Art and Design

One year full-time.

We aim to guide students in the development of their intellectual, observational and media skills in order to form a reliable diagnosis of an area of specialism in line with their interests and abilities. Foundation Art and Design is often cited as the most enjoyable, memorable and hard-working year in an art student's education. At The University of Northampton each student will have a personal base space and exhibition area from day one. They reap the benefits of working alongside and sharing well-equipped media workshops with our degree students. Specialist facilities available include: photography, digital photography, video and editing, printmaking, screen-printing, textile/fashion workshops and 3D workshops (wood, metal, plastic, fibre glass, plaster and clay).

The philosophy of the course encourages students to experience a wide range of intellectual and practical skills; progressively taking control and tailoring the course to their individual learning needs, personal ideas and specialist direction.

Stage one

'Exploratory' stage one is 'diagnostic'. Students are introduced to a wide range of art and design specialisms, working procedures and media experiences.

Stage two

'Pathway' stage two allows students to select their specialist and media areas in order to consolidate their skills, develop and reinforce their specialism, deepen their experience and build up a portfolio for their higher education application.

Stage three

'Confirmatory' stage three is a period of sustained study centred around a personal final major project, which is written by each student with a clear orientation towards their specialist choice. The course culminates in an end-of-year public exhibition, personal catalogue and portfolio of work.

• Foundation Art and Design remains the preferred entry requirement for most BA (Hons) Art and Design subjects
• Ideal diagnostic course to determine subject choice for degree study
• Course run by Moulton College but delivered at The University of Northampton
  

• 3D Media
• Drawing
• Fine Art
• Graphic Communications
• Historical and Contextual Studies
• Printmaking
• Textiles/Fashion
• Photography
• Visual Studies

Practical work is assessed by portfolio and exhibition. History and contextual work is assessed by presentation, assignment and essay.

A good academic A level profile followed by a one-year foundation course is the preferred route of entry for the majority of art and design degrees in the UK. To date, 95-100% of our students that apply through UCAS are accepted onto high quality degree courses at a range of institutions around the country. Progression to HND and BA (Hons) courses within the University are facilitated by in-house interviews prior to UCAS application dates.