mindpalacestudy:
Most people from traditional education don’t know much about applying for art foundation, so when I decided to study art I found working out where and how to apply SUPER CONFUSING! Hopefully if you’re considering art foundation as an option this can help you understand everything much more clearly:
What is an art foundation course?
a one year long pre-degree course which you might want to take if you live in the UK and are thinking about going into an art-based subject for your degree.
the most common type of course has 3 parts - the first part involves experimenting with lots of different and new media/ techniques, the second part involves choosing an area to specialize in eg. illustration, fine art, graphic design etc. and the third part will be a longer project.
about 2/3 of all people going to an art based degree will have done art foundation - its very common!
Why not just go straight to doing an art degree?
a good taster year if you’re not sure what you want to do for degree
there are SO MANY v specific art degrees
(architecture, model making, animation etc.)
out there and you won’t have tried all the different specialisms during your time at school, so you can discover your passion during a foundation year!
you can improve your work loads by spending a whole year just doing art, so you’ll have a massive head start on people who go straight to an art degree
Where offers art foundation?
Art foundation courses aren’t often included in university league tables of on comparison websites like unistats, so you won’t be able to find out anything useful there! Go straight to uni websites to find out about the foundation courses.
most local further education college should offer an art foundation course, but you can also study further away if you want to go somewhere with a better reputation, here are the main ones:
Falmouth
Ravensbourne
Oxford Brookes
Camberwell
Loughbrough
Arts University Bournemouth
Leeds
UCA Farnham
Central St Martins
How much does it cost?
Art foundation is free if you’re a UK resident under 19 but if you study away from home you’ll have to pay for accommodation which is around £4-5k depending on where you go, so it’s lots cheaper to study at a nearby college.
There’s no student loan so you have to apply to bursaries or get financed by family if you want to live in accommodation
Supplies and trips will also cost £100-500 .
How do I apply?
Applications to art foundation courses don’t go through UCAS so you have to apply directly to each uni. This means you can apply to as many places as you want!
Some places eg. Falmouth have very strict deadlines but many local colleges will accept applications up until the end of August so there is more flexibility if you don’t get offers from your first choices.
Each place will ask for slightly different things - Check the university website to find a link to their applicant portal and to see their application requirements. Most places will want a personal statement in the initial application process and then require a portfolio and sometimes a sample of written work. You may be asked to attend an interview.
Make sure to visit an open day so you’re certain you want to apply!!
How do I write my personal statement?
some places will ask specific bullet points about you, in which case write according to what they ask!!
Or you might be asked to submit a more general paragraph about you, in which case try to cover why you want to study art foundation, why you want to apply to the specific art school,
The largest part of your personal statement should talk about the type of art you make and give an overview of your recent projects and why your final pieces were effective. Mention some of your favourite artists and talk about exhibitions you’ve visited and why you liked them.
Quickly talk about your other A-levels and your extra curricular activities, and how they link to your art.
There will usually be a very short word limit (about 450 words) so keep it concise and don’t waffle!! Your art teacher should be happy to read through your personal statement to tell you what to change etc.
How do I organize my portfolio?
Make sure to refer to information on the uni’s website - each place asks for slightly different things!!
You’ll need an a1 portfolio like this one. It’s scary and massive but it’s the professional size, and you’ll need one like this in the future anyway if you plan to apply for an arts based degree.
Most places want you to present your work on loose white sheets, they don’t want the work to be in plastic pockets as they can be reflective and hard to see the actual art through.
Usually you’ll be asked for 20 sheets, which should include evidence of you AS and A2 projects as well as any extra curricular art.
The art should be widely spaced and usually you’ll put one or two pieces on one a1 sheet
You need to show evidence of experimentation, fast and more time consuming sketches, observational skills, developing ideas and finished pieces. For lots of foundation courses, showing observational skills (eg life drawing) is the most important part.
Photocopy the art from your sketchbook and enlarge if necessary, then use double sided sticky tape to mount it in a clean and aesthetically pleasing way.
How do I prepare for my interview?
Do lots of research - watch tv programs about art, watch youtube clips. visit exhibitions, read books about artists, attend talks etc.
Good resources can be found on: TATE youtube, National Portrait Gallery instagram, Royal Academy instagram, The art assignment youtube channel etc.
The interviewer is looking for enthusiasm and potential rather than you being an expert on obscure art movements so don’t be panicked if you’re not an expert on art history!
Read through your sketchbooks and look at your portfolio to make sure you can explain what you were doing and why you were doing it if the interviewer asks you.
Make sure you can talk about all the things on your personal statement in detail!! The might ask you about your extra curricular activities etc. so you need to be ready to talk about that.
You need to show that you’ve visited the uni on an open day and you’re enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the course so try to read the prospectus beforehand to refresh your mind.
Ask for a mock interview!! Its good to get practice so you’ll know roughly what to expect and you won’t be as nervous for the real interview.
my art masterpost and my list of 50 ways to improve your art are also helpful!!
Remember that many foundation courses are more competitive than university degrees so don’t be put off it you don’t get an offer from some of the places you apply to! Good luck!! xx