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.

• 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.

  • ART413 Contemporary Fine Art 1: Skills, Themes and Contexts

    This is a diagnostic module introduces students to the diverse nature of fine art practice and the role of the studio within it. Critical contexts are also introduced. The studio-based projects include seminars and workshops to relate examples of contemporary fine art practice to explorations of relevant concepts, material processes and techniques.

  • ART415 Interdisciplinary Art Practice 2

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

• 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.
  
  

  Choose an option from our new group of modules on future societies and the environment:
  In your second year of study, you will be able to choose from modules across english and creative writing, history, and art history (ARHI516, ENGL527, HIST511) on our theme of ‘Future Societies and the Environment’. Aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the modules focus on the challenges for future societies, including sustainable communities and the environment, and the ways in which the humanities can engage and make a difference.

  Core modules

  • ART518 Fine Art Practice 2: Studio experimentation and DIY culture

    This module provides an opportunity for students to develop a negotiated art practice through sustained experimentation and a DIY studio culture. The studio based module will develop an awareness of contextual frameworks in relation to art practice and enable students to research and experiment with materials, processes, concepts and environments in preparation for a public show of art practice

  Optional modules

  • ARHI501 Self-Reflexivity in Western Art and Visual Culture

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • ARHI510 Art After 1950

  • ARHI514 Regimes and Revolutions in European Art

    This module examines the visual culture of the long eighteenth century in Europe, and the development of art in relation to the age of revolution (1750 to 1850). Focusing on Britain and France, it will explore the changes occurring in art and society in this period. It will include such topics as Neo-Classicism and Romanticism; the Academy; the rise of portraiture and the changing status of history painting; in a context of politics, war and uprising.

  • ARHI516 Imagery in Online and Offline Worlds

    This module provides Single Honours and Joint Honours Art History students with a comprehensive understanding of current approaches towards mass media and visual culture. Particular emphasis will be put on medium-specificity, content analysis and audience studies.

  • ENGL527 Literatures of Environmental Crisis

    his module explores the ways in which contemporary literature and literary studies are responding to our current era of ecological crisis. It introduces students to the debates, modes of reading and key ideas of ecocritical literary criticism.

  • HIST511 Heritage and Public History

    The module content will examine the theory and practice of the presentation of the past to public audiences. In it, students will examine the creation, nature, use and understanding of heritage and public history, nationally and internationally. They will examine these issues in case studies of historical `sites¿ of different types, to gain a critical awareness and understanding of the theories and controversies surrounding heritage and public history. This is a work facing module, where students will consider the theory and practice of `using¿ `sites¿ of heritage and public history from the point of view of a range of stake holders.

• 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.

  • ART622 Fine Art Practice 3: Public Exhibition

    The students will refine a negotiated conceptual framework for individual and/or collaborative creative methods, with reference to contemporary practices, approaches and theories. The module will enable the development of student learning towards an increasingly independent enquiry into source material and appropriate practices, linked to theoretical research, which is developed into a body of work for final presentation that is suitable for public exhibition.

  Optional modules

  • ARHI601 Self-Reflexivity in Western Art and Visual Culture

  • ARHI612 Art After 1950

  • ARHI618 Regimes and Revolutions: European Art 1750-1850

    This module examines the visual culture of the long eighteenth century in Europe, and the development of art in relation to the age of revolution (1750 to 1850). Focusing on Britain and France, it will explore the changes occurring in art and society in this period. It will include such topics as Neo-Classicism and Romanticism; the Academy; the rise of portraiture and the changing status of history painting; in a context of politics, war and uprising.

  • ARHI621 Imagery in Online and Offline Worlds

    This module provides Single Honours and Joint Honours Art History students with an in-depth exploration of the characteristic procedures, methods, and objects of study within contemporary visual culture. It offers a detailed and coherent understanding of current approaches towards the use of images in film, television, video games and social media. Through a combination of Lectures and Seminars, in addition to Guided Independent Study, this module ensures students gain competency in using and evaluating disciplinary knowledge to investigate contemporary virtual worlds critically and analytically. Integral to the module is the analysis of the creation and reception of visual materials in online and offline contexts. The combination of visual and anthropological tasks ensure that individual students can effectively apply interdisciplinary research procedures.

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.

We welcome applicants with international qualifications. To view other accepted qualifications please refer to our tariff glossary.