Wolverhampton School of Art

Fine Art

BA (Hons) Part-time 6 years, Full-time 3 years

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  • Institute Code W75
  • UCAS Code W100
  • Entry Requirements View
  • Fees View
  • Course Specifications View
  • Start Date(s) 19 September 2022
  • Award BA (Hons)
  • Study Mode Part-time, Full-time
  • Course Length Part-time (6 years), Full-time (3 years)
  • Campus Location Wolverhampton City Campus
  • School Wolverhampton School of Art
  • UCAS Points Calculator Click here

Why choose this course?

As a student in Fine Art, you will be able to engage with the diverse disciplines of contemporary Fine Art including painting, sculpture, printmaking, conceptual and social practice, film, video, photography, performance and installation.

Each area is supported by specialist tutors and facilities. Wolverhampton's Art courses were ranked 39th out of those offered by 66 providers in the Guardian League Tables 2020. The Fine Art course is located in the purpose-built George Wallis building, which opened in 1970, however there has been an Art School in Wolverhampton since 1851 and we are very proud of this heritage. We are situated on the 6th and 7th floors of the building and you will have studio space of your own in the spacious Fine Art facilities and join a stimulating community of fine art practitioners where you can test ideas and discuss decisions/motivations/media processes in relation to your individually negotiated themes and practices. Our vibrant, well used studio becomes the base for your increasingly independent and personally-focused learning.

BA (Hons) Fine Art, Undergraduate Courses, Wolverhampton School of Art, George Wallis Building, University of Wolverhampton

Our Graduates

Cheryl Jones, BA (Hons) Fine Art (Painting) graduate 2000

Cheryl graduated from the School of Art in 2000 and is now Director of the Grand Union art gallery in Digbeth, Birmingham. She credits her time at the University for widening her experience and enjoyment of all art forms as well as just painting.

What happens on the course?

The Fine Art course aims to offer an open ended and practice–led approach to learning with students working from conceptual ideas through to the tools and materials of studio production. The course aims to fuse practical and material led practice with critical and contextual exploration. This fusion will enable you to develop a sustainable model of practice as a professional artist and teach you a range of transferable skills relevant to careers in the creative industries. At all levels of the course, you will work alongside practicing artists and researchers who aim to teach through their specialist fields.

The Fine Art course aims to: 

  • Encourage you to explore different media relevant to the development of your own work.
  • Support you to acquire knowledge and practical experience of working in painting, sculpture, printmaking, conceptual and social practice, film video, photography, performance and installation.
  • Provide you with the opportunity to observe, discuss and take part in a sustainable model of studio-based practice alongside artist/practitioners who are engaged in their own work.
  • Enable you to develop an individually negotiated Fine Art practice informed by a relevant theoretical and contextual framework.
  • Develop critical and analytical skills in historical and critical research and writing.
  • Understand and locate your work appropriately within the broad and specialist contexts of your subject and research appropriate to your personal and career objectives.

BA (Hons) Fine Art is assessed on 100% coursework.

The curriculum is delivered through a series of tutorials, lectures, seminars and specialist workshops which will give you the opportunity to develop your independent practice.

Studio and workshop culture are core to our courses and you will be encouraged to become part of the art community through time spent working in the studios, workshops and through experience of external exhibitions in the public domain.

All courses in the School of Art are now available with a professional placement (sandwich year) option.  A professional placement provides an opportunity for professional development in the work place and as such, greatly enhances the student’s prospects of finding rewarding and relevant employment at the end of their studies.

Year One

BA (Hons) Fine Art, Undergraduate Courses, Wolverhampton School of Art, George Wallis Building, University of Wolverhampton

In the first year you will have the time and space to evolve ideas in relation to current debates and concerns within visual art. You will be learning and acquiring the fundamental skills of Fine Art practice with close support from subject specialist artists/teachers through a combination of specialist workshop-based learning and studio practice, supported by seminars, tutorials and lectures. A more detailed outline of the modules can be seen below.

Year Two

BA (Hons) Fine Art, Undergraduate Courses, Wolverhampton School of Art, George Wallis Building, University of Wolverhampton

In the second year you will have the opportunity to broaden and test your art practice as part of a sustained studio culture. You will engage with the art community and increasingly debate theoretical positions within your practice. This is supported by advanced workshops that are led by the academic staff and seek to broaden your conceptual and contextual knowledge in specialist fields of contemporary art. Currently we have six advanced workshops to choose from. A more detailed outline of the modules can be seen below.

Year Three

BA (Hons) Fine Art, Undergraduate Courses, Wolverhampton School of Art, George Wallis Building, University of Wolverhampton

In your third year student you will develop a more independent and outward facing approach to Fine Art practice. A concentrated period of studio practice will give you the confidence to independently manage your studio time, conduct and resolve ideas in your practical work and learn to present yourself confidently as an emerging artist in the outside world. 

Advanced Workshops

SoA Advanced Workshops, Wolverhampton School of Art, George Wallis Building, University of Wolverhampton

Exhibition by Fine Art & Photography students Wolverhampton School of Art

Workshops are a major part of the learning experience at the Wolverhampton School of Art, stretching an understanding of practical skills whilst coming into contact with material, cultural, social, historical and contemporary issues.

This exhibition brings together work produced by BA (Hons) Fine Art, BA (Hons) Photography and MA Fine Art students who took part in an Advanced Workshop programme of their choice between September 2020 - May 2021.

Read More 

Fine Art Staff

Course Leader: Dr Simon Harris

Simon Harris, Wolverhampton School of Art, George Wallis Building, University of Wolverhampton

BIO

Hi, I’m Simon the course leader for the BA (Hons) Fine Art Degree. I have been the course leader since 2019 but my connection to the Fine Art course is much longer. I enrolled on the Fine Art Degree at the University of Wolverhampton in 2000 as a mature student, previously I had been a full time staff nurse and went part-time to pursue the degree. Since then, there has been no turning back, I continued to work part time as a nurse whilst study Fine Art and completed both a MA and PhD. In 2015, I took a full time position as a Senior Lecturer at the University becoming the course leader in 2019. My practice and research are centred on painting, printmaking and experimental photography. I have the privilege to work with a fantastic academic team all of which are practicing artists exhibiting both nationally and internationally.

BA (Hons) Fine Art, Undergraduate Courses, Wolverhampton School of Art, George Wallis Building, University of Wolverhampton

Top row (left to right)

  • Maggie Ayliffe, Head of Wolverhampton School of Art, ‘Lip Service’
  • Euripides Altintzoglou, Senior Lecturer, ‘All the info is in the title’
  • Annie Benton, Graduate Teaching Assistant, ‘OMG It’s Radical Feminist Barbie’

Middle row (left to right)

  • Sarah Byrne, Academic Coach, ‘Chinese Burn’
  • Simon Harris, BA(Hons) Course Leader Fine Art, ‘I Thought The Future Would Be Cooler’
  • Paul Harrison, Senior Lecturer, (Wood and Harrison) ‘Night and Day’

Bottom row (left to right)

  • Dean Kelland, MA Course Leader Fine Art, ‘Failing Down Slowly, Performance’
  • Laura Onions, Lecturer, ‘Writing Otherwise’
  • Gavin Rogers, Senior Lecturer, ‘The Newbridge Project: Ocean Blue Eel on Wheels’ 

Additional Information

BA (Hons) Fine Art

Wolverhampton School of Art

  • For more information about the Wolverhampton School of Art: visit our home page.
  • Discover more about our outstanding facilities – visit our facilities pages.
  • Learn about the creative industries and everything we do to help our students to achieve the career of their dreams on our Creative Enterprise page.
  • Our Creative Futures talks, led by professionals working in the creative industries, provide encouragement and insight to make your creative career a reality.
  • Check out the work of our 2021 graduating students on our Degree Show and MA Show pages.
  • Find out what our students say – view testimonies from successful graduates on our Case Studies page.
  • Browse through our Undergraduate Courses and Postgraduate Courses.
  • Research – learn about the Centre for Art and Design Research and Experimentation (CADRE) and FEINART, our ambitious and innovative pan European training network.
  • Wolverhampton School of Art has been selected as one of the venues for the prestigious British Art Show 9!
  • Artsfest – our established programme of arts and cultural events continues to bring you the very best this region has to offer!
  • Learn about all the exciting things that are happening at the Wolverhampton School of Art in our News and Events pages.

Course Modules

Module: 4FP018
Credits: 60
Period: 1
Type: Core
Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

This module provides you with the time and space to develop independently by supporting you to become more experimental in the production of your work. The emphasis, in this module, is on process, theory, and practice and the ways by which they contribute to the production of your work. Throughout the module you will be encouraged to test new approaches and ideas and to reflect on the successes and importantly, the failures of your work. In tutorials and group reviews you will be asked to reflect on these experiences and to consider how you might learn from experimentation, critical analysis, and the feedback of potential audiences to re-think and re-work your ideas. This module will also introduce you to a range of dialogues between models of practice and contextual knowledge that will help you understand contemporary practice, and its relationship to audience. You will engage in lectures and seminars and produce a range of creative and academic contextual assignments that will directly link to your projects. The module will encourage you to organise your time effectively, work more independently and demonstrate the personal curiosity to find and evaluate concepts and artworks that have a specific relationship to your work.

Module: 4FP017
Credits: 60
Period: 1
Type: Core
Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

This module introduces you to a range of workshops, resources and staff working across the School of Art to provide you with specialist making, methods and media instruction appropriate to your practice. It is an intensive workshop-based module and throughout the year you will undertake a series of studio, workshop and media-based projects that will provide the foundation for your emerging practice. As a Level 4 student in the School of Art you will be supported to make the leap between your prior educational experiences and independent practice. You will develop time management skills through structured tasks and increasingly you will be expected to make use of independent study hours to further test and progress your work in the studios and workshops. In this module you will also learn to document and record your work effectively and gain confidence in reflecting on your work in sketchbooks, journals, group reviews and tutorials in relation to a range of contextual ideas, practitioners, and projects associated with your work.

Module: 5FP015
Credits: 60
Period: 2
Type: Core
Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

This module is designed to increase your awareness of a variety of concepts, issues and strategies of display, which have affected or influenced the way in which creative practitioners devise and develop work. You will stretch and deepen your application of practical skills and conceptual thinking to examine the role of a wider audience both within our facilities and through engagement with external sites and organisations. A programme of advanced tutor-led workshops and contextual research will support you to develop appropriate tools for the realisation and dissemination of your work and related projects. Additionally, you will examine the importance of context for creating and controlling meaning within a framework that your practice is located in. Through ongoing contact and exposure to material, cultural, social, environmental, historical and contemporary issues within the arts you will demonstrate the critical ability to site your work professionally in public contexts.

Module: 5FP014
Credits: 60
Period: 2
Type: Core
Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

As a Level 5 student in the School of Art you will be supported to make the leap between your prior Level 4 experiences and advanced practice and techniques. You will further develop time management skills to make use of independent study hours to further test and progress your work in our facilities. In this module you will develop more personal methodologies to document and record your work effectively. You will gain confidence in reflecting on your work in sketchbooks, journals, group reviews and tutorials in relation to a range of contextual ideas and artists associated with self-initiated work. Through tutor led lectures and seminars, the module will present a range of contextual and conceptual frameworks, and practices to support the development of your independent work. You are expected to apply advanced methods of experimentation in order to realise, review, test and discuss contemporary practice, your work and the work of your peers. You will generate practical and written responses to underpin your conceptual and aesthetic position. As level 5 progresses you will be expected to advance through a body of work and pose significant ideas for progression at level 6.

Module: 6FP011
Credits: 60
Period: 3
Type: Core
Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

As a Level 6 student in the School of Art you will build on your previous experiences and advance your practice and techniques. Through a focused and on-going enquiry, you will establish a sustained ability to reflect and develop work, based on an informed understanding of your practice.  This module aims to strengthen the development of a sustained and independent artistic practice leading to the completion of a significant body of work. By encouraging you to explore a range of concepts and practices, you will consolidate your skills through critical enquiry and be expected to make full use of facilities, studios and your personal study hours. Specialist tutorials will support you to identify, understand and reflect on the connections between intention, process, outcome and context in your work. The dissertation project will equip you with critical and theoretical languages drawn from contextual frameworks relevant to your practice.

Module: 6FP012
Credits: 60
Period: 3
Type: Core
Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

This module will enable you to resolve your work to a professional standard and address appropriate personal and career objectives, in order to develop new strategies for intervening and disseminating your work in the public sphere. You will explore a range of concepts and practices of contemporary strategies of display, dissemination, promotion and publication leading to the completion and exhibition of a significant body of work This module will offer you opportunities to demonstrate and expand on the practical, critical and contextual dimensions of your practice and present it through a variety of platforms. You will engage in contemporary display strategies through planning, production, presentation and the evaluation of curatorial practices and exhibitions. You will focus on professional ways of situating your practice in a specialized context and work towards professional opportunities and collaborations with key cultural institutions in the industry and sector. As a Level 6 student in the School of Art you will build on your previous experiences and progress your work towards external audiences. You will focus your organisational and logistical skills through independent enquiry and be expected to make use of your personal study hours.

Potential Career Paths

You!

Visual Artist

Creative Producer

Social Enterprise Director

Educator - Primary, Secondary, Higher and Community

Curator

Gallery and Museum

Fabrication and Installation

Additional Information

Everything you need to know about this course!

The BA (Hons) Fine Art Course:

  • Is a diverse and vibrant course which embraces a wide range of specialist media and creative practices including painting, sculpture, printmaking, conceptual and social practice, film video, photography, performance and installation.
  • Is taught in unique purpose-built, spacious and well-equipped studio spaces, supported by a wide range of workshops and facilities.
  • Provides access to an exceptional set of workshops including bronze foundry, a stone carving yard and a fully functioning glass blowing workshop through to the very latest audio-visual computers, digital manufacturing techniques and prototyping hardware. - check them out here
  • Has gained an excellent reputation in our student satisfaction surveys, in 2015 our Fine Art course scored a rating of 93% satisfaction among out students, putting us among the top Fine Art courses in the country.
  • Graduates go on to set up their own studio spaces, work in galleries, schools, community arts and many other professions, with high employment figures within six months of graduating.
  • Maintains a vibrant space for studio practice. As a student on the course you will have your own studio space and make work alongside other lecturers and artists. We run a host of one-to-one, group and lecture sessions, public lectures, a visiting speaker program and regular international study trips.
  • Is designed to provide you with the best possible creative education centred on employability and student support. At each level two yearlong modules allow you to experience and engage with projects of increasing complexity and varied timescales that reflect the breadth and flexibility of the contemporary Fine Art world.
  • Provides a carefully structured approach that encourages independent learning supported by an integrated delivery of contextual, theoretical, technical and practical skills.
  • Members of the National Association of Fine Art Education.

The course leader is Dr Simon Harris

The Fine Art subject area equips students with a wide range of skills and experiences appropriate to positions within the cultural and creative industries. This includes verbal and written communication, project management, creative thinking and problem solving, group work, self-directed research and independent learning, reflective and evaluative processes, making and directing skills, marketing, promotion and presentation strategies. The course aims to support and develop students’ vocational awareness and provides opportunities for educational placements and professional practices. Students build relationships to galleries, schools, art and health sector and the wider creative industries both through vocational modules or off-site projects. Specific career’s advice services offer extra support in the development of your general skills and your career.

The Fine Art course aims to:

  • Encourage you to explore different media relevant to the development of your own work.
  • Support you to acquire knowledge and practical experience of working in painting, sculpture, printmaking, conceptual and social practice, film video, photography, performance and installation.
  • Provide you with the opportunity to observe, discuss and take part in a sustainable model of studio-based practice alongside artist/practitioners who are engaged in their own work.
  • Enable you to develop an individually negotiated Fine Art practice informed by a relevant theoretical and contextual framework.
  • Develop critical and analytical skills in historical and critical research and writing.
  • Understand and locate your work appropriately within the broad and specialist contexts of your subject and research appropriate to your personal and career objectives.

Location Mode Fee Year
Home Full-time £9250 per year 2021-22
Home Full-time £9250 per year 2022-23
Home Part-time £3100 per year# 2021-22
Home Part-time £3120 per year# 2022-23
International Full-time £12950 per year 2021-22
International Full-time £13450 per year 2022-23
International Part-time £6475 per year# 2021-22
International Part-time £6725 per year# 2022-23

Additional Course Costs

Additional materials: £50 to 200 per semester - Prices vary according your subject of practice.

Additional Field Trips: £50 to 400 - Prices will vary according to location.

Additional Events: £300 - Degree Show/New Designers. Costs will vary according to the medium and mode of your practice but considerations will be around materials, installation and presentation.

Further information on these additional costs will be provided prior to the start of your studies

The University is committed to a transparent fee structure, with no hidden costs, to help you make an informed decision. This includes information on what is included in the fee and how fees are calculated and reviewed

Typical entry requirement: 96 UCAS points

  • A Levels - grades CCC / BCD
  • BTEC L3 Extended Diploma or OCR Cambridge L3 Technical Extended Diploma - grades MMM
  • BTEC L3 Diploma - grades DD
  • Access to HE Diploma: 45 L3 credits at Merit
  • UAL L3 Extended Diploma in Art and Design - grade M

Use the UCAS Tariff calculator to check your qualifications and points

Other Requirements

Those meeting the entry requirements may be shortlisted for a Portfolio Review. Further details can be found at https://www.wlv.ac.uk/apply/how-to-apply/4---after-youve-applied/subject-specific-applications/. Applicants will also be required to provide satisfactory reference.

Students must have studied a minimum of two years post GCSE level. However, it is expected that some applicants will be mature students with work experience, who wish to further their career development. These applicants will be processed through standard procedures, which may involve an interview as part of the process. Please see http://wlv.ac.uk/mature for further information.

 

Tuition Fees Loan (Home Fee Status):

Most students will be able to apply for a loans to pay for these subject to eligibility. To find out more information please refer to the government Student Finance website.

Changes for EU students:

The UK government has confirmed that EU students starting courses from 1 August 2021 will normally be classified as having Overseas Fee status. More information about the change is available at UKCISA:

EU citizens living in the UK with 'settled' status, and Irish nationals living in the UK or Ireland, will still be classified as Home students, providing they meet the usual residency requirements, for more information about EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) click here.


Self-funding:

If you don’t want to take out a loan to pay your fees or if you aren’t eligible to receive a loan, you might want to take advantage of the University’s scheme to pay by instalments: See How to pay.

For more information please contact the Gateway.


Your employer, embassy or organisation can pay for your Tuition fees:

If your employer, embassy or organisation agrees to pay all or part of your tuition fees; the University will refer to them as your sponsor and will invoice them for the appropriate amount.

We must receive notification of sponsorship in writing as soon as possible, and before enrolment, confirming that the sponsor will pay your tuition fees.


Financial Hardship:

Students can apply to the Dennis Turner Opportunity Fund.

for help with course related costs however this cannot be used for fees or to cover general living costs.


Bursaries and Scholarships:

In addition the University also offers a range of Bursaries and Scholarships packages

You can find more information on the University’s Funding, cost, fee and support pages.

Telephone

01902 32 22 22

Email

enquiries@wlv.ac.uk

Online

Order a prospectus

George Wallis Building

George Wallis Building

Home to School of Art, the George Wallis Building’s many storeys are full of specialist kit to help you tell YOUR stories.
Specialist workshops

Specialist workshops

We’ve got outstanding 3D design workshops for wood, metal, engineering, welding and plastics – so you’ll learn to use some interesting new machines.
Media store

Media store

Need to borrow some hardware? No worries! Check out the media store to borrow cameras, microphones, mixers and more to support digital media and photography.
Study spaces

Study spaces

We’re got plenty of study spaces around campus – so you can find the ideal place to suit your style, wherever – and whenever – you get your best ideas.
Libraries

Libraries

Our libraries offer helpful support and resources to aid your studies including: social learning and quiet study areas, bookable spaces, and 24/7 opening at key times in the year.

World Class Facilities

World Class Facilities

How We Compare

Find out how our course is rated on Discover Uni, the official website for comparing UK higher education courses

Full-time Course

Part-time Course

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