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Fine Art BA (Hons)
Study level: Undergraduate
Fine Art is an exciting course that enables you to develop your creative voice, by exploring both, traditional and innovative approaches to contemporary art, reflecting the ever-evolving creative industries.
Year of entry
Location
Coventry University (Coventry)
Study mode
Full-time
Part-time
Sandwich
Duration
3 years full-time
4 years sandwich
Flexible part-time
Course code
W100
Start date
September 2025
The information on this page is for 2024-25 entry and should be used as guidance for 2025-26 entry. Please keep checking back on this course page to see our latest updates.
Course overview
From day one of this practice-based course, the programme team will encourage you to develop your creativity, by challenging and inspiring you to cultivate your technical, critical, reflective and enterprising skills to support you in forging a successful and sustainable career in contemporary art.
On this studio-based course you:
- Have the opportunity to experiment with digital, intermedia and traditional art forms, within our new spacious studios4.
- Have access to a range of professional workshops, industry-standard software, photographic and media resources4.
- Will be taught by practising artists and creatives who have exhibited at several prestigious venues across the world. (Staff may be subject to change.)
Joint Top Modern University for Career Prospects
Guardian University Guide 2021 and 2022
5 QS Stars for Teaching and Facilities
QS Stars University Ratings
Top 5 UK Student City (Coventry)
QS Best Student Cities Index 2023Why you should study this course
- Fine Art is a leading-edge undergraduate programme that is distinctive and innovative in its approach. It critically positions art practice as a catalyst within society, and artists as ‘activators and activists’ in global, social, cultural, political, economic, and civic contemporary and future contexts.
- This practice-based course will challenge and inspire you to develop your creative, technical, critical, and reflective skills through 2D, 3D and 4D art practice. You will aim to gain valuable employability attributes to help support you in forging a successful and sustainable career and you will learn how, as a graduate, you can contribute to and expand traditional roles assigned to artists to initiate cultural change.
- Following the university’s recent major investment in art and design, Fine Art will be located in the newly re-configured, state of the art, city centre development, planned to fully open in 2023/24. It benefits from a vibrant array of advanced facilities, including state-of the art teaching spaces and technical workshops, innovative technology, multi-use, lens-based, immersive technology, and hyper studios as well as a public gallery space4.
- You will become part of a community of artist practitioners, who are taught by practising artists, art historians, and writers who have exhibited and published their work internationally (staff subject to change). You may have the opportunity to attend expert guest lectures. In the past we have hosted Simon Pope, Jane and Louise Wilson, John Stezaker, Peta Murphy Burke, Terry Atkinson, Merlin James, Harry Pye, Zineb Sedira, Bob & Roberta Smith, Thompson & Craighead, (guest lectures are subject to availability).
- The course offers you lots of different career paths both in fine art, but also across the creative industries. Past graduates have won the prestigious John Moore’s Painting prize and the ‘Independent Vision Award for Curatorial Achievement; secured positions such as curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp, editor of ‘Madame Wang’ an international journal for collaborative arts practice, and Cultural Events Organiser for Coventry Cathedral; and had artwork selected for the International Neu/Now Festival in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Many graduates have progressed on to post-graduate study inhouse or at other internationally respected institutions.
School of Art and Design Showcase
Engage with and explore the talents and achievements of our art and design Foundation Year course and final-year students.
Find out more
What you'll study
This course has a common first year.
The common first year enables you to work alongside students doing similar courses to you, to widen your knowledge and exposure to other subject areas and professions. You will have the opportunity to collaborate with other students, so you can share your insights and experience which will help you to develop and learn.
If you discover an interest in a specific subject you have studied, upon successful completion of your first year, you could swap degrees with another course in your common first year (subject to meeting progression requirements).
Common first year courses
- Fine Art BA (Hons)
- Illustration BA (Hons)
- Photography BA (Hons)
We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.
How you'll learn
The School of Art and Design teaching and learning mirrors the needs of the Creative Industries with the aim of ensuring that our graduates are equipped with the skills and attributes to become Industry specialists, leaders and innovators to drive social responsibility and design global change.
The Creative Industries’ ability to be entrepreneurial, innovative and embrace change underpins our Art and Design courses. Our studio and workshop culture aims to ensure you are socially responsible in our creative community and develop critical thinking in research and ‘make’ processes. Our global initiatives should give you skills to become collaborative communicators and make you culturally competent in the ever-changing world of Art or Design.
The course provides you with the opportunity to learn how to recognise your strengths and learning needs, how to self-reflect and grow. You will look to identify your personal development and drive your projects for ambitious career aspirations.
This course can be offered on a part-time basis. Whilst we would like to give you all the information about our part-time offering here, it is tailored for each course each year depending on the number of part-time applicants. Therefore, the part-time teaching arrangements vary. Request further information about part-time study.
Teaching contact hours
We understand that everyone learns differently, so each of our courses will consist of structured teaching sessions, which can include:
- On campus lectures, seminars and workshops
- Group work
- Self-directed learning
- Work placement opportunities2.
The number of full-time contact hours may vary from semester to semester, however, on average, it is likely to be around 12 contact hours per week in the first and second year dropping to around 10-12 contact hours per week in the third and final year as you become a more independent learner.
Additionally, you will be expected to undertake significant self-directed study of approximately 15 hours each week, depending on the demands of individual modules.
Part of university life is undertaking self-directed learning. During a typical week you will have time that allows you to work independently to apply the skills and knowledge you have learnt in taught or facilitated sessions to your projects or assignment briefs. This self-directed learning allows you to use your research skills, consolidate your knowledge or undertake collaborative group work.
As an innovative and enterprising institution, the university may seek to utilise emerging technologies within the student experience. For all courses (whether on-campus, blended, or distance learning), the university may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via online technologies and methods.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are prepared for courses due to start in or after the 2023/2024 academic year to be delivered in a variety of forms. The form of delivery will be determined in accordance with Government and Public Health guidance. Whether on campus or online, our key priority is staff and student safety.
Assessment
This course is assessed using a variety of methods that recognise module-specific skills and learning. You are predominantly assessed by coursework and assessment methods prepare you for diverse contexts.
Assessment methods can include:
- Practical coursework
- Digital coursework
- Individual work
- Group work
- Live presentations
- Video presentations
- Video essays
- Academic essays
The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.
International experience opportunities
Our teaching is underpinned by a contemporary view of art practice; this is reflected strongly in the course curriculum which includes taught sessions on Globalism, Travel and Migration and therefore aims to provide opportunities to engage with students, staff and artists from a culturally and geographically diverse range of backgrounds.
Each year, when possible, we also offer study trips abroad2. Previous trips have been taken to Berlin to visit galleries such as Hamburger Bahnhof and the KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Amsterdam to visit the Rijksmuseum, Stedelijk Museum and Foam Gallery and Venice to view artworks and attend events at the Venice Biennale which currently represents artwork from 86 different countries in national pavilions, and also includes a Diaspora Pavilion.
Students may also get the opportunity to engage in Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) projects with participating institutions and other international universities around the world.
Fine Art is dynamic. Artists respond to change and contemporary experience, frequently through collaboration with others. It is always a pleasure, therefore, to see students thriving in our vibrant, shared, studio environment, using the facilities to develop skills, explore ideas and establish a visual language.
Jane Ball, Course Director Fine Art (2022)
Entry requirements
Typical offer for 2024/25 entry.
Fees and funding
2024/25 tuition fees.
| Student | Full-time | Part-time |
|---|---|---|
| UK, Ireland*, Channel Islands or Isle of Man | 2025/26 fees TBC 2024/25 fees - £9,250 per year |
Request fee information |
| EU | 2025/26 fees TBC 2024/25 fees - £9,250 per year with EU Support Bursary** 2025/26 fees TBC 2024/25 fees - £19,850 per year without EU Support Bursary** |
Not available |
| International | 2025/26 fees TBC 2024/25 fees - £19,850 per year |
Not available |
If you choose to do a work placement2, you should consider travel and living costs to cover this. There is also a tuition fee3 of £1,250 that will cover your academic support throughout your placement year.
For advice and guidance on tuition fees and student loans visit our Undergraduate Finance page and see The University’s Tuition Fee and Refund Terms and Conditions.
We offer a range of International scholarships to students all over the world. For more information, visit our International Scholarships page.
Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessments, facilities and support services. There may be additional costs not covered by this fee such as accommodation and living costs, recommended reading books, stationery, printing and re-assessments should you need them. Find out what's included in your tuition costs.
The following are additional costs not included in the tuition fees:
- Any optional overseas field trips or visits: £400+ per trip.
- Any costs associated with securing, attending or completing a placement (whether in the UK or abroad).
*Irish student fees
The rights of Irish residents to study in the UK are preserved under the Common Travel Area arrangement. If you are an Irish student and meet the residency criteria, you can study in England, pay the same level of tuition fees as English students and utilise the Tuition Fee Loan.
**EU Support Bursary
Following the UK's exit from the European Union, we are offering financial support to all eligible EU students who wish to study an undergraduate or a postgraduate degree with us full-time. This bursary will be used to offset the cost of your tuition fees to bring them in line with that of UK students. Students studying a degree with a foundation year with us are not eligible for the bursary.
How do you know if you need to pay UK or international tuition fees?
Facilities
The Faculty of Arts & Humanities is joining two of our School’s completely refurbished Art and Design buildings and adding a range of new facilities4. Planned to fully open in 2023, these include a hyper-studio designed for cross-disciplinary projects and immersive studios with cutting-edge virtual reality and mixed-reality technologies. Our aim is to offer you sector-leading facilities in a unique environment.
- Ceramics, Glass and Casting Workshops - allow you to produce a range of forms from a variety of materials including resin, glass, ceramics, plaster and cement.
- Printmaking Workshops - allow you to explore a range of printing processes from screen printing to etching; cyanotypes to lino cutting.
- Sublimation and Vacuum Forming Studios - allow you to print onto a multitude of surfaces and then form them into the sculptural shapes.
Careers and opportunities
Professional experience is embedded into our course and as such, throughout this course you will produce professional outputs which can be exhibited in public and used to target curators, arts and cultural administrators, publishers, agents, media organisations, competitions, residency and exhibition opportunities and potential employers as examples.
The university's Talent Team is on hand to offer tailored career and enterprise support if you wish to gain employment or take advantage of professional practice opportunities within course specific industries. It aims to provide specialist careers information, advice and guidance to all our students from their first year through to final year and beyond graduation, helping them receive the opportunities to reach their desired career outcome (subject to availability)
Many of our past students pursue careers as exhibiting artists or utilise transferrable skills towards creative futures in arts administration, museum and gallery curating, careers within the media, photography, art therapy, design and teaching.
Further study
Some of our past graduates have progressed to postgraduate study here on our suite of MA courses, doing Design Management, Fine Art Painting, Animation, and Illustration. You may be entitled to an alumni discount on your fees if you decide to extend your time with us by progressing from undergraduate to postgraduate study.
Others have gone on to undertake further study at both international universities and British institutions including the Royal College of Art, Chelsea College of Arts, University of Edinburgh, Central Saint Martins, University of Warwick and the Slade School of Fine Art.
Taking a year out of my degree to do a placement with Jaguar Land Rover Group was honestly one of the best things I've ever done for my practice. Working in industry gives you a new perspective, both on your practice, and the way you use your time. I've come back more focused, and the professional working environment has taught me to use my time more effectively. Taking the time away from my degree gave me the space to really think about, and contextualise my work, resulting in development that I don't think would have been achieved without that time in industry.
Tasmin Morgan, Level 6 Fine Art student (2021)
Graduate Immigration Route visa
Based on current information from the UK Government, international students whose study extends beyond summer 2021 may be eligible for a visa under the UK Government’s Graduate Immigration Route, which will enable students to stay and work, or look for work, in the UK at any skill level for up to two (2) years. Check the most up to date guidance available to check your eligibility and any updates from the UK Government before making an application or enrolment decision.
How to apply
UK students
Applications open for this course in May 2024. In the meantime you can register your interest in Coventry University.
Part-time students should apply directly to the university.
If you'd like further support or more information about your course get in touch with us today.
Chat with our admissions team
Complete our contact form
International students
International codes:
AHU093
For further support for international applicants applying for an undergraduate degree view our International hub.
You can also download our International guide which contains lots of useful information about our courses, accommodation and tips for travel.
Get in touch with us today for further advice and guidance.
Chat with our admissions team
Complete our contact form
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