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Fine Art BA (Hons)

A course studied in Leicester for nearly 150 years and one with an established reputation for quality and creativity. You will have flexibility to experiment across a range of specialist disciplines such as drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, video, photography, digital media and installation art.

Overview

Jamie Scott our Senior Lecturer in Fine Art BA (Hons) discusses why you should study Fine Art at DMU.

Fine Art is the creation and the study of visual art. It educates and inspires students to pursue a career as an artist or to follow a wide range of other creative practices and career pathways associated with art and creativity.

Our course gives you the flexibility to experiment across a range of specialist disciplines which include drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, video, photography, digital media and installation art.

When you join us, you will study options in painting, sculpture, printmaking, video and photography, while also studying drawing and contextual and professional studies.

As you progress into year two you’ll develop your individual studio practice in one or more of these areas. You’ll then have the opportunity to explore a range of approaches to fine art via projects, workshops and self-directed study.

In the final year you’ll develop your individual creative practice, culminating in an exciting exhibition that is part of DMU’s Festival of Creativity.

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 and professional practice throughout the three years of study and cover a wide range of topics that include an introduction to studio practice, contextual and professional studies, and art practice and presentation.
  • 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 Fine Art 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.
  • Our students can enhance their studies with a trip abroad through DMU Global. So far we’ve visited destinations including New York, Cyprus and Venice.
  • We provide core workshop materials at no cost, and give cash awards – £150, £200 and £300 in years one, two and three respectively – to support personal materials/printing costs*.

See our student work


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Art and Design (Foundation Studies) BTEC Diploma

  • UK
  • EU/International

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: W100

Duration: Three years full-time, four years full-time with a placement. Six years part-time.

Fees and funding: 

2024/25 tuition fees for UK students: £9,250

Find out more about tuition fees and available funding.

Additional costs: Here at DMU we provide excellent learning resources, including the Kimberlin Library and specialist workshops and studios. However, you should be aware that sometimes you may incur additional costs for this programme.

Contact us: For more information, call us on +44 (0)116 2 50 60 70.

Duration: Three years full-time, four years with placement.

Fees and funding: 

2024/25 tuition fees for international students: £15,750

Additional costs: Here at DMU we provide excellent learning resources, including the Kimberlin Library and specialist workshops and studios. However, you should be aware that sometimes you may incur additional costs for this programme.

Contact us: For more information, call us on +44 (0)116 2 50 60 70.

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 

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

Applicants with relevant qualifications will be invited to submit a portfolio of work. Please see our portfolio advice page for full details.

Non-standard applicants may be invited to attend an interview via MS Teams with a portfolio.

Structure and assessment

 

Course modules

Teaching and assessments

 

First year

  • Introduction to Fine Art: Painting
  • Introduction to Fine Art: Printmaking
  • Introduction to Fine Art: Sculpture
  • Introduction to Fine Art: Lens-based and Digital Media
  • Drawing
  • Contextual and Professional Studies 1

Second year

  • Studio Practice Development
  • Contextual and Professional Studies 2

Third year

  • Art Practice and Presentation
  • Contextual and Professional Studies 3

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. 

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 in the Drawing module 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 – 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

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars, group work and self-directed study. Assessment is through coursework (presentations, essays and reports) Your precise timetable each year will depend on the optional modules you choose to take; however, 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.

 

Facilities and features

Art and design facilities

The award-winning Vijay Patel Building brings all of our art and design courses together providing inspiring, flexible spaces, studios and facilities which invite creativity and innovation.

The creative industries require imaginative graduates who can develop new ideas and products. Students use our state-of-the-art workshops, labs and studios to experiment and test in the same way they will in industry, while the open and transparent spaces in the building encourage collaboration between disciplines. In doing so, the building supports students to be both ready for industry and future leaders in their respective fields.

Take a look at our stunning showcase of the building at dmu.ac.uk/aad.

More flexible ways to learn

We offer an equitable and inclusive approach to learning and teaching for all our students. Known as the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), our teaching approach has been recognised as sector leading. UDL means we offer a wide variety of support, facilities and technology to all students, including those with disabilities and specific learning differences.

Just one of the ways we do this is by using ‘DMU Replay’ – a technology providing all students with anytime access to audio and/or visual material of lectures. This means students can revise taught material in a way that suits them best, whether it's replaying a recording of a class or adapting written material shared in class using specialist software.

Campus centre

The home of  De Montfort Students' Union, (DSU) our Campus Centre offers a welcoming and lively hub for student life. Conveniently located at the heart of campus, it includes a convenience store, a Subway and a Starbucks. Here you can find the DSU-owned charitable accommodation service Sulets and DSU’s shop, SUpplies, selling art supplies, stationery and clothing, and printing and binding services. The building is also home to the DSU officer team. 

Opportunities and careers

Find the people who will open doors for you

DMU's award-winning careers service provides guaranteed work experience opportunities DMU Careers Team
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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.

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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.

Students on this course have recently visited New York, Cyprus and Venice. Watch our DMU Global Fine Art at the Venice Biennale video.

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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 in a variety of areas, including conservation and restoration, art therapy, theatre design, film and television production, illustration, publishing, gallery management and the crafts.

Artist Jonjo Elliott headed to Hollywood after being talent spotted by a gallery just months after graduating from DMU.

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.

Take your next steps

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