BA (Hons) Fine Art and Art History

Advice from graduate Sarah Hodge:

"Go to every event, performance, talk, lecture, film, exhibition, and music venue going as you never know who you’ll meet or what conversation will spark a new line of work."

Read more from Sarah in her case study.

• Benefit from our forward-thinking, focused research. In the last national Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014) ‘Art and Design: History, Theory and Practice’ at Plymouth scored 100 per cent for its ‘world-leading’ and ‘internationally excellent’ research environment, and 90 per cent for the international impact of its research case studies. This makes our unit a top five performer among University of Plymouth's research groups overall.
• Hone existing talents and discover new ones with your own, dedicated studio space – as well as specialist shared spaces and facilities for textiles, metal and woodworking, plasterwork and ceramics workshops and life drawing classes.
• Prepare for a successful career with an internship. Thanks to the flexibility of the course, you can do it during term time or over the summer – whatever suits you. Our students have recently interned at Tate Britain, Sotheby’s, the National Trust, Plymouth Arts Centre, The Arts Institute and the Wallace Collection.
• Expand your horizons with the option of three months of study at a European art school.
• Discover the possibilities of technology with fully equipped print and photo facilities, computers, audio-visual equipment, sound studio resources and expert technicians to support and guide you in your exploration.
• Enhance your understanding of art history and the cultural context of your own work with visiting lecturers and field trips to museums and galleries throughout the UK, plus a fieldtrip to a major European city. Students in previous years travelled to Rome, Vienna, Berlin, Florence, Paris and New York City. Field trips in 2016 will include Washington, DC.
• Learn from our dedicated staff who frequently work on major book and exhibition projects. Our degree curriculum contains a number of research-orientated modules so that our staff can teach the subjects they’re passionate about – which means you become an expert too.
• Our National Student Survey (NSS) 2018 return shows that 93% of students felt the course challenged them to achieve their best work.*

• Year 1
• In your first year, there’s lots of supported studio time to try out different materials and ideas. You’ll sample processes including painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture and time-based / digital media. We’ll also introduce you to art history, exploring popular periods including contemporary critical writing and the Italian Renaissance. Visits to outstanding local and national galleries will help you to expand your horizons and bring your study to life.

  Core modules

  • ARHI411 Continuity and Change in Western Art

  • ARHI414 Introduction to Art History and Visual Culture

    This module provides Single Honours and Joint Honours Art History students with a comprehensive understanding of the paradigms of Art History and their methodological implications for visual culture. Basic research literacy will be developed in a number of exercises and group-based activities.

  • ARHI415 Cultural Practices in Context

    This module is geared toward fieldwork and independent study in a museum and/or gallery context. Following a Fieldtrip to public collections in London and/or the Southwest students complete an Object Report on an object of their choice seen in situ.

  • ART407 Fine Art Practice 1 - Skills

    This module introduces students to the diverse nature of fine art practice and the role of the studio within it. Critical contexts are also introduced.

  • ART409 Fine Art Practice 3 - Contexts

    An introductory module to contemporary fine art site-based practices delivered through a collaborative project and a field trip. Students will be introduced to relevant contemporary approaches and examples through preparatory seminars, and encouraged to use source material from a field trip to generate collaborative work

  • ART410 Fine Art Practice 4 - Concepts

    Students are required to respond individually or collaboratively to a given theme through the appropriate exploration of aspects of contemporary fine art practice. Supported by seminars and technical workshops, practice will be informed by a developing awareness of ideas and approaches established in recent work within the field

• Year 2
• In your second year, you’ll expand your critical and theoretical knowledge and gain confidence in how to divide your time. There are opportunities for studio and site-based work, as well as lively debates on European Art from the 14th century to the present. Choose your areas of interest – from the influence of power and patronage to considering artistic representations of gender. A fieldtrip to a major European city will help you to consider the issues of collecting in Western museums.

  Core modules

  • ART506A Fine Art Practice 3A

  • ART507 Fine Art Practice 4

    This module provides an opportunity for students to further develop negotiated art practice and professional practice. The professional practice elements of the module are developed through a careers event and participation in placements. Students consolidate their professional skills and approaches to working with external agencies. They write a reflective essay, refine their professional portfolio and present their practice in a public context.

  Optional modules

  • ARHI502 Collecting and Exhibiting Cultures in the 19th and 20th Centuries

    This module examines historical and contemporary cultures of collection, exhibition, and display. Artworks and objects will be considered from a range of international contexts. Specific attention will be given to the politics and ideologies of art ownership, theft, looting, and repatriation.

  • ARHI505 The Dawn of a Modern Century in Art, 1900-1950

    This module aims to explore the history of the beginnings of modern art across Europe and/or the United States, incorporating its theory, practice and reception, through an analysis of the development of selected moments, schools and individuals central to the Modernist tradition. Building on stage 1 modules, emphasis will be placed on aspects of continuity and change.

  • ARHI506 International Field Trip

    The module is an intensive 1-week period of study of painting, sculpture, architecture and environments which are not available in this country. The emphasis is upon sustained first-hand study of artefacts and buildings, through staff-led visits and group-work, introducing students to advanced fieldwork skills.

  • ARHI507 Victorian Values

    This module examines the visual culture of the Victorian age, Pre-Raphaelitism, Aestheticism and British Impressionism, say, to question modern stereotypes about `Victorian Values¿ both moral and cultural. We will not only consider the definitive role of social principles in the art of this period, but also debates about art and beauty as independent realms of meaning and value.

  • ARHI508 Questions in Contemporary Art History

    The module introduces and examines selected questions raised in the last three decades concerning the methodologies and aims of contemporary art history. Case studies drawn from art history, critical and cultural theory, and where appropriate related disciplines, will be examined.

  • ARHI515 Power, Patronage and Ideology: Aspects of Renaissance Art

    This module offers historically based study in the art and culture of Europe c.1300 - 1600. It uses focused treatments of particular periods/regions/groupings to analyse the relationship between power, patronage and ideology. Attention will be paid especially to closely focused studies of selected historical instances of art practice and/or historiographical and methodological issues of relevance.

• Final year
• By your third year, you’ll be ready to choose a subject to explore in your dissertation. Past examples include the depiction of prostitution in 19th century French art and the myths surrounding Leonardo da Vinci. You’ll create a body of artwork that ties into the theme of your dissertation and learn how to present your studio work for discussion with peers, tutors and examiners. There are also additional optional modules in Art History.

  Core modules

  • ARHI605 Dissertation 1: Theories and Methods

    On this module students research and write a dissertation on a topic of their own choosing, negotiated in consultation with Art History staff.

  • ARHI608 Dissertation 2

    On this module students research and write a dissertation on a topic of their own choosing, negotiated in consultation with Art History staff.

  • ART602A Fine Art Practice 6A

    Searching and increasingly independent enquiry into source material and appropriate practices, linked to theoretical research, is developed into a body of work for final presentation.

  Optional modules

  • ARHI604 The Dawn of a Modern Century in Art, 1900-1950

    This module aims to explore the history of the beginnings of modern art across Europe and/or the United States, incorporating its theory, practice and reception, through an analysis of the development of selected moments, schools and individuals central to the Modernist tradition. Building on stage 1 modules, emphasis will be placed on aspects of continuity and change.

  • ARHI607 Victorian Values

    This module examines the visual culture of the Victorian age, Pre-Raphaelitism, Aestheticism and British Impressionism, say, to question modern stereotypes about `Victorian Values¿ both moral and cultural. We will not only consider the definitive role of social principles in the art of this period, but also debates about art and beauty as independent realms of meaning and value.

  • ARHI619 Power, Patronage and Ideology: Aspects of Renaissance Art

    This module offers historically based study in the art and culture of Europe c.1300 - 1600. It uses focused treatments of particular periods/regions/groupings to analyse the relationship between power, patronage and ideology. Attention will be paid especially to closely focused studies of selected historical instances of art practice and/or historiographical and methodological issues of relevance.

  • ARHI620 Questions in Contemporary Art History

    The module introduces and examines selected questions raised in the last three decades concerning the methodologies and aims of contemporary art history. Case studies drawn from art history, critical and cultural theory, and where appropriate related disciplines, will be examined.

Every undergraduate taught course has a detailed programme specification document describing the course aims, the course structure, the teaching and learning methods, the learning outcomes and the rules of assessment.

The following programme specification represents the latest course structure and may be subject to change:

BA Hons Fine Art and Art History programme specification 2126

UCAS tariff

104

A level
A minimum of 2 A levels, General Studies accepted.

International Baccalaureate
26 points.

18 Unit BTEC National Diploma/QCF Extended Diploma
DMM. 

BTEC National Diploma modules
If you hold a BTEC qualification it is vital that you provide our Admissions team with details of the exact modules you have studied as part of the BTEC. Without this information we may be unable to process your application quickly and you could experience significant delays in the progress of your application to study with us. Please explicitly state the full list of modules within your qualification at the time of application.

All access courses
Pass a named Access to Higher Education Diploma (preferably art and design or combined), with at least 33 credits at merit and/or distinction.

GCSE
Mathematics and English Language grade C.

English language requirements.

Equivalent qualifications may be considered, please contact admissions@plymouth.ac.uk.

An interview and portfolio presentation are requirements for entry onto this course.

Find further information on our interview and portfolio guidance page.

For a full list of all acceptable qualifications please refer to our tariff glossary.