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Introduction
Why choose this course?
Key features
We’ve been teaching art for over 120 years and today’s course continues our ethos of encouraging students to develop their creativity within a collaborative and experimental environment.
We embed employability throughout the course and cover topics that include an introduction to studio practice, art practice and presentation, curating and installing exhibitions, marketing, fundraising and project planning.
In our award-winning Vijay Patel Building you will have access to a dedicated Fine Art studio space and can experiment with a range of facilities across our 25 industry standard workshops including ceramics, glass making, fine art printmaking, metalworking, sculpture, photography and AV to name a few.
Join the list of students who have exhibited at the Handmade Festival, the Two Queens gallery, the Attenborough Arts Centre and a host of other prestigious venues across both the UK and internationally.
Leicester is a city buzzing with creativity, from colourful street art by GraffWerk and the annual Leicester Art Week festival, to the augmented reality art trail and DMU's own Leicester Gallery. Our partnerships in the city create exciting opportunities to showcase your work, including at Leicester's creative hub LCB Depot.
Benefit from Education 2030, where a simplified ‘block learning’ timetable means you will study one subject at a time and have more time to engage with your learning, receive faster feedback and enjoy a better study-life balance.
Overview
On this course you will have flexibility to explore a wide range of traditional and emerging visual arts practices to develop your individual artistic voice. You can experiment with drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, video, photography, digital media and installation art to produce meaningful work that responds to our complex and changing world.
Around 70 per cent of your time will be spent in the studio where you will hone your skills in making and expression, creative risk-taking, experimentation and development. Each year you will be presented with different creative challenges with a curriculum that includes art history, contemporary practice, engagement with local organisations, as well as talks from visiting artists.
The course responds to the demands of the contemporary global art world and encourages you to engage in current practice by exploring themes such as multiculturalism, identity, and art activism. Skills in employability and professional practice will prepare you for working as a fine artist or to launch a career in the wider creative industries.
Modules
First year
Block 1: Investigation and Exploration 1
Block 2: Investigation and Exploration 2
Block 3: Development and Consolidation 1
Block 4: Development and Consolidation 2
Second year
Block 1: Studio Practice Development 1
Block 2: Art History and Theory 1
Block 3: Studio Practice Development 2
Block 4: Professional Practice 1
Third year
Block 1: Art Practice 1
Block 2: Art History and Theory 2
Block 3: Art Practice 2
Block 4: Professional Practice 2
Entry Criteria
ENTRY REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
Home Office Share Code
For EU students only.
IF no Qualification
Please provide CV with at least 2 years of work experience, and employee reference letter.
Entry criteria
Typical entry requirements
We welcome applicants from a range of backgrounds.
Art and Design Foundation or
112 points from at least 2 A ‘levels
BTEC Extended Diploma DMM
International Baccalaureate: 26+ Points or
T Levels Merit
Plus five GCSEs grades 9-4 including English Language or Literature at grade 4 or above.
Pass Access with 30 Level 3 credits at Merit and GCSE English (Language or Literature) at grade 4 or above
We will normally require students to have had a break from full time education before undertaking the Access course.
We also accept the BTEC First Diploma plus two GCSEs including English Language or Literature at grade 4 or above
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: Yes
Portfolio required: Yes
Assessment
ASSESSMENT METHODS
1. INTERNAL ENGLISH TEST if you don't have an English accredited certificate
2. Academic Interview
Teaching and assessments
Structure
Individual studio practice, group projects, workshops, group criticisms, lectures, seminars, study trips and one-to-one tutorials form the basis of this studio-based taught course. You will use a journal to collate your research and as a space for reflection on your professional, creative and intellectual development. Contextual studies and art history lectures will deepen your understanding of the theories and histories of Fine Art.
The first year is designed to develop the key skills that every artist needs as the foundation of their practice. In the second semester the emphasis of teaching changes to enable you to synthesise your learning into a self-directed creative project of your own devising. You will be supported by regular tutorials and studio crits, as well as art history tuition.
In the first semester of the second year you will be able to choose a specialist area. From semester two of the second year until the end of the course, you will work on your own individual creative interests and develop your potential as an artist. The course culminates with an exhibition of your work in DMU's Festival of Creativity – your first engagement as a professional artist.
Our teaching staff are research-active artists, who bring cutting-edge insights drawn from experience of their own practice and professional life into the studio, workshops and lecture theatres. They are supported by a wide range of visiting artists.
Contact hours
In your first year you will normally attend around 13 hours of timetabled taught sessions (lectures and tutorials) each week, and we expect you to undertake at least 21 further hours of independent study to complete project work and research.
Career Opportunities
Placements
This course gives you the option to enhance and build your professional skills to progress within your choose career, through a placement. Our dedicated team offers a range of careers resources and opportunities so you can start planning your future. Students have secured placements at arts organisations such as the Two Queens gallery and the Handmade Festival of Art and Music, while other placement opportunities have taken place in schools, galleries and creative businesses.
DMU Global
This is our innovative international experience programme which aims to enrich your studies and expand your cultural horizons – helping you to become a global graduate, equipped to meet the needs of employers across the world.
Through DMU Global you can take advantage of a wide range of opportunities including on-campus and UK activities, overseas study, internships, faculty-led field trips and volunteering, as well as Erasmus+ and international exchanges.
Graduate careers
The course is designed to develop the skills that you will need to compete in a professional creative market. Our graduates go on to work in a variety of art and art-related careers including conservation and restoration, art therapy, theatre design, film and television production, illustration, publishing, gallery management and the crafts.
After graduation, the DMU Art Network provides support and resources to ensure our recent graduates achieve professional success in the art industry. The network is supported by influential artists Brendan Neiland and Christian Furr.
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