place in higher education or employment. They offer a broad base to prepare students for studying more specialist undergraduate degree courses. Many university Art and Design degree courses prefer applicants to have taken a one-year Art Foundation course first and some institutions will specify this in their requirements. Foundation courses offer students the opportunity to explore a wide range of design areas including painting, sculpture, graphic design, fashion and textile design, 3D design and computer-aided design. Applications for foundation courses are made direct to each institution, whether a university or college, not through UCAS. Students may apply for as many foundation courses as they like. An Art Foundation course may be referred to as Foundation Studies in Art and Design or as a Foundation Diploma.
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COURSES Courses will vary between institutions and the best way to find out about them is to visit the colleges and universities. Students should check individual college websites (several are listed in the booklet) for details of their open days. Courses tend to be oversubscribed and it is necessary to book a place. It is also a good idea to take careful notes when attending open days. APPLICATIONS The application deadline for many art colleges will be the end of January but students must be careful as deadlines vary and some may be earlier. Applications are made direct to the colleges and requirements vary. FINANCIAL SUPPORT No tuition fees are applicable to UK and EU students who are under 19 years of age at the start of their course. However, art foundation courses are classified as further education and students are not able to apply for a student loan to cover their living expenses. Students need to think carefully about how they will fund their living costs before applying to a college away from their home.
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ENTRY REQUIREMENTS Entry requirements vary between institutions so students should consult individual websites to see exactly what is required. Below is an example of what will typically need to submitted: 1. A portfolio of work Students will probably be invited to attend a full portfolio review. The quality of the work is more important than the quantity. Where possible large or three-dimensional work should be photographed and scanned. Work should be organised by project with supporting work presented alongside final outcomes. 2. Personal statement Personal statements should provide reasons for choosing the course and how it will help with future plans. Describe aspects of current work that support the mode of study choice. Talk about the type of work of interest whilst on the course. This is not a UCAS personal statement – it is likely to be almost entirely focused on art. These are usually 300-500 words long. 3. An academic reference The Careers department and the Art and Design departments will be happy to support with this. 4. One GCE A Level 5. Five GCSEs grade 4 or above including Maths and English. Tip: Look very closely at the requirements stated on individual websites for portfolios and personal statements. It is very likely these will need to be tweaked to suit different establishments. Tip: Look out for open days and summer school courses at the institutions you are interested in. These will give you the key information you need.
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GENERAL ADVICE ON PUTTING TOGETHER A PORTFOLIO Art colleges are looking for: • • • • •
Visualisation skills such as drawing, photography, three-dimensional work; Research and investigative skills; Creative thinking and problem solving abilities; The use of a range of materials and processes; An interest in art design, or related subjects.
The Kingston University website gives a really good overview of what should go in a portfolio. Go to kingston.ac.uk/undergraduate-course/art-design-foundation-diploma/applying-for-this-course Below is general some advice; consult individual institutions’ websites for their specific advice. • Make sure enough time is allowed to prepare a portfolio properly. A well-presented portfolio takes a lot of time to organise, so do not leave it to the last minute. Portfolios should be organised chronologically and thematically, with sketchbooks linked to final outcomes. • Mount work on plain white cartridge paper. Avoid using black paper for mounting and do not use card as it is heavy and expensive. This may mean remounting school-work. • Labelling of work should be unobtrusive. Put most recent work at the front of the portfolio. • Do not put GCSE work in at all. • Arrange work so that the admissions tutor can easily follow the way ideas have developed from initial research to finished piece (thematic). • Large, heavy and/or three-dimensional work must be presented in photographic form. Photographs should be mounted on white paper with the media, dimensions and title written neatly underneath. • Time restraints mean that institutions will not usually view films, videos or DVDs, so present this work in the form of storyboards and stills. • Make sure everything that is not intended for review has been removed from the portfolio. • Bear in mind that the quality of the work is more important than the quantity. • Include sketchbooks and reflective journals. Ensure sketchbooks are securely labelled on the front with student name. If Design and Technology, has been studied do not forget to include this work too if it is relevant to the course. • Portfolios should show a clear and organised presentation of work. Put the work that you most want them to see and to talk about first. • Include self-directed work. • Research should be included on separate sheets and next to relevant pieces of work. This is to help the admissions tutors to understand the development of ideas. • Notes should be in sketchbooks. Do not add lots of notes to images.
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PREPARING FOR INTERVIEW • Make sure that you have read the website of the course that you are applying to, so that you can clearly explain why you want to go to that one. • You must be an absolute anorak on the course that you are applying to! • Make sure that you can discuss the challenges of the year ahead, but also how you are going to overcome them. They need to know that you are going in with eyes open. • Make sure that you can discuss what you are most excited about. • Get across your enjoyment of art galleries/exhibitions! Make sure that you have visited art galleries and art exhibitions off your own back and that you are able to talk about them. Make sure that you have been to some cutting edge and contemporary exhibitions. Make sure that you are not just talking about school trips. • Try to think about art in other areas. For example, have you been to the theatre and enjoyed the set? Film/music/architecture/anything else that you find visually stimulating from any field. • If you have a blog, make sure that you fill it up. If you advertise it, make sure that it has plenty on it for them to look at. • Think of other examples of how artistic you are, e.g. if you put table napkins out, do you insist on making them into little swans? Do you make your dinner look nice as well as taste nice? When your brother/sister has World Book Day at school, do you take great pride in and enjoy getting him/her dressed superbly for it? • Have you been to other countries? What can you say about the art? What were the similarities or differences to exhibitions that you saw there? • Consider the impact of art on society and what it reflects about society, e.g. in the 1950s it was boosting the economy; in the 1960s there was a lot of space travel involved etc. • Have you read any interesting reviews of art work? Why were they interesting? • What books/magazines/blogs have you read? Have you seen any documentaries/listened to TED talks? Speak positively about them. • What art have you done outside of the classroom, e.g. life-drawing classes? • You need to show that you live and breathe art. • Consider what issues there are facing artists today, e.g. media/commercial value of art today. Try to look at the positive as well as the negative. • Consider what else you do and what it shows about you and your ability to be successful on the course, e.g. passing grade 6 piano shows that you are committed to achieving your goals, and that you work hard to achieve them. • Try to relate skills that you have gained from other subjects, leadership roles and extra-curricular activities to art. • Think about what you might be doing in five or ten years time. Make sure that it is art related!
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INTERVIEW ON YOUR PORTFOLIO • Be prepared for the interview to be relatively short. You must be prepared to guide the interviewer towards the pieces in the portfolio that you most want them to see and that you most want to discuss. They won’t have time to discuss everything. • Make sure that you can bring up artists whom you are influenced by, and that you can talk in depth about their work. • When talking about artists who have influenced you, make sure that you look at what the artist was trying to achieve in his/her work rather than just technical aspects of the work. Try to consider which artists have inspired you, and focus on how they have inspired you conceptually as well as technically. • Make sure that you can talk about the successes in your portfolio and that you can also speak about the challenges you have faced (in a positive way)! Mistakes are OK as long as you can show how you overcame them. • It is great if you can go to exhibitions (not through school) that could be linked to your own work in some way. Make sure you can take the lead and talk about an exhibition you have been to, rather than wait for them to ask. Talk positively about them.
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WHERE TO STUDY CA – University for the Creative Arts: uca.ac.uk Includes the colleges at Epsom, Farnham, Canterbury and Rochester. Individual applications are made to each college UAL – University of the Arts, London (This group includes several popular art institutions. You can only apply to one institution within the group for an art foundation course.) Central Saint Martins, Camberwell College of Arts, Chelsea College of Arts, London College of Communication, London College of Fashion and Wimbledon College of Arts. arts.ac.uk One Foundation course is offered across Camberwell, Chelsea and Wimbledon Colleges (CCW) based at the CCW Progression Centre at Camberwell College of Arts in South London. arts.ac.uk/ camberwell Kingston University: kingston.ac.uk Oxford Brookes University: brookes.ac.uk Greater Brighton Metro College: gbmc.ac.uk East Surrey College/Reigate School of Art: esc.ac.uk/reigate-school-of-art City Guilds of London Art School: cityandguildsartschool.ac.uk
OTHER USEFUL WEBSITES The Complete University Guide has a nice overview of art foundation courses: thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/courses/art-and-design-foundation-diplomas-(art-foundation) The Tate website also gives really useful advice on the personal statement, the portfolio and the interview tate.org.uk/learn/young-people/resources/art-school/application-advice Acknowledgements The Careers department would like to thank Emma Owen (RGS parent) whose feedback to students, whom she has interviewed, we have listened to and used here.
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