You will learn from professional practising artists, designers, makers and other industry specialists in order to acquire insights and share in their passion and expertise.

You will also engage with ‘enterprise projects’ including public exhibitions, work placements, live commissions, and competitions – all of which will help you to build a professional work-based portfolio to impress employers or be the basis of starting your freelance career.

The aim of the course is that you will become able to initiate and develop your ideas through to fruition – whether that is functioning products, decorative objects, installations or other outcomes.

This course offers optional day trips to galleries and longer residential visits, which in recent years have included London and Rome, at an additional expense.

In recent years, UCW art students  have also collaborated to stage exhibitions at regional galleries such as 4AD in Bath and Centre Space in Bristol. And we also hold a Festival of Creativity every year so art-lovers in the general public can see the wonderful work produced by our students.

The course is delivered in our Loxton Campus, which is dedicated to the creative and performance arts, and we have invested millions of pounds in our new University Centre in the Winter Gardens on Weston seafront. The new facility includes a higher education library, technology pods for individual and group projects, classrooms, IT suites and social spaces.

Please contact UCW’s HEART student services team for more information about this course. And come along to our next Open Day so you can see for yourself how UCW can help you achieve your ambitions.

All of the modules on this course are compulsory and successful completion of them will lead to the award of the Level 6 Bachelor’s degree.

Full-time year 1:

• Creative Industries (20 credits)
• Culture and Meaning: Past, Present and Future (20 credits)
• Design, Creation and Production (20 credits)
• Design: Digital, Materials, Making (40 credits)
• Portfolio (20 credits)

Full-time year 2:  

• Collaboration (20 credits)
• Developing Studio Production (40 credits)
• Research for Development (40 credits)
• Sustainable Design (20 credits)

Full-time year 3:

• Future Planning (40 credits)
• Practice Research (20 credits)
• Studio Production(60 credits)

This course is taught via a combination of lectures, seminars, studio practice, presentations, case studies and workshops. UCW’s Higher Education Library Plus (HE.LP) team also deliver a series of sessions on degree-level research and academic writing to all first-year students. When not in scheduled lecturers and seminars, students are expected to continue learning through independent self-study. This involves reading relevant literature, working on individual and group projects, and undertaking research in preparation for coursework and exams.

This course has an average of 12 hours of scheduled teaching per week.

Please click on the Course Handbook button to find out more, including how it is delivered on a part-time basis.

• Graduates are eligible to apply for postgraduate courses such as the Master’s Degrees in Design, Fine Art or Visual Communication at Bath Spa University.
• As well as freelance art and design, graduates of this course are also able to seek roles in animation or illustration, in interior or product design, in printmaking, or in related roles for museums and galleries.

Industry insight

The UK is the second largest art market in the world, with a 21% market share (British Art Market Federation data).

We try to ensure that all as many costs for the programme you will study will be included within your tuition fees. We will endeavour to keep any additional costs you may have to pay to a minimum and some of the extra costs may be considered optional where it is deemed extra to your programme. 

To be clear, your tuition fees pay for the following: 

• All teaching and lectures  

• Use of specialist facilities at UCW 

• Specialist Guest Lectures at UCW 

• Annual photocopying budget of £10 

• Use of computer equipment at any UCW campus  

• Access to Microsoft 365 whilst enrolled at UCW. 

• Access to careers advice during and after completion of your programme of study. 

• Use of Libraries and access to Journal databases, e-books and physical books. 

Additional Costs that will need to be incurred to study your programme you will incur: 

Approx. £100 in materials including printing/photocopying cost over the course of the programme. 

Additional costs that you may incur should you wish to: 

• Visits/Exhibitions that are seen as optional. Total costs are usually £80
• Cost of travel to any extra-curricular events such as exhibition or performances in Bristol or London. Total costs are usually around £120
• Cost of consumables. Variable, all taught workshop materials will be provided but students are encouraged to purchase materials for own specialist making.  Cost of printing, specialist paper, exhibition materials etc approx. £100

Residentials that are seen as programme enhancement and are thus optional.

• Costs in 2023/24 were approximately £350-£400 including travel to-and within European destination (train/ Eurostar)/ hotel with breakfast/ planned itinerary.
• New Designers: For third year students, there will be an opportunity to exhibit work at *New Designers, UKs leading Graduate Design event. Cost of New Designers (travel and stay) approx. £500

*Students are encouraged to fundraise for this event

Terms and Conditions

Programme Specification